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Here’s how the Innocence Project kicked off 2023.
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 Darrill Henry leaving the Orleans Parish
Criminal Court in January 2023. (Image: Claire Bangser/Innocence Project)
Darrill Henry Exonerated in New Orleans Double Murder Following Decades-Long Fight
In 2004, Darrill Henry was wrongly arrested for the murder of two elderly women in the Seventh Ward of New Orleans. He spent seven years in jail, awaiting trial, only to be convicted and sentenced to life in prison for crimes he hadn’t committed. A judge overturned his conviction nearly three years ago and ordered a new trial due to new DNA evidence supporting his innocence. Darrill was released on bail after a community fundraiser successfully raised the money to bring him home overnight. And he remained on bail, until last week, when he was finally exonerated of all charges. To learn more about his case, read here, and if you would like to help Darrill rebuild his life by supporting his GoFundMe, please donate here.
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 Surveillance cameras. (Image: Jürgen Jester/Unsplash)
‘Big Tech’ Regulation Must Address Data Use in Criminal Investigations
In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, President Biden called for better regulation of “Big Tech” companies and how they collect, store, and use people’s data to prevent manipulation, exploitation, or abuse. But we believe Congress must go one step further and pass regulation and oversight of law enforcement and the government usage of our data to prevent wrongful accusations, arrests, and convictions. Learn more about how big data technologies can lead to wrongful convictions, and what Congress can do to help prevent that from happening.
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 Images from the Albert “Ian” Schweitzer court case Tuesday, Jan.
24, 2023 in Hilo, Hawaii. (Marco Garcia/The Innocence Project)
Ian Schweitzer Exonerated of Murder After 25 Years in Hawaii
Last week in Hawaii, Albert “Ian” Schweitzer’s was exonerated after 25 years of incarceration for a rape and murder he did not commit. Judge Peter K. Kubota vacated all charges based on new DNA testing that excluded Ian and his co-defendants and identified a single unknown male suspect. Ian was finally able to walk free. Read more about Ian’s case here, and if you’d like to support him as he navigates his newfound freedom, you can help fulfill items on his Amazon wish list here.
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 Calvin Johnson at a photo shoot at the 2022 Innocence Network
Conference in Phoenix. (Image: Kenny Karpov/Innocence Project)
In Memoriam: Innocence Project Founding Board Member and Exoneree Calvin Johnson
Calvin Johnson was an author, activist, a pioneer among the innocence movement, and a friend to many at the Innocence Project and in the broader Innocence Network. His death leaves a void that will be felt throughout the entire community. Calvin was wrongfully convicted in Georgia in 1983 and sentenced to life in prison by an all-white jury. After spending 16 years fighting for his freedom, he was proven innocent through DNA evidence and finally freed. He used his voice to advocate for others who have suffered the grave injustice of wrongful convictions. Please take a moment to read more about Calvin’s life and the work he did as a tireless advocate for criminal justice reform. He will be deeply missed by
his Innocence Project family.
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 Police and protesters at a Black Lives Matter rally in
Washington, D.C., in 2020. (Image: Koshu Kunii/Unsplash)
‘Tough-on-Crime’ Policies Are at Odds With the Presumption of Innocence
Too many policymakers are ignoring the lessons of the past and embracing the “tough-on-crime” rhetoric that was the backbone of decades of mass incarceration and countless wrongful convictions. In this letter, Executive Director Christina Swarns calls out the lessons of our country's past, and urges a new way forward. Please take a moment and read her letter in its entirety.
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 (Image: Science in HD/Unsplash)
Innocence Project Hosted Its First Virtual Social Science Research Conference
Our team recently hosted our very first virtual social science research conference called Just Data: Advancing the Innocence Movement. With nearly 900 attendees, the conference focused on furthering research of wrongful convictions. The day kicked off with a welcome from Executive Director Christina Swarns and ended with a powerful conversation with exoneree, retired nurse, and PTSD researcher Ginny LeFever, who shared her experience of wrongful conviction and the role of research in the innocent movement. Learn more about our first virtual social science research conference, and we hope to see you at the next.
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Exonerations Around the U.S.
CPCS Innocence Program client Clifton Caldwell was exonerated on Jan. 11, 2023, after spending 20 years wrongfully incarcerated.
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