Support Oregon Exonerees

Call lawmakers 971-417-2187 and urge them to support Senate Bill 1515 which would free innocent Oregonians and ensure they receive the compensation they deserve.

Since 1989, over 40 innocent Oregonians have been exonerated. However, gaps in our laws continue to keep innocent people behind bars – and deny compensation to those who have successfully fought for their freedom.

Senate Bill 1515 aims to deliver justice to wrongfully convicted Oregonians.

• The bill would improve the state’s compensation statute so exonerees no longer face lengthy and onerous processes to receive the compensation they deserve.
• It would also give innocent Oregonians an opportunity to challenge their wrongful conviction if their case involved discredited methods — like hair microscopy, bite mark analysis, or comparative bullet lead analysis.

In Oregon, false or misleading forensic evidence is a contributing factor in 42% of known exonerations. In one case, Phillip Scott Cannon was wrongfully convicted of a 1998 murder and sentenced at age 32 to three life sentences without parole. At the trial, prosecutors and a ballistics expert testified that comparative bullet lead analysis (CBLA) proved the bullets in the victims came from Mr. Cannon’s home.

In 2009, Mr. Cannon was granted a new trial in part because his attorney had failed to challenge the CBLA analysis. This followed the FBI’s decision to stop using CBLA in 2005 after a National Academy of Sciences report found significant issues with the method.

Mr. Cannon was exonerated in 2009 after losing over 11 years of his liberty to a crime he did not commit. 

SB 1515 would give wrongfully convicted Oregonians a viable path to freedom and ensure they receive the compensation they deserve.

Take action: Contact your representative and tell them to support Oregon exonerees.

This campaign is in partnership with the Forensic Justice Project and Oregon Innocence Project.