News

Articles Media Room
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

07.08.26

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

When freedom is finally restored, when a promise is finally delivered on, often many decades later, is belief in our constitutional principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness restored too?

Learn More

Topics

Advocacy Death Penalty Litigation Official Misconduct Opinion Press Release Science Stories Transparency & Accountability

All articles

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Portraits of a Promise Broken and Restored

Special Feature 07.08.26 by Daniele Selby with contributed reporting by Alyxaundria Sanford, Mrinali Dhembla, and Ishikaa Kothari

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Portraits of a Promise Broken and Restored

Special Feature 07.08.26 by Daniele Selby with contributed reporting by Alyxaundria Sanford, Mrinali Dhembla, and Ishikaa Kothari

Attorney Statement: Louisiana Supreme Court Affirms Lower Court’s Ruling Vacating Conviction of Jimmie “Chris” Duncan

Attorney Statement: Louisiana Supreme Court Affirms Lower Court’s Ruling Vacating Conviction of Jimmie “Chris” Duncan

Mr. Duncan wrongly spent 27 years on Louisiana's death row for a crime that never occurred.

06.29.26 by Innocence Staff

Photo: Jamal Barnes/Innocence Project

Mr. Duncan wrongly spent 27 years on Louisiana's death row for a crime that never occurred.

06.29.26 by Innocence Staff

This Police Method Is Used to Infer Guilt From 911 Calls, But It’s Not Backed by Science

This Police Method Is Used to Infer Guilt From 911 Calls, But It’s Not Backed by Science

Research shows that how you sound on a 911 call can determine whether police treat you as a victim or a perpetrator.

06.15.26 by Alyxaundria Sanford

Audio Waveform Visual on Computer Screen (Image: Envato)

Research shows that how you sound on a 911 call can determine whether police treat you as a victim or a perpetrator.

06.15.26 by Alyxaundria Sanford

8 Defining Moments from the Innocence Project’s 2026 Gala — Free At Last: A Celebration of Freedom and Justice

8 Defining Moments from the Innocence Project’s 2026 Gala — Free At Last: A Celebration of Freedom and Justice

A powerful performance, testimonies from exonerees, honoring champions of justice, and a surprise win for a particularly deserving guest.

05.29.26 by Ishikaa Kothari

Banners celebrating exonerees Scott Minton and Marvin Grimm, Jr. at the 2025

A powerful performance, testimonies from exonerees, honoring champions of justice, and a surprise win for a particularly deserving guest.

05.29.26 by Ishikaa Kothari

Three Men Are Exonerated in Philadelphia After 28 Years of Wrongful Conviction

Three Men Are Exonerated in Philadelphia After 28 Years of Wrongful Conviction

Newly discovered forensic evidence undermines the prosecution’s entire case.

Press Release 05.26.26 by Innocence Staff

Jermal Shuler and his legal team on May 26, 2026, following his exoneration and release after 28 years of wrongful conviction in Pennsylvania. Left to right: Exoneration Project Executive Director and attorney Tara Thompson, Innocence Project Senior Staff Attorney Angie Louie, Jermal Shuler, and Innocence Project Paralegal Liv Chalfin. (Image: Laura Granese/Colibri Workshop for the Innocence Project)

Newly discovered forensic evidence undermines the prosecution’s entire case.

Press Release 05.26.26 by Innocence Staff

8 Facts About James Genrich’s Case You Need to Know

8 Facts About James Genrich’s Case You Need to Know

Mr. Genrich’s murder charges were dismissed in April after 34 years, but he remains incarcerated.

News 05.13.26 by Innocence Staff

Jimmy Genrich, represented by the Innocence Project.

Mr. Genrich’s murder charges were dismissed in April after 34 years, but he remains incarcerated.

News 05.13.26 by Innocence Staff

He Wasn’t Supposed to Work Her Trial. Now He’s Part of the Reason She’s Free.

He Wasn’t Supposed to Work Her Trial. Now He’s Part of the Reason She’s Free.

A courthouse bailiff’s chance assignment led to a 20-year fight to free Carmen Mejia, an innocent woman in Texas.

05.07.26 by Alyxaundria Sanford

Carmen Mejia meets with Art Guerrero for the first time since her exoneration, in Austin, Texas, on April 30, 2026. Montinique Monroe for the Innocence Project

A courthouse bailiff’s chance assignment led to a 20-year fight to free Carmen Mejia, an innocent woman in Texas.

05.07.26 by Alyxaundria Sanford

My First Death Penalty Case Is Now a Broadway Play. Decades Later, This Story Still Matters.

My First Death Penalty Case Is Now a Broadway Play. Decades Later, This Story Still Matters.

Nick Yarris' case is one in which the truth sounds stranger than fiction, but so many wrongful conviction cases are.

Op-Ed 05.06.26 by Christina Swarns

Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson in

Nick Yarris' case is one in which the truth sounds stranger than fiction, but so many wrongful conviction cases are.

Op-Ed 05.06.26 by Christina Swarns

Batson Was Supposed to End Racially Biased Jury Selection. 40 Years Later Its Promise Is Unfulfilled.

Batson Was Supposed to End Racially Biased Jury Selection. 40 Years Later Its Promise Is Unfulfilled.

The Supreme Court ruling requires prosecutors to offer race-neutral explanations for excluding jurors. But is that enough?

04.30.26 by Alyxaundria Sanford

Tommy Lee Walker (1935–1956) — A 19-year-old Black man and new father, Walker was convicted in 1954 of killing Venice Lorraine Parker near Love Field in Dallas and executed in 1956. He was posthumously exonerated on January 21, 2026, by the Dallas County Commissioners Court following a joint reinvestigation by Dallas County’s Conviction Integrity Unit, the Innocence Project, and the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project that found egregious constitutional violations. Credit: Image courtesy of the Dallas History & Archives Division, Dallas Public Library.

The Supreme Court ruling requires prosecutors to offer race-neutral explanations for excluding jurors. But is that enough?

04.30.26 by Alyxaundria Sanford

Five Facts About DNA Testing and Wrongful Convictions in 2026

Five Facts About DNA Testing and Wrongful Convictions in 2026

DNA testing has contributed to over 600 exonerations since 1989.

04.29.26 by Ishikaa Kothari

Five Facts About DNA Testing and Wrongful Convictions in 2026

DNA testing has contributed to over 600 exonerations since 1989.

04.29.26 by Ishikaa Kothari

'The Fear of 13' Brings Wrongful Conviction to Broadway

'The Fear of 13' Brings Wrongful Conviction to Broadway

The Innocence Project partnered on the new play, starring Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson, which tells the story of Pennsylvania death row exoneree Nick Yarris.

04.16.26 by Alyxaundria Sanford

Adrien Brody and Tessa Thomspon in

The Innocence Project partnered on the new play, starring Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson, which tells the story of Pennsylvania death row exoneree Nick Yarris.

04.16.26 by Alyxaundria Sanford

Jimmy Genrich’s 1993 Murder Charges Dismissed

Jimmy Genrich’s 1993 Murder Charges Dismissed

Mr. Genrich has spent 34 years wrongfully convicted of murder based on invalidated toolmark evidence, and now remains incarcerated on lesser charges due to a filing deadline technicality.

04.13.26 by Innocence Staff

Jimmy Genrich, represented by the Innocence Project.

Mr. Genrich has spent 34 years wrongfully convicted of murder based on invalidated toolmark evidence, and now remains incarcerated on lesser charges due to a filing deadline technicality.

04.13.26 by Innocence Staff

Leverage your voice for criminal justice reform.

Get Involved

We've helped free more than 250 innocent people from prison. Support our work to strengthen and advance the innocence movement.

Give MonthlyDonate Once