Innocence Project

Meet the Exonerated

David Protess | Posted 05.22.2012

Read More: Wrongful Convictions, Death Penalty, Innocence Project, The Exonerated, Exoneration, Death Row Exoneration, Exoneration Report, National Registry of Exonerations, Innocence, Criminal Exonerations, Chicago News
David Protess

The next time you see an exoneree take his first steps to freedom, look past their smiles. Get pissed. Get involved. Make a difference.

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Michael McLaughlin

'Texas Wrongfully Executed' An Innocent Man, Judge Wrote In Secret Exoneration

HuffingtonPost.com | Michael McLaughlin | Posted 05.21.2012

Read More: Cameron Todd Willingham, Barry Scheck, Todd-Willingham, Innocence Project, Rick Perry, Corsicana, Video, Lowell Thompson, Charlie Baird, Charles Baird, Cameron-Todd-Willingham-Execution, Cameron Todd Willingham Innocent, Eugenia Willingham, Crime News

A Texas judge who reviewed the controversial 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham planned to posthumously exonerate the father who was put to dea...

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John Rudolf

'Outrageous Misconduct' by Prosecutor Frees Man From Life in Prison

HuffingtonPost.com | John Rudolf | Posted 03.16.2012

Read More: Prosecutor Misconduct, Hash Murder, Culpeper County, Michael Hash Free, Michael Hash, Innocence Project, Michael Wayne Hash, Michael Hash Innocent, Culpeper Three, Crime News

A Virginia man sentenced to life in prison in 2001 savored his first night of freedom Wednesday after a federal judge overturned his murder conviction...

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Texas Court of Inquiry Into Prosecutorial Misconduct Is Big News

Andrea Lyon | Posted 04.22.2012

Read More: Due Process, Innocence, Innocence Project, Prosecutors, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Supreme Court, Justice, Crime News
Andrea Lyon

A special investigation has been convened to decide whether a former prosecutor, who is now a judge, hid evidence in a trial in which a man was wrongly convicted of his wife's murder and sent to prison for almost 25 years.

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Q&A with Joe Berlinger, Director of West Memphis Three Documentary (VIDEO)

Joshua Kors | Posted 03.18.2012

Read More: West Memphis Three, Academy Awards, Paradise Lost Purgatory, Paradise Lost Revelations, West Memphis 3, WM3.Org, Jessie Misskelley, Metallica, Innocence Project, Best Documentary, Damien Echols, Dna, Joe Berlinger, Commercial Appeal, Arkansas, Radical Media, Bruce Sinofsky, Jason Baldwin, Oscars, Best Documentaries of 2011, Paradise Lost the Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, Video, Culture News
Joshua Kors

"One of the great ironies of this three-film, two-decade mission is that we thought we were making a film about bad children, the inside story of why kids kill."

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Law and Disorder: The Psychology of False Confessions

Wray Herbert | Posted 03.13.2012

Read More: Exoneration, Social Perception, False Confession, Forensic Psychology, Law, Criminal Justice, Confession, Innocence Project, Dna Evidence, Cognitive Bias, Mind, Theories of Crime, Psychology and Law, Crime Psychology, Crime and Psychology, Psychology Crime Law, Crime News
Wray Herbert

Confessions are powerful and damning evidence, which is a good thing if the defendant is guilty. But what if the defendant is innocent?

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Zooey Deschanel, Jonah Hill, Other Celebs Compete In Mozilla Firefox Charity Challenge

Posted 12.16.2011

Read More: Zooey Deschanel, Video, Will Ferrell, Jonah Hill, Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Firefox Charity Challenge, Firefox, Innocence Project, Seth Rogan, Impact News

Mozilla Firefox has recruited 12 big-name celebs to compete in a one-month fundraising challenge and will grant the winner $25,000 to put toward a fav...

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Wrongfully Convicted Man Freed After 2 Decades

AP | By DAVID MERCER | Posted 01.06.2012

Read More: Wrongful Convictions, Jonathan Barr, Video, Robert Lee Veal, Shainne Sharp, Dixmoor Five, Innocence Project, James Harden Dixmoor, James Harden, Chicago News

-- One of five men sent to prison for the rape and murder of a middle school classmate two decades ago walked out of an Illinois prison Friday, exone...

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The Death Penalty: Questionable Evidence for Deterrence

Paul Heroux | Posted 11.08.2011

Read More: Capital Punishment, Statistics, Research, Crime, Troy Davis Execution, Elections 2012, American Justice System, Criminal Justice, Innocence Project, Innocence, Rick Perry, Criminal Justice Reform, Deterrence, Life Without Parole, Politics, Rick Perry 2012, Death Penalty, Crime Prevention, Justice, Troy Davis, Crime News
Paul Heroux

The death penalty is about as divisive an issue as abortion or gun control. Studies are offered by proponents and opponents to both support and condemn both sides of each issue. It is therefore imperative to assess and critique the quality, reliability and validity of the studies.

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Public Records Helped Free Texas Man

Kenneth F. Bunting | Posted 12.06.2011

Read More: Texas, Dna, Cameron Todd Willingham, John Bradley, Forensic Science, Wrongful Conviction, Michael Morton, Innocence Project, Public Records, Rick Perry, Crime News
Kenneth F. Bunting

If you care about good government and justice, now would be a good time to ask if the records that helped to free Michael Morton would be readily available under your state's public disclosure laws.

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Man Wrongfully Convicted Of Murder Released After 21 Years In Prison

Posted 12.05.2011

Read More: Jacques Rivera Released, Wrongful Convictions, Video, Illinois Wrongful Convictions, David Protess, Jacques Rivera Conviction, Chicago Innocence Project, Medill Innocence Project, Jacques Rivera, Innocence Project, Northwestern Center on Wrongful Convictions, Chicago News

A Chicago man convicted in 1988 of killing a gang member and sentenced to 80 years in prison was released Tuesday after the purported crime's only eye...

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Texas To Free Man Imprisoned For Killing Wife

AP/The Huffington Post | Posted 12.03.2011

Read More: Video, Georgetown, Texas Frees Man, John Bradley, Texas Crime, Man Kills Wife, Georgetwon Texas, Michael Morton, Innocence Project, Crime News

GEORGETOWN, Texas (AP/Huffington Post); Texas prosecutors agreed Monday to release an Austin man sentenced to life in prison in the 1986 beating death...

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Why Americans Still Support The Death Penalty

Radley Balko | Posted 11.28.2011

Read More: Dna Testing, Texas, Hank Skinner, Capital Punishment, Death Penalty, Lethal Injection, Death Penalty Support, Innocence Project, Troy Davis, Rick Perry, Politics News
Radley Balko

It has long been the conventional wisdom on both sides of the death penalty debate that if a state or the federal government were ever shown to have e...

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Journalists: How You Can Localize the Troy Davis Story

Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism | Posted 11.22.2011

Read More: Troy Davis Execution, Troy Davis, Eyewitness Misidentification, Brandon Garrett, Innocence Project, Eyewitness Identification, DNA Exonerations, Wrongful Convictions, Criminal Justice System, Criminal Justice, Media News
Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism

Experts say human memory is malleable and that eyewitnesses' recollections should be treated with the delicacy of any other crime scene evidence. That doesn't always happen. Here, a resource guide for covering misidentifications and wrongful convictions in your jurisdiction.

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Judge: Student Journalists' Emails Must Be Shared

Posted 11.07.2011

Read More: Anthony McKinney, Illinois Reporter's Privilege Act, David Protess Northwestern, David Protess, Chicago Innocence Project, Northwestern University, Media Ethics, Medill Innocence Project, Innocence Project, Journalism, Anita Alvarez, Investigative Reporting, Donald Lundahl, Chicago News

A Cook County judge ruled Wednesday that Northwestern University must turn over some 500 e-mails that student journalists at the school exchanged with...

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Radley Balko

Forensics Fraud: Video Shows 'Bite Mark Expert' Fabricating Evidence

HuffingtonPost.com | Radley Balko | Posted 11.01.2011

Read More: Eddie Lee Howard, Video, Crime, Michael West, Criminal Justice, Innocence Project, Innocence, Jim Hood, Mississippi, Louisiana, Jimmie Duncan, Forensics, Steven Hayne, Death Penalty, Leigh Stubbs, Crime News

On Aug. 9, The Huffington Post reported on the case of Leigh Stubbs, a Mississippi woman serving a 44-year sentence for assault and drug charges. Stub...

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Radley Balko

A Fraudulent Conviction? Mississippi Woman Serving 44-Year Sentence Despite Discredited Testimony

HuffingtonPost.com | Radley Balko | Posted 10.09.2011

Read More: Video, Mississippi, Forensic Science, Michael West, Crime, Bite Marks, Dunn Lampton, Wrongful Conviction, Forensics, Innocence Project, Leigh Stubbs, Innocence, Crime News

Prosecutors in the U.S. often decry what is sometimes called the "CSI Effect." Movies and TV crime dramas like the popular "CSI" franchise on CBS can ...

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Radley Balko

Myths Of The Criminal Justice System: Part 3

HuffingtonPost.com | Radley Balko | Posted 08.24.2011

Read More: Sex Offenders, Criminal Justice, Adam-Walsh, Sex Crimes, Innocence Project, Eyewitness Identification, Crime News

Note: As part of this week's launch of the HuffPost's Crime vertical, senior writer and criminal justice reporter Radley Balko outlines 10 popular myt...

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Radley Balko

Myths Of The Criminal Justice System: Part 2

HuffingtonPost.com | Radley Balko | Posted 08.22.2011

Read More: Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement, False Confessions, Criminal Justice System, Bill O'Reilly, Innocence Project, Nancy Grace, Cops, Crime News

Note: As part of this week's launch of the HuffPost's Crime vertical, senior writer and criminal justice reporter Radley Balko outlines 10 popular myt...

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Radley Balko

Private Crime Labs Could Prevent Errors, Analyst Bias: Report

HuffingtonPost.com | Radley Balko | Posted 08.14.2011

Read More: Crime Lab, Detroit Crime Lab, Fingerprints, New York Crcsi, New York Crime, Innocence Project, Chicago Crime, Medical Examiner, Texas Crime Labs, Politics News

The Detroit Free Press made an astonishing discovery last month. The city's former crime lab had been abandoned. As the paper reported, "Thousands of ...

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Matt Sledge

Compensation Proves Elusive For Men Wrongfully Accused In Park Rape Case

HuffingtonPost.com | Matt Sledge | Posted 07.06.2011

Read More: Wilding, Central Park Jogger, Joel Rudin, Central Park, Robert Morgenthau, DNA Exoneration, Central Park Jogger Rape, Innocence Project, Chronicle of a City Wilding, Jabbar Collins, Wrongful Convictions, Sarah Burns, Nypd, Central Park Five, Exonerations, New York News

NEW YORK -- When police in New York are accused of misconduct, the city usually likes to settle quickly and quietly. New York City dished out $117 mil...

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DNA Shows Texas Man Innocent After 30 Years In Prison

AP | JEFF CARLTON | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Cornelius Dupree, Cornelius Dupree Jr, Dna, Innocence Project, Anthony Massingill, Crime, Justice, Home News

DALLAS — A Texas man declared innocent Tuesday after 30 years in prison had at least two chances to make parole and be set free – if only ...

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Medill Innocence Project Accused Of Bad Ethics

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: David Protess, Medill School of Journalism, Medill Innocence Project, Chicago, Illinois, Innocence Project, Innocence Project Ethics Probe, Northwestern University, Chicago News

A project designed to expose and fix the errors of the justice system stands accused of committing a few errors itself. Prosecutors allege that the M...

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Hilary Swank Pushes Churches To Reach Out To Prisoners

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Christianity and Prison, Christian Prison Outreach, Church-Based Outreach, Women in Prison, Prison Fellowship, Prison Culture, Prisoner Outreach, Innocence Project, Conviction Hilary Swank, Hilary Swank, Religion News

By Rebecca Cusey Religion News Service (RNS) Jesus left his followers with precious few commands: love thy neighbor, feed the hungry, clothe the nake...

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Conviction: Unvalidated Science in the Courtroom

Linda Kenney Baden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: National Academy of Sciences, Law, Judge, Forensic Science, Courtroom, Dna, Fingerprint, Crime, Conviction, Wrongful Conviction, Unvalidated Science, Innocence Project, NAS Report, Daubert, Entertainment News
Linda Kenney Baden

The movie Conviction is a compelling hit. It is both a condemnation of the criminal justice system and a celebration of familial love that leads ...

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