Dewey Bozella
Speaking topics: Undisclosed Evidence, Wrongful Conviction
Dewey Bozella served 26 years in New York prisons for a crime he didn’t commit before he was cleared and released in 2009.
Bozella was arrested for a 1977 burglary and murder of a 92-year-old woman, but the charges were dropped because there was no evidence linking him to the crime. He was rearrested for the crime six years later after two prison informants told prosecutors that Bozella committed the murder. Based solely on those informants’ testimonies, Bozella was wrongfully convicted. Attorneys at the Innocence Project and WilmerHale uncovered exculpatory evidence that was never turned over to Bozella’s defense team. Based on this, he was exonerated and freed. Bozella now teaches boxing skills and discipline to young people. His dream is to one day open his own gym. For his triumph over adversity, he was given the 2011 ESPY Arthur Ashe Courage Award. He serves on the Innocence Project Exoneree Advisory Council.