exoneration

National Registry of Exonerations: 885 Wrongful Convictions Since 1989

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Ronald Reno, right, and his girlfriend Debbie Brown hug Kathleen “Cookie” Ridolfi, executive director of the Northern California Innocence Project, after a press conference about the exoneration of Reno, wrongly convicted of a crime which resulted in his “third strike.” (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS / Nhat V. Meyer)

Check out the article by Tracey Kaplan for the Mercury News. The piece highlights the findings of the new “National Registry of Exonerations”, which is tracking the number of exonerations across the country. The report, which is attached in the article link, allows viewers to examine exonerations by state and county numbers. A striking finding is the differences among a common geographic regions, such as the Bay Area. In Santa Clara County, there has been 10 exonerations, yet zero in neighboring Alameda County. Continue reading →

Reuters: Wrongfully convicted Colorado man set free after 16 years

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Powerful story of a man who is finally free due to exonerating DNA. The ACJP family finds great inspiration in this story as we are currently working on a case that has a similar fact pattern — including DNA that proves innocence. Check it out…

GRAND JUNCTION, Co. (Reuters) – A Colorado man wrongly convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of a woman found strangled with a dog leash was exonerated on the basis of new DNA evidence and set free on Monday after spending more than 16 years behind bars. Read more>>>

Once Facing a Life Sentence, Man Given Factual Finding of Innocence

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Ramon Vasquez was an innocent man wrongfully charged with murder. Though his court appointed attorney told him to plea at one point, Vasquez remained steadfast in his belief that the truth of his innocence would be proven. His family dissected the case against him, and with the attorney, proved Vasquez could not have committed the crime. Here is his story. Video produced by Adrian Avila.