Wrongful Conviction Day
October 2nd Every Year
Details below!
About the Event
Lift your voice, amplify your impact, fight for freedom
Take action with us! October 2nd is Wrongful Conviction Day, an international day of awareness dedicated to highlighting the causes, remedies, and emotional toll of wrongful conviction on individuals, families, and communities.
Each year, the New England Innocence Project has marked the day through a variety of events, including a public march and rally in Boston alongside families, advocates, legislators, exonerees, and community members to raise our voices together against injustice and honor our loved ones who are still incarcerated.
This is a day for us to come together, in solidarity, to support everyone for whom the fight continues. We will not stop fighting until we are all free. See how to get involved below. We hope to see you there!
Details
When: Friday, October 2, 2026
Where / When:
12:30 p.m. — Boston City Hall Plaza
(march to the State House begins)
1:00 p.m. — Rally and speaking program at Massachusetts State House
(when the march ends)
About the New England Innocence Project
We free innocent people from prison, support families impacted by incarceration, and fight to end the oppressive harms of the criminal legal system throughout New England.
How to Get Involved
◾ March with Us
Join us for Toward Liberation, our 2026 march and rally to expand pathways to freedom in Massachusetts on Friday, October 2, 2026, beginning at 12:30 p.m. at Boston City Hall. From Boston City Hall Plaza, we will carry signs and posters of our loved ones who are still incarcerated and march to the Massachusetts State House, where we’ll host a rally and speaking program on the Massachusetts State House steps.
We chose our theme this year, Toward Liberation, because Massachusetts needs more pathways to freedom beyond exoneration. We must expand elder parole, end unjust sentencing such as life without parole/death by incarceration, and fight unfair legal doctrines such as joint venture and felony murder. On Wrongful Conviction Day, let’s speak with one voice toward liberation!
Also, please join our newsletter to stay updated on this and other upcoming events:
◾ Submit a Photo of a Loved One Incarcerated in New England
Do you have a loved one fighting for freedom or someone you lost after injustice in New England? We’d like to raise up their name during our march and rally on Wrongful Conviction Day.
To request a printed posted for your loved one, please send an e-mail to general@newenglandinnocence.org with the following items and information:
Your name
Your preferred email address
Full name of your loved one who is incarcerated
Number of years incarcerated
High-resolution photo(s) of your loved one
◾ Collaborate with Us
As we continue to grow this movement, we’re looking to partner with mission-aligned organizations and individuals. Through collaboration, we aim to broaden public awareness, center impacted voices, strengthen community solidarity, and create meaningful opportunities for partners to stand visibly and valuably within the shared work of fighting injustice and supporting healing.
To discuss a possible collaboration with us in honor of Wrongful Conviction Day, please send an email to general@newenglandinnocence.org for more information.
A Look Back
2025 Wrongful Conviction Day
Last year we honored Wrongful Conviction Day in Massachusetts by:
Meeting with legislators to discuss why we need to ban deception in police interrogations to prevent false confessions and wrongful convictions
Rallying to support legislation that would help exonerees and freed people receive adequate compensation for their loss and trauma
Holding up the story of Edward Wright after he served 41 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, and discussing the lessons we must learn from this tragedy
Marching with our community to Boston’s City Hall, sharing stories and lifted photos of our loved ones who are still fighting for freedom from behind the wallView the video and photos from last year’s event.
In New Hampshire, we gathered to hear from exonerees about why there should be no time limit on going back to court if you have new evidence of innocence. There should be no expiration date on justice.
Photos by Ellen Rogers Photography