Exoneree Network Impact Update: June 2024-2025
Fifth Annual Celebration of Freedom & Community
A Look Back at Our Legislative Efforts
In addition to case work, we advocate for legislative reforms that will reduce the risk of wrongful convictions and unjust sentences, create more pathways to freedom, and provide compensation and support for harms done in our name. We are committed to raising public awareness of the prevalence, causes, and costs of wrongful convictions, including bringing to light the racial disparities that exist within the criminal legal system and that have led to a disproportionate number of people of color who have been wrongfully convicted.
NEIP “By the Numbers” Snapshot, June 2024 – 2025
Fighting Wrongful Convictions: The Original Resistance
Exoneree Network Named Nonprofit Excellence Award Finalist
Court Overturns 1985 Springfield Murder Conviction
Edward Wright’s conviction has been overturned! Mr. Wright has been wrongfully incarcerated for more than 40 years for a murder he did not commit. Judge Jeremy Bucci granted Mr. Wright’s Motion for New Trial based on evidence of official misconduct, including withholding of exculpatory evidence and false testimony at Mr. Wright’s trial.
Join us at Voices of the Innocent, Sept. 10
Join us at Voices of the Innocent, the New England Innocence Project’s signature storytelling event and fundraiser, on Sept. 10, where your support can make these dreams of a better future for our community possible. Live and in person, hear personal stories from people directly impacted by wrongful convictions and learn what it takes to persevere in the fight for freedom.
Building Community, Honoring Resilience
In April, 11 exonerees and freed people from New England—who together lost more than 353 years to wrongful imprisonment—gathered in Seattle for the annual Innocence Network Conference for connection, joy, and healing.
Case update: Our fight for Jason Carroll
It’s taken many years to find and test evidence in Jason Carroll’s case, and we finally have the preliminary results from DNA testing. There’s more work to be done to identify a person from the evidence, but we're grateful there’s a path forward and the possibility of finding the truth.
Amicus Year in Review: Impact and Continued Efforts
Whenever the Court makes a decision in an individual case, it has the power to change the law for everyone. Engaging in amicus work allows us to use our knowledge and expertise to help shape these decisions, helping to prevent future tragedies and create more freedom.
Interrogation Bill Reintroduced in Effort to Fight Wrongful Convictions
An Act Preventing False Confessions would make Massachusetts a national leader in banning deceptive tactics during interrogations.
New DNA Testing Demonstrates Man Was Wrongfully Convicted of 1984 Murder
Learn more about Edward Wright’s Motion for New Trial in Hampden County Superior Court in Springfield, MA, including the latest update regarding his evidentiary hearing.
Remembering Sam Sommers
Save the Dates: Freedom Fall
Join us for our 2025 "Freedom Fall" events where we can amplify stories, raise our voices against injustice, hold space for pain and healing, and unite in our collective power.
Thank you to The Boston Foundation for Safety Net Grant
We are honored and deeply grateful to be among the 77 organizations selected for a Safety Net Grant by The Boston Foundation to support our Exoneree Network, a program led by and for individuals directly impacted by wrongful convictions and long-term incarceration.
Our Commitment to Liberation & Collective Action
In this moment of radical change, we remain steadfast in our commitment to fighting injustice. That is what we focus on every day no matter who is in power or the resistance we face.
Advocacy Update: Expanding the Time to Petition for a New Trial in N.H.
Thomas Rosa, Jr. Faces Possible Fourth Trial
In September of 2023, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Michael Ricciuti vacated the conviction of Thomas Rosa, Jr. who was wrongfully incarcerated for 34 years for a murder that he did not commit. At this time, Mr. Rosa still faces the prospect of a fourth murder trial. We hope Mr. Rosa’s story of injustice will help amplify the difficulties -- and resistance -- we face fighting wrongful convictions.
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