Speakers Bureau
We connect wrongful conviction experts with schools, colleges, companies, and organizations around the world. Our team of inspiring speakers includes people who were incarcerated for crimes they did not commit and staff members each working to correct wrongful convictions and prevent future injustices. Want to book a speaker? Please fill out our online form.
Book a SpeakerFeatured Speaker
Adnan Sultan
Adnan Sultan is a staff attorney at the Innocence Project. He litigates post-conviction cases nationwide on behalf of individuals seeking access to DNA testing and relief from wrongful convictions.
Adnan Sultan
Speaking topics: DNA, Litigation
Adnan Sultan is a staff attorney at the Innocence Project. He litigates post-conviction cases nationwide on behalf of individuals seeking access to DNA testing and relief from wrongful convictions, and has instructed law students as part of the Innocence Project clinic at Cardozo.
Prior to joining the Innocence Project, he worked as a staff attorney at The Bronx Defenders for five where he represented thousands of clients charged with misdemeanors and felony crimes from arraignments to trial. In addition, he was a member of the Bronx Defenders’ Forensic Practice Group where he consulted with attorneys and conducted trainings on DNA evidence. Before working at the Bronx Defenders, Adnan was a Prettyman Fellow at Georgetown Law School, where he both represented clients charged with misdemeanor and felony crimes in D.C. Superior Court and supervised third-year law students in Georgetown’s Criminal Justice Clinic. He graduated from American University’s Washington College of Law.
Carlos Sanchez
Carlos Sanchez was only 17 when, after an eight-hour interrogation by police without a lawyer or guardian present, he signed a confession taking responsibility for the 1992 murder of his girlfriend - a crime he did not commit.
Carlos Sanchez
Speaking topics: Coerced Confession, Social Justice, Wrongful Conviction
Carlos Sanchez spent nearly 25 years—more than half of his life— in prison for a murder he and his attorneys maintain he did not commit before he was granted parole in January 2017 and released in May 2017.
Sanchez was only 17 when, after an eight-hour interrogation by police without a lawyer or guardian present, he signed a confession taking responsibility for the 1992 murder of his girlfriend. The confession was the only evidence linking him to the crime, and it was taken under circumstances now known to be associated with false confessions. The statement was also at odds with physical evidence collected in the case.
Johnny Hincapie
In 1990, 18-year-old Johnny Hincapie was wrongfully convicted in the murder case of Brian Watkins in New York. Hincapie falsely confessed to the attack after he was physically coerced by an investigator on the case.
Johnny Hincapie
Speaking topics: Coerced Confession
“I believe that the innocent should be separated from any and all prosecutions in our judicial system. No correlation should exist. Having a separated agency that reviews and impartially declares innocence would eliminate wrongful convictions forever.”
In 1990, 18-year-old Johnny Hincapie was wrongfully convicted in the murder case of Brian Watkins in New York. Hincapie falsely confessed to the attack after he was physically intimidated and psychologically coerced by an investigator on the case. Hincapie testified that the cop beat him and yelled racial slurs. In 2015, based on new testimony from two witnesses as well as a co-defendant who said that Hincapie was not involved in the attack, a New York judge overturned his conviction. Hincapie was exonerated after he spent 25 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Today, Johnny—a gifted speaker—shares his powerful story along with education on coerced confessions and criminal justice reform at organizations across the United States.
Termaine Hicks
Speaking topics: DNA, False Accusation, False ID
“Life has a way of making lemons into lemonade. The challenges I have faced throughout my life have exposed me to similar situations our youth are facing today. Most people can’t identify with their pain; I can. As a survivor of gun violence and watching peers be bullied, I’ve made it my life mission to bring awareness to how important it is for individuals to S.T.E.P.U.P.!”
Termaine Hicks spent 19 years in prison after Philadelphia police shot him three times in the back while responding to a woman who had been attacked, deliberately planted a gun on him, and wrongly arrested him for the attack. The Innocence Project took on Termaine’s case in 2011 and pursued DNA testing. On December 16, 2020, Termaine’s conviction was overturned based on exculpatory DNA evidence and the finding that the officers had lied under oath at his trial. Termaine is now a national speaker against wrongful convictions, gun violence, and the challenges faced by our youth. He is also a volunteer at the Juvenile Justice Center.
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Book a SpeakerBook a speaker online, or call 212.364.5384 for more information.