Celebrating freedom and joy is an act of resistance in a criminal legal system that robs people—especially Black people—of time, opportunities, and justice.

Whether or not the New England Innocence Project was directly involved in a case, we celebrate with our community whenever a wrongful conviction is overturned. And there has been so much to celebrate lately — three exonerations and another wrongful murder conviction overturned in just the last few months.

We’re celebrating alongside Raymond Gaines, Rickey “FuQuan” McGee, Edward Wright, and Daniel Pina — all of whom were wrongfully convicted of murder in Massachusetts — as well as the CPCS Innocence Program, and all of the incredible lawyers and advocates who helped make their freedom possible.

Each case is a powerful reminder of why we fight every day for people who have been wrongfully convicted, and we are proud to have supported several of these cases through amicus work — an essential part of our mission.

In our community, freedom is everything. "Freedom is breath." — Exoneree Ray Champagne