#exoneration project

[leptoquark3]

On January 21, 2026, the Dallas County Commissioners Court unanimously adopted a resolution officially exonerating Tommy Lee Walker. This posthumous declaration came 70 years after Texas wrongfully executed him in the electric chair on May 12, 1956, at just 21 years old.Walker was arrested and tried by an all-white jury in 1954 for the rape and murder of Venice Parker.

The exoneration, led by the Dallas County District Attorney's office, the Innocence Project, and Northeastern University's Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, found that his conviction was heavily flawed.

Details of his wrongful conviction include:Coerced Confession: Walker was interrogated for hours by a detective who was a member of the Ku Klux Klan and forced to sign a false confession, which he immediately recanted.

Airtight Alibi: Walker had multiple witnesses confirming he was across town at a hospital for the birth of his son.

Racial Bias & Prosecutorial Misconduct: Prosecutors utilized inflammatory tactics, struck all prospective jurors of color, and withheld exculpatory evidence.

You can read the full resolution and details of his case reported by the Innocence Project or delve into the case's deep legal background through the Equal Justice Initiative.

[usanewstoday-blog]

State’s Attorney To Exam Ronald Watts Cases For Police Misconduct

State’s Attorney To Exam Ronald Watts Cases For Police Misconduct

CHICAGO (CBS) — Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has agreed to look into hundreds of convictions involving disgraced former Chicago Police Sgt. Ronald Watts and officers under his command. “The Conviction Integrity Unit is reviewing any cases of incarcerated individuals where Watts was substantively involved,” spokeswoman Tandra Simonton told the Chicago Sun-Times on Monday. Lawyers with the…

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[msboden]

Ricky Jackson meets Edward Vernon

Ricky Jackson meets Edward Vernon

A powerful video of the meeting between Ricky Jackson and the man who, as a boy, was responsible for him spending 39 years in prison, wrongfully convicted.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/exonerated-man-meets-the-liar-who-put-him-away-for-39

“All these years I’ve been holding this shame and guilt inside, wanting to release it, wanting to come forward and do the right thing,” said Vernon.-years/

“I’m…

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[islamichy]

Islamic Questions

How does one avoid the dangers of self- exoneration?

The self commands man to do evil. This fact is related in Surat ash-Shams as follows:

By the soul and the One Who proportioned and inspired it with knowledge of depravity and with its sense of duty, he who purifies it has succeeded, he who covers it up has failed. (Surat ash-Shams, 7-9)

Another verse pointing out the capacity of the soul to command to do evil is about the Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him), It is told in the verse that when a lie was forged against him though he was innocent, he said:

I do not say my self was free from blame. The self indeed commands to evil acts—except for those my Lord has mercy on. My Lord, He is Forgiving, Merciful. (Surah Yusuf, 53)

As it is told in the verse, the self always commands to evil. For that reason it would not be appropriate to try to defend oneself or to prove one’s rightness immediately, for one might have momentarily and unawares followed what the self desired. What should indeed be done in such a case is to stop and reflect first before acting. When a person reflects sincerely and honestly, he may see that he in fact did wrong in many instances in which he assumed himself to be right. Perceiving things in this way is an enormous gain to the believer, because seeing and admitting one’s own mistakes and amending one’s wrongdoing is the first step in seeking the forgiveness of Allah. Otherwise, no matter how right a person may appear to be in the eyes of people, however hard he tries to vindicate his soul and avoids attributing any mistakes to himself, Allah knows the truth. And this truth he will meet in the Hereafter. It is a good action in the sight of Allah to reproach oneself, to admit one’s own imperfections and failings and to turn to Allah in order to eliminate them, rather than to defend one’s lower self.

[uchicagoadmissions]

The Exoneration Project

A team of UChicago Law students, and attorneys from Loevy & Loevy, work together to overturn wrongful-conviction cases, and prove innocence. Have a read of this article about the 1994 murder case they're working on at the moment, to learn more about it.