‘Like a Family Reunion’: Reflections from the 2025 Innocence Network Conference in Seattle

Connection, creativity, and courage defined this year’s conference.

04.18.25 By Alyxaundria Sanford

Freed and exonerated community members celebrate at the 2025 Innocence Network Conference in Seattle. (Photo: Lyra Photography for Innocence Project)

Each year, the Innocence Network Conference brings together the people most deeply affected by wrongful convictions — freed and exonerated individuals, their families, and the advocates fighting for justice. It’s part strategy session, part healing circle, and part long-awaited family reunion. And this year’s conference was no different. More than 1,100 people from across the country convened in Seattle from April 3 – 5 united through connection, creativity, and collective power.

“The theme is always just power in our community, and celebrating the time that we have together. Really utilizing the opportunity of all being together to figure out new and different ways to harness our power,” said Meredith Kennedy, director of the Innocence Network Support Unit — the team at the Innocence Project that plans and executes the annual conference.

With 285 freed and exonerated people in attendance — including 90 experiencing the conference for the first time — every session was charged with emotional weight and filled with warmth, gratitude, and solidarity.

“It’s almost like a family reunion — you catch up, ask how the family’s doing. That’s the part I look forward to most,” said Manager of Events and Engagement Shoshanah Kennedy, who has now attended and helped organize 10 Innocence Network conferences.

This year’s conference, made possible in part by support from Relativity, Clio, GoFundMe and Ben & Jerry’s, reflected the growing network of partners committed to supporting the innocence movement.

Here are this year’s standout moments.

AI Expert Alondra Nelson Gives Powerful Keynote on Artificial Intelligence

Innocence Project Board Member Alondra Nelson delivers keynote address that the 2025 Innocence Network Conference in Seattle. (Photo: Lyra Photography for Innocence Project)

Innocence Project Board Member Alondra Nelson gave a compelling keynote speech about the shortcomings and risks of artificial intelligence in law enforcement surveillance. Ms. Nelson was joined in conversation with other experts, University of Washington School of Law Professor Mary Fan, Chair and Executive Director of Secure Justice Brian Hofer, Executive Director of The Innocence Center Michael Semanchik, and Robert Williams, who was the first known person wrongly arrested as a result of facial recognition technology.

Texas Legislators Receive The Champion of Justice Award

Texas Legislators Receive The Champion of Justice Award

The opening ceremony set the tone for a weekend rooted in courage, storytelling, and collective resilience. A moving awards ceremony honored those who have shaped the fight for justice — including the Texas House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence, which was the recipient of the Champion of Justice Award for its extraordinary and bipartisan intervention that halted the execution of Robert Roberson.

Freed and Exonerated People Share Stories of Triumph

At the annual Moth storytelling session, freed and exonerated people, including Belynda Goff and Leonard Mack, took the stage to share powerful, personal stories.

Leonard Mack performs at The Moth storytelling session at the 2025 Innocence Network Conference in Seattle. (Photo: Lyra Photography for Innocence Project)

Belynda Goff performs at The Moth storytelling session at the 2025 Innocence Network Conference in Seattle. (Photo: Lyra Photography for Innocence Project)

Healing in Every Form

Healing in Every Form

This year’s conference offered intentional spaces for healing — including pet therapy, art sessions, and guided journaling — designed to support not only freed and exonerated individuals, but also the families, caregivers, and advocates who walk alongside them. These restorative moments acknowledged the emotional toll of wrongful conviction and the lifelong journey of healing that follows.

Amanda Knox Hosts Celebration of Exonerees

Amanda Knox — who spent nearly four years in an Italian prison before her wrongful conviction was overturned — received this year’s Network Impact Award in recognition of her ongoing advocacy for the wrongfully convicted. She also hosted the Introduction of Freed and Exonerated Community Members, a powerful gathering that honored all 285 freed and exonerated people in attendance. Together, they served over 5,000 years of unjust incarceration. Her performance later in the evening with the Exoneree Band and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready landed a Rolling Stone feature.