34 Exonerated Ohio Prisoners, and Counting

The number of exonerated Ohio prisoners is growing thanks to the Ohio Innocence Project.

  The Ohio Innocence Project (OIP), is a local legal organization at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, that is committed to exonerating wrongfully convicted people. The number of Exonerated Ohio Prisoners is growing. Harnessing the energy and intellect of law student as it’s driving force, OIP seeks to identify inmates in Ohio prisons who are actually innocent of the crimes they were convicted of committing. Innocence is often determined by DNA testing but can include other types of new evidence such as eyewitnesses, new expert testimony or evidence of police misconduct. Since 2003, more than 30 men and women wrongly convicted of felonies and sentenced to decades or life in prison and the death penalty in Ohio have had their convictions overturned.  

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  Although there are no published statistics on the demographics of exonerated Ohio prisoners, public images of the exonerees on the OIP website indicate that at least 48% of those exonerated in Ohio are African American males, and at least one exoneree is a female.   According to The National Innocence Project, 350 people, including 20 people who served time on death row, been exonerated through post-conviction DNA testing since 1989. Nationally, more than 70% of people exonerated are of color (African American, Latino or Asian) while the remainder is white.    

  Today, there are approximately 300 active cases in the United States. Every year, more than 3,000 people from across the country write to the Innocence Project for the first time asking for help, and at any given time state agencies are evaluating between 6,000 and 8,000 potential cases.  Each of these cases represents an individual who can potentially be freed of their crimes.  

Exonerated prisoners in Ohio:

  We will never know for sure, but the few studies that have been done estimate that between 2.3% and 5% of all prisoners in the U.S. are innocent (for context, if just 1% of all prisoners are innocent, that would mean that more than 20,000 innocent people are in prison).    

Cincinnati African American Lawyers accepting new clients

    If you know of an Ohio  prisoner who may qualify for the Ohio Innocence Project, complete this application. Ohio Innocence Project Application The Rosenthal Institute for Justice was established at the UC College of Law thanks to the generosity of Lois and Richard Rosenthal.   The Voice of Black Cincinnati is a media company designed to educate, recognize, and create opportunities for African Americans. Want to find local news, events, job posting, scholarships, and a database of local Black-owned businesses? Visit our homepage, explore other articles, subscribe to our newsletter, like our Facebook page, join our Facebook group, and text VOBC to 797979.