Former Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA analyst Yvonne “Missy” Woods entered a guilty plea Tuesday to multiple felony charges, including cybercrime and perjury, stemming from the manipulation and mishandling of forensic evidence in criminal investigations. The plea, accepted by Judge Andrew Poland in the First Judicial District, addresses misconduct that has cast doubt upon more than 1,000 criminal cases statewide.
The Louisiana Supreme Court unanimously upheld a lower court’s decision overturning the 1998 murder conviction of former death row prisoner Jimmie “Chris” Duncan. The ruling, which cited discredited forensic evidence, effectively ended the last remaining death sentence based substantially on the work of controversial Mississippi forensic dentist Michael West and pathologist Steven Hayne.
The Batson v. Kentucky ruling, which prohibits prosecutors from rejecting potential jurors based on race, has not been successful in preventing racially biased jury selection, as evidenced by the Innocence Project’s research and cases of wrongful convictions and executions of Black individuals.
DNA testing has led to over 600 exonerations since 1989, but access to post-conviction analysis is limited due to restrictive legislation and high costs.
Stephen Martinez was released from prison after 27 years after a court overturned his murder conviction in the 1998 death of a 4-month-old child, due to new evidence indicating the infant had preexisting respiratory conditions that caused her death.
Judge Austin Reeve Jackson will review evidence to determine if Robert Roberson should receive a new trial, after his conviction for the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter was based on the now-discredited ‘shaken baby syndrome’ theory.
Carmen Mejía was released from the Travis County Jail in Austin after a judge declared her “actually innocent” in a two-decade-long case involving the death of an infant she had been babysitting, but was then detained by ICE due to her lapsed legal status, until the hold was reversed, allowing her to regain her freedom and begin rebuilding her life.
Carmen Mejia was exonerated after 22 years in prison for a murder she did not commit, when new evidence established that the death of a 10-month-old infant in her care was a tragic accident caused by a water heater lacking safety technology.
Tommy Lee Walker was wrongfully executed for a crime he did not commit due to racial hysteria and Jim Crow-era injustice, and the Innocence Project is working to formally recognize this miscarriage of justice and exonerate other wrongfully convicted individuals.
Termaine Hicks, who was exonerated after spending 18 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, will share his experiences with the justice system at the U.S. Marshals Museum’s “True Crime Tonight” event.
The Exonerated Five, who were wrongfully convicted of a crime in 1989, have become a testament to resilience, solidarity, and systemic change, and their case has led to policy reforms in New York’s interrogation laws and inspired a Netflix miniseries that has reached a new generation of viewers.
The Innocence Project released a new short film, “What I Didn’t Know,” which documents the emotional and practical challenges exonerees face as they rebuild their lives after decades of wrongful incarceration.
Jimmie “Chris” Duncan was released from death row after 27 years after Judge Alvin Sharp ruled that “clear and convincing evidence proves (Duncan) is factually innocent in the alleged murder of Haley Oliveaux,” due to the fraudulent forensics of Drs. Steven Hayne and Michael West.
The Economist reports that the US is executing people at double the rate compared to last year, with the rise attributed to Republican political ambitions and a decrease in court oversight of the death penalty.
Danny Davis spent more than 32 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, after being coerced into a false confession by police, until DNA evidence proved his innocence and a judge vacated his conviction in 2024.
John Grisham’s upcoming book, SHAKEN, will explore the wrongful conviction of Texas death row prisoner Robert Roberson, who was convicted of killing his daughter based on the discredited “Shaken Baby Syndrome” hypothesis.
Exonerees are urging the Texas courts to halt the execution of Robert Roberson and review new evidence in his case, warning that the state risks executing an innocent man based on the now widely debunked “Shaken Baby Syndrome” hypothesis.
Anna Vasquez, a survivor of a wrongful conviction in the 1990s, now dedicates her life to helping others avoid the same fate through her role with the Innocence Project of Texas.
For decades, law enforcement agencies have used surveillance as a tool to monitor and control Black communities…
When outgoing President Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row,…