2024 in Review: A Year of Heartbreak, Hope, and Resilience in the Fight for Justice

1. Robert Roberson receives a temporary reprieve 

Robert Roberson, convicted under the discredited “shaken baby syndrome” (SBS) hypothesis, narrowly avoided execution on Oct. 17. A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers issued a subpoena for him to testify after his scheduled execution, prompting the Texas Supreme Court to issue a temporary stay. Although the court later lifted the stay, Mr. Roberson’s legal team continues to fight for a full review of the compelling evidence of his innocence as a new execution date looms.

2. Marcellus Williams: Millions Advocated, But Justice Failed

On Sept. 24, Marcellus Williams was executed in Missouri despite evidence of his innocence and the support of Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, who sought to vacate his conviction. Mr. Williams’ story touched the hearts of many, including actress Helen Mirren, who recited one of his poems on national television, renewing calls to abolish the death penalty.

3. Anti-death penalty advocate Kirk Bloodsworth receives the Champion of Justice Award

At the Innocence Project’s gala this year, we honored anti-death penalty advocate and exoneree Kirk Bloodsworth with the Champion of Justice Award. Mr. Bloodsworth, who was the first person exonerated from death row through post-conviction DNA testing, successfully advocated for Illinois’ death penalty moratorium and the Innocence Protection Act of 2004. He also helped abolish the death penalty in Washington and Maryland. He continues to support exonerees through his jewelry company, Bloodstones, with a mission to make handcrafted silver rings for each of the 597 innocent people who were exonerated by DNA testing. “You have to get up, sit up, hold your head up and never give up,” Mr. Bloodsworth said while receiving his award. 

4. Marvin Grimm, Jr. is exonerated after 45 Years, Longest Wrongful Incarceration of Any Innocence Project client 

In June, Marvin Grimm, Jr.,  who spent 45 years wrongly incarcerated — more time in prison than any client exonerated by the Innocence Project — was exonerated. He had been released in 2020 on parole and required to register as a sex offender despite his innocence.

Mr. Grimm’s 1976 conviction hinged on a false confession, which was coerced under the threat of the death penalty, and on forensic evidence linked to a senior forensic analyst whose work has been mired in controversy for the last two decades.

“Mr. Grimm was his own best advocate, seeking DNA testing in the 1980s before the power of DNA to expose wrongful convictions was fully recognized,” said Susan Friedman, Mr. Grimm’s former Innocence Project attorney.

Years of post-conviction litigation by the Innocence Project, as well as lobbying efforts by the Innocence Project’s policy department to change Virginia laws allowing access to the post-conviction DNA testing in his case, revealed new evidence of Mr. Grimm’s innocence.

5.  Sandra Hemme Was Exonerated After 44-Year Battle to Prove Her Innocence

Forty-four years after she was falsely accused of a 1980 murder, Sandra Hemme was exonerated on Dec. 3. Ms. Hemme’s exoneration follows her July 19, 2024 release after more than four decades in prison. She was the longest-known wrongly incarcerated woman in American history.

Earlier this year, Livingston County Circuit Court Judge Ryan Horsman granted Ms. Hemme’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, finding that her due process rights were violated during her 1985 trial for murder and that she had proven actual innocence during an evidentiary hearing held last January. In October, the Western District of the Missouri Court of Criminal Appeals issued an emphatic and unanimous decision denying Missouri Attorney General’s appeal of Judge Horsman’s decision, and ordered Ms. Hemme be unconditionally released from the charges unless the state filed to retry her within ten days. That deadline passed and, on Tuesday, Dec. 3, Judge Horsman issued an order permanently and unconditionally vacating Ms. Hemme’s conviction and sentence, ending the case. Sandy is grateful to be spending the holidays surrounded by her family for the first time in over four decades.

6. Renay Lynch, exonerated after 26 years, becomes the 250th Innocence Project victory 

In January, Renay Lynch was exonerated in Buffalo, NY nearly 26 years after she was wrongly convicted for the 1995 murder and robbery of her landlord. Her exoneration came after post-conviction re-examination of crime scene fingerprint evidence, which law enforcement previously withheld from the defense, pointed to another person as the attacker. 

“I have waited 26 years for this day to come,” said Ms. Lynch on the day of her exoneration. “That’s days without seeing my children grow up, days without holding my grandchildren, days that I will never get back. I’m grateful to finally have this weight lifted.”

7. Rosa Jimenez receives a life-saving kidney transplant

A decade into her wrongful incarceration in Texas, Rosa Jimenez, then 33 years old, was diagnosed with kidney disease, which later progressed to end-stage. Months after her release in 2021, she began dialysis and was in need of a life-saving kidney transplant.

In September, Ms. Jimenez received a transplant from a generous, anonymous kidney donor touched by her story at Weill Cornell Medical, a hospital in New York City. 

“I have no words to thank him,” she told the Texas Monthly about her experience.

8. Four exonerees cast their first presidential votes

Following decades of wrongful incarceration, Marvin Grimm, Jr.,  Jabar Walker,  Renay Lynch, and Norberto Peets were able to vote  in their first presidential election this year. 

“I’m part of something. I’m going to let my voice be heard,” Mr. Peets said, reflecting on his incredible journey from being wrongly convicted to becoming a U.S. citizen just days before the election. 

9. Termaine Hicks runs the NYC Marathon with his attorney

In November, Termaine Hicks and Innocence Project attorney Vanessa Potkin completed the New York City Marathon together. 

Mr. Hicks, who started his marathon training over the summer, is no stranger to long-distance running. While incarcerated in Pennsylvania, he participated in “run-a-thons,” grueling events that involved circling the prison yard track 126 times to complete the equivalent of a marathon. 

This marathon journey was particularly special because of his bond with Ms. Potkin, the Innocence Project lawyer who fought for his exoneration. 

Mr. Hicks and Ms. Potkin were joined by 11 other runners on Innocence Project’s marathon team, including Senior Paralegal Kanani Schnider, who together raised more than $37,000.

10. Acclaimed Brazilian artist Vik Muniz honors exonerees with striking portraits 

In one of Vik Muniz’s latest works, “Portraits of Freedom,” the dignity and resilience of four exonerees who endured decades of wrongful conviction are communicated in the most unexpected but remarkable way: through thousands of carefully arranged date scraps.

A believer in the transformative nature of art, Mr. Muniz uses unconventional materials, such as chocolate, sugar, and junk, to create powerful works often representing people on the margins of society. After meeting with a group of Innocence Project clients in our Tribeca office, the critically acclaimed artist was inspired to create a series of portraits that honor their dignity, grace, and resilience. Take a look.

11. Bindle & Keep’s partnership with the Innocence Project is featured in the New York Times 

Since 2016, the benevolent tailors at Bindle & Keep have made 50 custom suits pro bono for Innocence Project clients. 

“We hope the suits help exonerees feel more confident and empowered,” Ashley Merriman, a partner at Bindle & Keep, told the New York Times.. “We want to provide an experience where they feel seen and heard, and where they have the agency to pick out their own clothing,” 

For Carlton Lewis, one of the exonerees who received a suit, his fitting at Bindle & Keep was “mind-blowing” because there had been many times in prison when he had imagined himself doing “what a regular man is supposed to be doing in life.”

Read the New York Times feature on this special collaboration. 

12. Seven reforms passed, including significant improvements to compensation for exonerees and proclamations recognizing Wrongful Conviction Day 

Among the seven reforms in 2024, we helped secure a compensation bill in Connecticut that ensures that individuals exonerated on grounds consistent with innocence are eligible for compensation. We also collaborated with partners in Kentucky, Indiana, and Florida to secure local proclamations and resolutions recognizing Wrongful Conviction Day. These measures reflect a city or county’s commitment to justice and provides opportunities to educate communities and elected officials about the profound impact of wrongful convictions on exonerees and their families.

Thank you for standing with us throughout 2024. Together, we’ve celebrated incredible victories, mourned tragic losses, and reaffirmed our commitment to justice. The fight continues.