Annual Report

Revealing Truth

Jaythan Kendrick, who wrongfully spent 25 years in prison, celebrates his exoneration in Queens, N.Y., on Nov. 19, 2020. (Image: Ben Hider for AP Images/Innocence Project)

With the support of our community of donors, activists, and co-counsel, the Innocence Project worked to free or exonerate 15 clients — a majority of whom were Black or Latinx — and advanced the scientific scrutiny of forensic evidence. We helped fuel a movement around conviction integrity that is compelling prosecutors to acknowledge evidence of innocence and vacate convictions. And we are holding law enforcement accountable: the exoneration of one Innocence Project client led to the disbarment of a Dallas County prosecutor, who repeatedly hid evidence of innocence.

Paul Hildwin, who was released in Hernando County, Fla., in March 2020, walks on grass barefoot for the first time in 34 years.

I have my life back, and words can’t do justice to my gratitude and appreciation to everyone at the Innocence Project.

Ron Jacobsen

Ron Jacobsen, who was exonerated in August 2021, takes in the views at Awosting Falls in Ulster County, N.Y., on Oct. 2, 2021. (Image: Justin Chan/Innocence Project)

Christopher Tapp

22 years

Christopher Tapp

Date exonerated: July 2019

Number of years served: 22

 

Following his exoneration, Mr. Tapp successfully advocated for passage of an Idaho law to compensate people for the time they were wrongfully incarcerated.

(Image: Otto Kitsinger for AP Images/Innocence Project)

Felipe Rodriguez

25 years

Felipe Rodriguez

Date exonerated: December 2019

Number of years served: 25

 

Mr. Rodriguez lives with his wife and his two children and works in the hospitality industry.

(Image: Sameer Abdel-Khalek/Innocence Project)

Gerry Thomas

29 years

Gerry Thomas

Date exonerated: January 2020

Number of years served: 29

 

Mr. Thomas is pursuing his talent for leather crafting and woodwork.

(Image: Suzy Salamy/Innocence Project)

Rafael Ruiz

25 years

Rafael Ruiz

Date exonerated: January 2020

Number of years served: 25

 

Mr. Ruiz has been connecting with old and new friends at the Innocence Project’s support group meetings for freed clients.

(Image: Daniele Selby/Innocence Project)

Paul Hildwin

34 years

Paul Hildwin

Date freed: March 2020

Number of years served: 34

 

Mr. Hildwin resides at The Sunny Center in Florida.

(Image: Casey Brooke Lawson/Innocence Project)

Sheila Denton

15 years

Sheila Denton

Date freed: April 2020

Number of years served: 15

 

Ms. Denton lives in Georgia with her family and is getting to know her grandchildren.

(Image: Mark Loudon-Brown/Southern Center for Human Rights)

Darrill Henry

15 years

Darrill Henry

Date freed: May 2020

Number of years served: 15

 

Mr. Henry reunited with his two children and welcomed the birth of his first grandchild in 2020.

(Image: David S. White/Innocence Project)

Robert DuBoise

35 years

Robert DuBoise

Date exonerated: September 2020

Number of years served: 35

 

When he’s not working, Mr. DuBoise spends time with his family and enjoys the “little things in life,” like watching the sunrise and sunset.

(Image: Casey Brooke Lawson for AP Images/Innocence Project)

Jaythan Kendrick

25 years

Jaythan Kendrick

Date exonerated: November 2020

Number of years served: 25

 

Mr. Kendrick relocated to Atlanta, where he got his own apartment and reunited with his cousin and family.

(Image: Ben Hider for AP Images/Innocence Project)

Termaine Hicks

18 years

Termaine Hicks

Date exonerated: December 2020

Number of years served: 18

 

Mr. Hicks hopes to produce and direct plays — a passion he developed during his wrongful incarceration.

(Image: Jason E. Miczek for AP Images/Innocence Project)

Rosa Jimenez

17 years

Rosa Jimenez

Date freed: January 2021

Number of years served: 17

 

Ms. Jimenez happily reunited with her son and celebrated her daughter’s wedding earlier this year.

(Image: Mary Kang/Innocence Project)

Eddie Lee Howard

26 years

Eddie Lee Howard

Date exonerated: January 2021

Number of years served: 26

 

Mr. Howard filed for state compensation for his wrongful conviction and hopes to be compensated in the near future.

(Image: Tucker Carrington/Mississippi Innocence Project)

Tyrone Holmes

33 years

Tyrone Holmes

Date freed: April 2021

Number of years served: 33

 

Mr. Holmes is now living with his family in Illinois and working with the Innocence Project’s social work team to adjust to life post-release.

(Image: Courtesy of Tyrone Holmes)

Jonathan Smith

20 years

Jonathan Smith

Date freed: April 2021

Number of years served: 20

 

Mr. Smith works at a landscaping business and is making up for lost time with his two sons.

(Image: Eric Kayne for AP Images/Innocence Project)

Ron Jacobsen

30 years

Ron Jacobsen

Date exonerated: August 2021

Number of years served: 30

 

Mr. Jacobsen has been spending time with his sister and recently bought a pickup truck.

(Image: Justin Chan/Innocence Project)

369

years collectively served among clients released or exonerated between 2019 and 2021

6

clients exonerated or released between 2019 and 2021 whose cases involved a misapplication of science

5

DNA-based exonerations between 2019 and 2021

The only feeling I can compare it to is when you go on an exhausting trip, and when you finally get home, you just feel like, ‘Oh, I’m home. This is where I belong.'

Rosa Jimenez

Rosa Jimenez, who was freed in January 2021, in her home on March 4, 2021. (Image: Mary Kang/Innocence Project)

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Exonerees from Maryland gather at the State House to share their stories in January 2020, following the passage of several state laws that strengthen police transparency and accountability. Pictured from left to right: Demetrius Smith, Ransom Watkins, Eric Simmons, Lamar Johnson, Kenneth “JR” McPherson, Jermaine Arrington, Clarence Shipley, Walter Lomax, Kirk Bloodsworth, and Alfred Chestnut. (Image: Daniele Selby/Innocence Project)