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.
I have my life back, and words can’t do justice to my gratitude and appreciation to everyone at the Innocence Project.
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 yearsChristopher 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 yearsFelipe 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 yearsGerry 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 yearsRafael 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 yearsPaul 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 yearsSheila 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 yearsDarrill 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 yearsRobert 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 yearsJaythan 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 yearsTermaine 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 yearsRosa 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 yearsEddie 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 yearsTyrone 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 yearsJonathan 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 yearsRon 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, 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)
