Thank you for supporting the Ohio Innocence Project Spring Fundraiser!

Because of your generous support, we have exceeded our fundraising goal of $200,000, raising $218,190! Throughout the duration of this campaign, we received 298 gifts, from 27 states, and even a few gifts from individuals outside of the US, as far as Italy and the United Kingdom. Our campaign website received 3,658 unique views, spreading the word near and far about OIP's work.

We sincerely appreciate your support.

The Ohio Innocence Project has now freed 30 Ohioans on grounds of innocence, who together served more than 580 years in prison for crimes they didn't commit.

Your generous support has made it possible for the Ohio Innocence Project to:

• Start 10 OIP undergraduate chapters at Ohio Universities. These chapters are an active network of students groups that are helping to raise awareness to the issue of wrongful conviction

• Educate hundreds of people all across Ohio about the negative implications of wrongful convictions and the need for lasting criminal justice reform

• Provide fellowships for 22 OIP student fellows during the 2019/20 academic year and 21 OIP student fellows the upcoming academic year who work with OIP’s staff attorneys to prove the innocence of their clients

• Rank among the most successful projects in the Innocence Network

Thank you, again, for supporting our Spring Fundraiser. 

The following article has some excellent reporting on the extraordinary lengths required of OIP to get two clients released during this pandemic who were at high risk for COVID-19. WVXU interviewed OIP's two newly released clients, Christopher Smith and Isaiah Andrews, and they talk about their fears, joys and need for patience.

https://www.wvxu.org/post/out-prison-not-really-free-getting-exonerated-era-covid-19#stream/0

On Friday, May 1, 2020, a judge in Cleveland threw out the conviction of longtime OIP client Isaiah Andrews, who has sadly served nearly 46 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit.  Today, on May 6, 2020, he is finally free.

Andrews has maintained his innocence since the 1975 trial. Andrews is high-risk for contracting COVID-19, and the virus was taking over the prison he was in. A report issued Friday by the United Nations showed the fatality rate from COVID-19 for those over age 80 at five times the global average, putting Andrews in a high-risk category since he is 82 years old.

The OIP became involved in the case in 2015 and filed several public records requests with the City of Cleveland for police reports and other documents from the case. Their initial request was for DNA testing. The City of Cleveland never fulfilled that request, but the lawyers received the reports identifying a different suspect when the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office and the prosecutor’s office handed over complete copies of their case files of the case. A new trial was granted for Andrews after finding that a Cleveland police report that detailed evidence that pointed to another man, William Watts, was never provided at the original trial. 

If you would like to learn more about Isaiah Andrews and his case, please read the following article:

https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2020/05/n20912791.html

The OIP has now freed 30 Ohioans on grounds of innocence, who together served more than 580 years in prison for crimes they didn't commit.  OIP has continued to do incredible work throughout this pandemic, and that is evident with the release of Christopher and Isaiah within the past month. Thank you for supporting the work of OIP and making this possible.

After languishing in prison for 12 years for a crime in which DNA evidence implicated another perpetrator, Christopher Smith walked free on April 14 with help from University of Cincinnati law students, professors and attorneys with the Ohio Innocence Project. Christopher has an underlying medical condition, making him high-risk for contracting COVID-19, and the virus surfaced at the prison. Luckily, the OIP was able to get him freed before that could happen.

Christopher is the 29th person freed on the basis of innocence by the OIP, and collectively, OIP's clients have served more than 540 years in prison for crimes they did not commit.

Congratulations to Christopher on his much deserved, and long-sought freedom!

Here is an article if you would like to read additional details about his case:

https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2020/04/n20907729.html?fbclid=IwAR3_N87kG3Nuk9YOVop0oAchHCNQ8RYKmsbvsyEw-w7BjN6WtlR9mstakH4