John —
In 2002, both my brother Nathan and I were wrongly convicted. We spent a collective 17 years in prison for a crime we didn’t commit, until DNA proved our innocence. Nathan was released in 2015, and I was released in 2018. But it wasn’t until this year that we were both fully exonerated.
When I first heard that we were finally cleared of all charges, it was hard for me to fully process. For so long, my brother and I both had to live with this label of being “convicted felons” and that really can weigh on you, your family, friendships, and job opportunities.
If it weren’t for the Innocence Project, I can honestly say I don’t think I’d be free today. My family and I would still be going through the nightmare that is wrongful conviction.
That’s why I’m asking you, on this Giving Tuesday, to make a donation to the Innocence Project and help them hit their $20,000 goal. The work they are doing day in and day out to help families like mine who are going through the unimaginable is nothing short of heroic, and they need your support. [link removed]
In our criminal legal system, I always thought it was “innocent until proven guilty.” Unfortunately, our experience in this case has been that of “guilty until proven innocent.”
The whole process was so taxing on our entire family, but especially on our parents, Tammy and Philip. They had to watch as both of their sons were wrongly convicted and sent to prison for years — something I don’t wish on any mother or father. But they each stood by us, always calling, visiting, and fighting for us every step of the way (thank you Mom and Dad!).
When we were locked up, it was like a piece of them was locked away with us. We had so much time stolen from us. Time that we would have spent celebrating together as a family, comforting each other after losing loved ones, and starting families of our own — all of that was taken from us.
We won’t ever get that time back, but because of the Innocence Project’s work, we now have time to create new memories..
This Giving Tuesday, please help them reach their $20,000 goal so they can continue the work of freeing innocent people like my brother and me and bringing families like ours peace after years of wrongful incarceration. [link removed]
Thank you so much for your support,
Philip Barnett
Exonerated in October 2021
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Started in 1992 as a legal clinic at Cardozo School of Law, the Innocence Project is now an independent nonprofit, affiliated with Cardozo, that exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.
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