MISSION
To overturn wrongful conviction cases, exonerate all innocent convicts and promote criminal legal reform.
We understand the plight of victims of wrongful conviction, as our very own Darrell Jones (Exoneree) served over 32 years for a wrongful conviction.
Darrell Jones and our founder, Osagie N. Okoruwa, have united their efforts toward the common goal of being louder together on our quest for justice.
CURRENT CASES
Mr. Martinez was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Timothy Walker, despite the absence of DNA confirmation, forensics, eyewitnesses, or physical evidence to directly connect him to the crime. Prior to his conviction in April 2013, Mr. Martinez was a college student who had never been in trouble with the law. Click name above to sign the Petition.
Mr. Yarde was sentenced to 15 to life imprisonment for a crime he didn't commit. David has overwhelming evidence proving his innocence, including three expert witness reports showing definitive proof of innocence. In 2017, the first forensics expert reviewed the conviction in David's case and came to the conclusion that it was impossible for David to have shot the victim. Click name above to read the Press Release.
Before conviction
Dr. Terence Sasaki
Terence Sasaki, M.D., is a neurologist who received his medical degree from the University of Hawaii and did residency at New York University (NYU). Supposedly confessing to a 2005 crime in a 2007 interrogation the DEA claimed was unrecorded, Dr. Sasaki was indicted (2010) and then convicted (2012) of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and launder money. In 2014, Chief Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio sentenced Dr. Terence Sasaki to 60 months in prison on top of the over two years of home confinement that he would do. However, Dr. Terence Sasaki’s case is riddled with more errors showing both his legal and actual innocence than any other case we have seen or even heard of (eg, see Ruan v. U.S., 597 U.S. ____, (2022)). When independent experts, including pharmacists, looked at the prescription exhibits, it was clear that Dr. Terence Sasaki was innocent as the scripts are filled with glaring errors which no doctor, regardless of how incompetent, would ever make. Dr. Sasaki was clearly a victim of identity fraud of prescriptions. Moreover, the sheer amount of verifiable perjury by the prosecution is startling (eg, DEA Agent Tyler Parkison and IRS Agent Robert Thatcher). Prescriptions do not even have Dr. Sasaki's DEA number or proper signature contrary to what DEA Agent Parkison testified to. Bank records conclusively show that IRS Agent Thatcher lied because Dr. Sasaki actually made NO money from the conspiracy. Furthermore, the deeper we dive into his case, the more we realize that the federal prosecutors/AUSAs Edward F. Feran & Rebecca C. Lutzko knew that Dr. Terence Sasaki was innocent the entire time they prosecuted him and that the courts, prosecution team, prison employees, and even Dr. Sasaki’s own attorneys cooperated in convicting Dr. Sasaki and keeping him convicted even though they knew he was clearly innocent (eg, After leading DEA Agent Parkison to perjure himself, AUSA Feran also knew he was misleading the jury when he suggested to them that Dr. Sasaki had asked for "immunity"). For example, Dr. Sasaki's own paid lawyers (Jerome "Jay" Milano, Megan Rha, & Duejong "Jenny" Kim) gave the prosecution their client's (Dr. Sasaki's) private emails as well as submitted affidavits & testified against Dr. Sasaki to give him more time in prison... Dr. Terence Sasaki fully paid for a crime he didn't even commit and the U.S. Criminal Justice system knows he did not commit. Unfortunately the U.S. federal court system is even less willing to admit their mistakes so we expect that they will continue to resist and delay righting the obvious wrong that they have inflicted on Terence Sasaki, M.D.. But we hope it is very soon because it is already long overdue.
TESTIMONIALS
“Thank you for the opportunity to host a powerful, eye-opening documentary highlighting the issue of wrongful conviction, racism and abuse of authority in our criminal law system. This film should spur us into action to really impact the lives of our youth and prevent them from being a victim of wrongful incarceration, as well as be an advocate for somebody today."
Rev. E. Hutcherson
Founder, Future Hope Apprenticeship Program
"The first event I attended sponsored by The Innocent Convicts was held in January 2020 at the State House in Boston. It was impactful and profound, and gave me the chance to hear real stories and see the faces of black men that had been wrongly convicted. As a result, it stirred something within and I wanted to get involved showing support for the organization. I asked one of the IC Partners when I can attend another event, bringing more attention to an unjust system which disproportionately affects black men and continues to plague our communities."
Carolyn Potts
Percussionist, North Shore, MA
"I made a special effort to attend Chris Wilson's book signing for "The Master Plan" after my cousin from Her'tazhe and Osagie called me from Boston. Even though I was across the country the three of us supported yet another black male whose entire "wrongful" life experience as a youth resulted in circumstances that landed him in prison. In this instance, Chris had committed the crime. However, his authentic retelling and ultimate release were motivational. After that experience I pledged to support those imprisoned along the continuum from wrongfully convicted to "circumstantially" entrapped living while black (or as a person of color)."
John Walker
Los Angeles
