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Innocence Project client Leonard Mack exonerated after 47 years in White Plains, New York on Sept. 5, 2023 (Image: Elijah Craig II/Innocence Project)

John: Can you imagine being incarcerated for years or even decades for a crime you didn’t commit? Our clients like Tyrone Day, Rosa Jimenez, Leonard Mack, Perry Lott, and Renay Lynch can.

For decades, they were separated from their families for crimes they did not commit — and still, they remained hopeful that they would one day be proven innocent. Now free, they are rebuilding their lives, reconnecting with loved ones, and making up for lost memories.

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we’re sharing Leonard Mack’s story, who, on the day of his exoneration, evoked King’s historic phrase: “Free at last, thank God Almighty, I’m free at last.”

Like Martin Luther King Jr., all of us at the Innocence Project “believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” In honor of this day, we invite you to hear more from recent exonerees, like Leonard, in our powerful new series, “Homecoming: Rebuilding a Life after Wrongful Conviction.”

To hear more from our recently exonerated clients, who share what life was like before their wrongful conviction and what it means now to return home, click here:

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In 1976, Leonard was on his way home from school when he was pulled over by the police. They said that a rape had happened and they were looking for a young, Black male — and he happened to fit the description. At 23 years old, Leonard was wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit. And despite his pleas of innocence, he wouldn’t be a free and exonerated man until his 72nd birthday.

“I went as far as to the United States Supreme Court. Nobody was listening. I was crying and saying that I’m innocent. I’m innocent. I’m innocent.” — Leonard Mack

Leonard was an honorably discharged veteran — and still, the United States criminal legal system failed him. Leonard lived with his wrongful conviction for 47 years — the longest ever to be overturned by new DNA evidence.

Today, Leonard continues to reach out to other veterans, particularly those who have also been wrongly convicted and exonerated, with the goal of providing them with the support and guidance they need. At home, Leonard is focused on rebuilding bonds with his family, particularly his son and grandchild. Every phone call and every text message ends with a “Son, Dad loves you,” and a “Dad, I love you, too.”

Leonard Mack’s story is just one example of resilience that fuels and inspires our work to free the innocent and prevent wrongful convictions. To hear more from him and from other exonerees, click here:

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Thank you,

Innocence Project

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The Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, the organization is now an independent nonprofit. Our work is guided by science and grounded in anti-racism.
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