Edward Wright is Freed From Prison After Being Wrongfully Incarcerated for
41 Years for a Crime He Did Not Commit
Wright’s Conviction for a 1984 Springfield Murder was Overturned in April
Based on Official Misconduct, but the Commonwealth May Decide to Retry the Case
Edward Wright (fourth from the right) was released from prison today and is pictured here with his wife, Mimi Olivier, his legal team.
Springfield, MA – July 31, 2025 – The New England Innocence Project announces today that its client, Edward Wright, has been freed from prison and reunited with his family on July 31, after being wrongfully incarcerated for more than 41 years for a Springfield murder he did not commit. Mr. Wright’s conviction was vacated in April based on findings of police and prosecutorial misconduct, including withholding evidence and presenting false testimony. Today Hampden County Superior Court Judge Sarah Hamilton released Mr. Wright on his own recognizance with conditions of release. However, his fight for exoneration is not yet over. Rather than dropping the charges against Mr. Wright, the Commonwealth may still decide to retry the case, even though it previously characterized the case as “not re-triable.”
Mr. Wright was wrongfully convicted of the 1984 murder of his friend, Penny Anderson, in her Springfield, Massachusetts, apartment. In overturning Mr. Wright’s wrongful conviction in April, Hampden County Superior Court Judge Jeremy Bucci found that the prosecution knowingly and intentionally withheld “significant” exculpatory evidence of a break-in to the crime scene and that a detective gave “blatantly false testimony” at trial concerning “evidence central to the prosecution’s case”. He went on to note that the withheld information affected the “only forensic evidence tying [Mr. Wright] to the blood in the apartment.” The Commonwealth’s appeal of this decision was summarily denied earlier this month by Supreme Judicial Court Justice Serge Georges.
Over the last 41 years, Mr. Wright has always maintained his innocence and has never stopped fighting to overturn his wrongful conviction. Should the Commonwealth decide to move forward with a retrial, jurors today would hear new evidence supporting Mr. Wright’s innocence and the Commonwealth’s misconduct, including powerful evidence pointing to a third-party culprit, along with DNA and forensic evidence – evidence that jurors were not aware of in the original 1985 trial.
“Whether or not the Commonwealth decides to retry my case, all I’ve ever wanted is to see it through so I can finally clear my name and be reunited with my family,” said Mr. Wright. “I look forward to a jury hearing all the evidence in my case. After 41 years in prison – separated from my family and friends – I can now continue my fight in freedom. My release from prison is the first step in a long journey. I just want to heal and share what’s left of my life with those loved ones who are still alive."
“The Commonwealth was right when they told Judge Bucci last September that Mr. Wright’s case is not re-triable,” said Nigel Tamton, a member of Mr. Wright’s legal team. “As Judge Bucci recognized, the original conviction was flawed. And there is no new evidence the Commonwealth could rely on. Instead, for 41 years, Mr. Wright has piled up evidence showing he is innocent and someone else likely committed this murder. That is what the jury would see at any new trial.”
Next Steps
The New England Innocence Project has represented Mr. Wright for 10 years, and the case will now be turned over to another attorney for retrial. This is only the beginning of a long journey into freedom for Mr. Wright as he works to heal and rebuild after 41 years in prison. While every release and reunion after years of wrongful incarceration is joyous, it is not easy. There is no existing infrastructure to assist an innocent person who spent decades in prison for a crime they did not commit. Therefore, exonerees returning from long-term incarceration back into the community must rebuild from almost nothing, while processing decades of trauma and loss. Mr. Wright will receive support services through the Exoneree Network, a program funded by the New England Innocence Project.
About Mr. Wright
Although Mr. Wright spent the last 41 years in prison in Massachusetts for a crime he did not commit, he has maintained close contact with his family and loved ones and has had a positive impact on the people with whom he has been incarcerated. While in prison, he dedicated himself to learning the legal system that so tragically failed him. He has used his knowledge to help others challenge their convictions and improve conditions inside the prison walls. Mr. Wright has led efforts to ensure that people in prison have access to mail and food that meets their medical needs. After winning a judgment against the Department of Corrections for civil rights violations, he used the funds to pay for his own DNA testing to help prove his innocence.
During the four decades of his wrongful incarceration, Mr. Wright never stopped fighting to prove his innocence. Now that his conviction has finally been overturned, after numerous failed attempts while critical evidence of his innocence was hidden from him, Mr. Wright is an inspiration to many other innocent people, as they fight for the truth to come to light in their own cases. Mr. Wright has been married since 2009 and looks forward to continuing his life with his wife and family in freedom.
“Eddie was just 23 years old when he sat in a Springfield courtroom and watched as the Commonwealth presented false evidence against him,” said Stephanie Hartung, Mr. Wright’s attorney from the New England Innocence Project. “Since then, he has been through a four-decade nightmare as he tried to uncover the truth and prove his innocence. Now that so much new evidence of Eddie’s innocence has come forward, we are hopeful that the Commonwealth will dismiss the charges against him. While we are thrilled that Eddie is finally free, there is no remedy for all the years he’s lost. “
“Eddie is an inspiration,” said Isaac Saidel-Goley, Mr. Wright’s pro bono attorney. “For 40 years, he has endured unimaginable injustice. He has responded with positivity and humanity. Through it all, he lifted others, stood firm in his truth, and never gave up the fight. That fight is not yet over, but today we celebrate a victory — hard-fought and long-overdue.”