Center on Wrongful Convictions

Thirty-six innocent men and women in Illinois were exonerated due to efforts of the Center on Wrongful Convictions (CWC). Prior to the Center's founding in 1998, members of its staff were instrumental in 14 additional exonerations - including that of Gary Dotson, who in 1989 became the first person in the world to be exonerated by DNA. More...

Updates

Juan Rivera and Andre Davis awarded Certificates of Innocence

CWC clients Juan Rivera and Andre Davis were recently awarded certificates of innocence (COI). A COI is a court order that finds the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he or she was incarcerated. The awarding of the COI clears the path for Rivera and Davis to receive statutory compensation for their wrongful incarceration from the Illinois Court of Claims.

CWC client Randy Steidl sets his sights on abolishing Indiana's death penalty.

Indiana lawmakers debated the death penalty when an abolition bill was proposed in the 2013 session. CWC client Randy Steidl was interviewed by a local NBC news affiliate about his experiences with the death penalty. The full article can be found here.

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Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Aimed at Abuse Claims Against Chicago Cop

A Chicago Sun-Times editorial calls for the Cook County state's attorney's Conviction Integrity Unit to review controversial cases in which retired Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara is alleged to have coerced defendants and witnesses into making false statements.