Click on the image to the left, or HERE, to access a list of books from our library that you can use for this project.  All books will be available in your classroom.

OR USE A PROFILE FROM BELOW FROM THE INNOCENCE PROJECT

Jonathan Barr was just 14 years old when a girl in his town in Illinois was the victim of a murder.  There were no leads at all in the case for almost a year.  Then, one day, a 15-year old classmate told police that Jonathan Barr told him that he saw the girl with three male classmates the day of her murder.  The police brought in those boys, along with Barr, for questioning.   The police separated the boys and demanded they implicate each other in the murder.  

When questioning was over, they had testimony enough to convict Barr and the others, since they all testified against each other in questioning.   Even though there was plenty of contradiction in their testimonies, the police pressed charges and the case was tried, and Barr and the others were all found guilty.

During the trial, the jury learned that the DNA evidence was inconclusive, but they convicted Jonathan anyway.  

For years, the young mens' attorneys argued for new DNA testing and for access to all the results of the initial DNA tests.  It took years and a new judge to order the police to show its evidence and retest.  When they did, they learned the DNA actually matched someone else who was already in jail.

Barr was freed and now works in the trucking industry.  

Christopher Ochoa was working at a Pizza Hut in Austin, Texas back in 1988.  One night, an employee was killed at work during a robbery.  The police interviewed all Pizza Hut employees and were eager to solve the case.  The police intensely pressured Ochoa and another employee to confess, and threatened them with the death penalty.  Ochoa's own lawyer pressured him to confess, even though the lawyer's primary responsibility was to protect his client and uphold the truth that Ochoa was innocent.  Ochoa confessed to the crime, was convicted, and spent 13 years in prison.  

Meanwhile, the actual killer, who was in jail for a another crime, confessed to the murder.  The Innocence Project helped by researching and proving the DNA tests that lead to Ochoa's conviction were not accurate.  Further DNA testing confirmed that true killer was not Ochoa, and he was exonerated.  

Ochoa held a series of low-paying jobs after his release and struggled financially, emotionally, and physically.  However, as he began to heal from his experience, he decided to go to law school, and graduated in 2006.  As an attorney, Ochoa works to defend innocent and vulnerable people and stand up for justice for all. 

Damon Thibodeaux was wrongfully convicted in the murder of his own cousin.  The police were interested in speaking to all relatives of the victim, and asked Thibodeaux to take a polygraph test.  The police reported that he faile the polygraph, although there was no actual evidence of this from the police.

The police were able to find two witnesses who gave false testimony about seeing Thibodeaux pacing back and forth near where they found the body.

After nine hours of interrogation, Thibodeaux gave a confession, although police only recorded 54 minutes of the interrogation.  No one knows what the police said, or did, in the remaining eight hours of the interrogation.

Despite any physical evidence linking Thibodeaux to the crime, he was sentenced to death row in Louisiana.  

The Innocence Project worked hard to research the case, and were able to prove that Thibodeaux's confession was false, as was the testimony of those who claimed they saw him near the body.  Thibodeaux was exonerated.

After his release, Thibodeaux went to work for the lawyers who helped him through The Innocence Project.  Thibodeaux is a speaker and activist for wrongful conviction reform.  He has said,  “The best part of my day, no matter how good the rest of my day is, is when I wake up every morning and I don’t see those bars.”

In May 1992, two men were shot in Chicago.  Two police officers randomly arrested Marilyn Mulero and a friend.  Mulero was questioned for nine hours and not given access to a lawyer.

After nine hours without sleep or any help, Mulero signed a prepared statement taking responsibility for both murders.  Her state-appointed attorney entered a guilty plea on her behalf, without even consulting her.  This meant that she would not even be granted a trial!

A friend of Murlero's, who was responsible for the murder, told police that Mulero planned and carried out the attacks.  Then, two police officers, who wanted to secure a conviction, made up evidence against her to support this false testimony.

It wasn't until decades later that the Innoncence Project helped by asking a judge to reconsider the case.  The evidence against Mulero was found to be false, and she was released.