Redefining Our Path Toward Justice

2019 Annual Report Redefining Our Path Toward JusticeAffiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University The Innocence Project was founded Letter from the Co-Founders, Board Chair The year 2019 was tremendous for the Innocence Project. Seven people we represented were in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter and Executive Director ........................................ 3 exonerated and freed; and in the majority of these cases, methods other than DNA—such as exposing J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo a false confession, mistaken eyewitness identification or flawed forensic testimony—were used to School of Law at Yeshiva University to 2019 Policy Achievements ................................ 4 prove innocence. Additionally, we passed an extraordinary 21 policy reforms in 17 states. We are assist incarcerated people who could be incredibly proud of all that we accomplished. Huwe Burton ........................................................... 6 proven innocent through DNA testing. To But today—mid-way through 2020 as our nation struggles to find its footing in the face of a global date, more than 360 people in the United Steven Mark Chaney ............................................ 8 pandemic—we do not have the time or the luxury to look back, because there is still much more work States have been exonerated by DNA to be done. COVID-19 exposed how vulnerable we are as a nation and reminded us that Black and testing, including more than 20 who spent Archie Williams .....................................................10 Brown people face uniquely significant risks. time on death row. These individuals spent Challenging Injustice Together ......................12 an average of 14 years in prison before At the same time, the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless other exoneration and release. In most of these innocent Black people at the hands of the police highlighted the fact that racial disparities plague the Financial Information .........................................14 cases, Innocence Project staff attorneys administration of criminal justice. It is clear that until Black lives matter, we cannot have meaningful and Cardozo clinic students provided direct Donors.....................................................................15 criminal justice reform. representation or critical assistance. The Innocence Project’s groundbreaking use Board of Directors...............................................26 Because 2020 has powerfully reminded us of how much work remains to be done, the Innocence of DNA technology to free innocent people Project is redoubling its commitment to freeing the staggering number of innocent people in prison has provided irrefutable proof that wrongful Staff ..........................................................................27 and to reforming the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment. convictions are not isolated or rare events, The year 2020 is also a time of transition for the Innocence Project. At the end of 2019, we bid farewell but instead arise from systemic defects. to our long-time executive director, Maddy deLone. In September 2020, we welcomed Christina Now an independent nonprofit organization Swarns as the Innocence Project’s new executive director. Her years of experience fighting injustice closely affiliated with Cardozo School of make her the ideal person to lead our organization forward notwithstanding these uncertain times. Law at Yeshiva University, the Innocence Project’s mission is to free the staggering The Innocence Project relies on our partnership with our friends and supporters whose generous number of innocent people who remain giving makes it possible for us to continue the fight for fairness and equality in the years ahead. We incarcerated and to bring substantive are in it for the long haul—and we know that it will get harder before it gets easier. But because of the reform to the system responsible for their abiding generosity of our donors, we can and will continue our pursuit of justice, and we will come out unjust imprisonment. ahead on the other side. Jack Taylor Peter J. Neufeld Barry C. Scheck Christina Swarns Board Chair Co-Founder Co-Founder Executive Director 3 A Record-Breaking Year for Policy In 2019, the Innocence Project achieved record policy reform success, bringing millions of people under protection of laws designed to identify, rectify and prevent wrongful conviction. With our partners, we won 21 major policy reforms in 17 states, and we’ll be fighting for even more in the coming year. OngoingOnon policy pol refor apans reform campaigns PolOnon refor pol wns refor n 2019 apans and onon apans PolicyPol reform refor wins wns n 2019 and onon apans in 2019 and ongoing campaigns Changing Laws and Practices n n n n New York, Virginia and Michigan Connecticut, Nebraska and Illinois Nevada and Oklahoma mandated Pennsylvania, Iowa and Oregon made improved rules that require passed laws to track incentivized electronic recording of police more people eligible for post- prosecutors to share evidence with jailhouse informant testimony interrogations. conviction DNA testing. defendants before a trial or plea offer. and evaluate informant reliability n n Indiana, Nevada and Ohio created Kansas created the nation’s first n before trial. Michigan and Nevada established or improved laws to financially closed-case task force to use n the statutory right to re-open California, New Mexico, Oklahoma compensate exonerated people. new DNA testing results to identify convictions based on problems with and Virginia improved police possible wrongful convictions. forensic science. practices for eyewitness identification procedures. 4 5 “It took 30 years to get it right, but life is just starting.” – Huwe Burton In 1989, 16-year-old Huwe With the Office of the from two other individuals just HuweBurton returned to his Bronx Bronx District Burton Attorney’s three months prior to Huwe’s home and discovered his mother Conviction Integrity Unit arrest. Finally, additional newly had been murdered. Two days (CIU), the Innocence Project discovered evidence supported later, Huwe falsely confessed pursued a reinvestigation of the defense theory that the to the murder during a coercive the case, applying this new murder was committed by police interrogation. Although he research to examine Huwe’s the family’s tenant, who had a immediately recanted, the trial confession. This led the Bronx history of violent crime and died court excluded expert testimony CIU to confirm that Huwe’s before Huwe’s trial. on the unreliable nature of his confession was, in fact, false confession. Huwe was wrongfully and unreliable—a product of Based on this irrefutable convicted and spent 19 years in the psychologically coercive evidence of innocence, Bronx prison before he was released on techniques used by the Supreme Court Justice Steven parole in 2009. detectives who interviewed Barrett exonerated Huwe in Huwe. January 2019. Huwe’s case Over the course of the nearly and subsequent exoneration 30 years since Huwe’s arrest, The joint reinvestigation also underscore the value of a substantial body of scientific uncovered evidence that new scientific research on and scholarly research has been the detectives who elicited false confessions and the conducted on the factors that Huwe’s false confession also steps that can be taken to can produce false confessions. obtained false confessions avoid dangerously coercive interrogation techniques. Since his exoneration, Huwe has been traveling around the country sharing the story of his wrongful conviction. In November 2019, Huwe ran the TCS New York City Marathon with one of his Innocence Project attorneys, Susan Friedman. PHOTO: LACY ATKINS 6 7 “I’m one of the fortunate ones who actually got the opportunity to prove that I wasn’t responsible for the crimes I was in prison for, but there are thousands—literally tens of thousands—more people in this country who are wrongfully imprisoned and whose voices are being silenced.” – Steven Mark Chaney Steven Mark Chaney In 1987, Steven Mark Chaney mark analysis in Steven’s It was Steven’s case in was sentenced to life in conviction and concluding particular, however, that prison for a murder he did not that such testimony would prompted the Texas Forensic commit. Although he had nine not be admissible evidence Science Commission to launch alibi witnesses at his in court today. a six-month investigation trial, Steven was convicted of bite mark analysis and to based on the unscientific Steven’s case is one ultimately recommend the testimony of forensic dentists example of the ongoing work nation’s first moratorium on “matching” him to a supposed the Innocence Project’s the technique in criminal trials. bite mark on the victim. It strategic litigation team And, since any conviction took more than 30 years leads to eliminate the use resting on the technique is before the Texas Court of of bite mark analysis. The inherently unreliable, the Texas Criminal Appeals declared technique —which is still Forensic Science Commission Steven “actually innocent.” being used in pending is currently conducting an In its decision, the court criminal cases nationwide, audit into all Texas convictions cited extensively to the 2009 including several capital resulting from bite mark National Academy of Science cases—has been a evidence—a feat that would report, “Strengthening contributing factor in at least not have been possible Forensic Science in the United 30 exoneration

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