See the First Moments of Freedom for Kevin Bailey and Malcolm Alexander–Both Freed Yesterday!

(January 31,2019) Yesterday, for the first time in Innocence Project history, two clients were exonerated and released in unrelated cases on the same day. In fact, within an hour of one another, our clients Kevin Bailey in Chicago and Malcolm Alexander in Jefferson Parish were exonerated and released from prison. Both men lost decades of their lives for crimes that they didn’t commit. Check out some of yesterday’s exciting and emotional moments as each of the men were reunited with their families and celebrated by their legal teams.

Bailey, represented by the Innocence Project and the People’s Law Office, was cleared of a 1989 murder conviction for which he spent almost 30 years wrongfully incarcerated. DNA testing from the crime scene and other evidence proved that Bailey and his codefendant Corey Batchelor were physically coerced into falsely confessing. Batchelor, represented by the Exoneration Project and the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth, was also exonerated. Learn the details of the case here. 

Kevin Bailey (in blue) is greeted with a tight embrace from his co-defendant and friend Corey Batchelor, who was also exonerated yesterday. Photo:Zoran Orlic.

Bailey and Batchelor were both wrongfully convicted when they were 19 years old. Photo: Zoran Orlic.

Batchelor (left) and Bailey (right). Photo: Zoran Orlic.

Bailey is one of three triplets. Here he is pictured reuniting with one of them. Photo: Zoran Orlic.

Bailey, with his Innocence Project legal team which included (from left) paralegal Max Gallo, clinic student Eduardo Quiroga, social worker Karen Wolff and attorney Bryce Benjet (standing behind Bailey).

Yesterday, Alexander was proven innocent of a 1979 rape for which he was convicted based on a deeply flawed and unreliable identification procedure. He spent almost 38 years in Angola prison until DNA testing proved he’d been wrongfully convicted. Read more about his case here.

Alexander’s family and supporters cheer following the court hearing that cleared his name. Photo: Innocence Project.

Malcolm Alexander hugging his niece after his release from prison. Photo by Innocence Project New Orleans.

Malcolm Alexander, center, with his son, named Malcolm, and grandson–also named Malcolm–on the day he was exonerated. January 30, 2018. Photo: Innocence Project.

Alexander reunited with his 9-month-old puppy Inn, short for innocent on January 31, 2018. Inn lived on the Angola farm. 

“I feel beautiful. I feel happy, very happy. I feel happy for her. ‘I told you we gone’ be free.'” #MalcolmAlexander free after 38 years with his 9-month-old pup Inn https://t.co/OJjdaq0n6k pic.twitter.com/qC3CfSa0Zr

— Innocence Project (@innocence) January 31, 2018