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Image: Life Matters/Pexels
Image: Life Matters/Pexels
In September, the Innocence Project was thrilled to welcome Christina Swarns as its new executive director following a remarkable career in criminal and capital defense, including senior roles at the Office of the Appellate Defender, Inc., and the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF). While at LDF, she was lead counsel for Duane Buck, a Black man who was sentenced to death in Texas based on explicitly racist evidence and argued his case, Buck v. Davis, before the U.S. Supreme Court. Swarns was the only Black woman to argue in that Supreme Court term and is one of the few Black women ever to have argued before the nation’s highest court. The Court’s 6-2 ruling in Mr. Buck’s favor was monumental because it vacated his sentence and explicitly condemned racial bias in the administration of criminal justice.
Innocence Project executive director Christina Swarns speaking to the press on the steps of the Supreme Court after the court ruled in favor of her client Duane Buck in 2016. (Image: Courtesy of Christina Swarns)
Image: Gabe Pierce/Unsplash
This summer, the senseless deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Daniel Prude, and countless others sparked nationwide protests and demands for justice and racial equality. Across the country, people called for greater accountability among law enforcement and the legal system. Because official misconduct is a significant contributing factor to wrongful conviction, the Innocence Project is committed to advancing laws and policies that increase transparency and ensure accountability for police misconduct.
With COVID-19 rampant in jails and prisons across the country, the fight for the release of our wrongfully convicted clients became more urgent than ever. This year, Darrill Henry and Ron Jacobsen both had bail set in their cases after their convictions were overturned based on new DNA evidence of their innocence. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, both Mr. Henry’s and Mr. Jacobsen’s families were able to pay their bail to bring them home. We’re grateful for each of the thousands of donations that ensured their release.
Ron Jacobsen (second from right) returns to his hometown of New York City for the first time in 30 years. His lawyer Vanessa Potkin (second from left) met him at Pennsylvania Station. (Image: Daniele Selby/The Innocence Project)
Netflix trailer for “The Innocence Files,” the Innocence Project-inspired series.
In March, Netflix released “The Innocence Files,” a nine-part documentary series that pulls back the curtain on the work of the Innocence Project and organizations in the Innocence Network. The series featured the stories of eight wrongly incarcerated people and spotlighted issues like prosecutorial misconduct and invalid forensic methods that contribute to wrongful conviction. Inspired by the series, thousands of people became part of the Innocence Project’s community and joined our fight for justice.
This year, our client Archie Williams lived his dreams as a contestant on “America’s Got Talent,” a show he watched while wrongfully incarcerated. Mr. Williams’ soulful singing voice and powerful story carried him to the finals, with the Innocence Project community cheering for him the whole way.
America's Got Talent. Pictured: Simon Cowell hugging Archie Williams (Image: Trae Patton/NBC)
Be a part of the Innocence Project’s groundbreaking work to free innocent people and transform the legal system. With your support, we can do even more — donate today.
Darrill Jr. Guitroz, Daranika Guitroz, and Darrill Henry. (Image: Claire Bangser/The Innocence Project)