Together, We Can Achieve Justice
Since our inception in 2003, we’ve had the privilege of helping many men and women who were wrongfully convicted and truly innocent. We’ve reunited them with their families and supported them as they rebuilt their lives.
Just as importantly, we’ve worked to change laws and policies to prevent future wrongful convictions. Thanks to Dr. Sarah H. Pappas’ incredible generosity and the ongoing support of people like you, we’ve made tremendous progress. Over the past two years, the Pappas Fund for Innocence has enabled us to move into a bigger space and hire new staff, including an investigator, a staff attorney, a paralegal, a social worker, and additional non-programmatic staff, all aimed at increasing our capacity to serve those who need us most.
Anyone who’s worked in this field knows that securing the release of someone who’s been wrongfully convicted is like moving mountains. That’s because the system is often designed to preserve convictions, even when they are unjust. Despite our successes, the road has been fraught with challenges. We've faced prosecutors and courts reluctant to acknowledge or overturn wrongful convictions. We've endured two economic recessions that strained our resources, making it difficult to fund the work our clients deserve. But in all of this, we've persevered, and it’s been because of the incredible support from our community. Generous people like you have invested in truth, justice, and freedom, and without that support, we wouldn't have been able to accomplish as much as we have.
In the past two decades, we’ve freed 34 innocent men and women, who together spent 772 years in prison for crimes they didn’t commit. Yet, our victories have never come easily, and they’ve come in spite of a system that often makes it incredibly difficult to right these wrongs. This work is hard, but it’s incredibly rewarding. We’re not just fighting for freedom; we’re changing lives. As an organization, in 2022 we recognized the need to grow our capacity to better meet the needs of the innocent people still in prison. With that in mind, we developed our first strategic growth plan, which is designed to significantly expand our resources and support in every aspect of our work. Coincidentally, around the same time, one of our long-time, generous supporters, Dr. Sarah H. Pappas from Sarasota, Florida, reached out. She had been helping us for years and wanted to make an even more significant contribution. Dr. Pappas committed to matching every dollar donated, up to $500,000, to help us increase our capacity to free more innocent people, provide more support for their transition back into society, and continue to change the laws that perpetuate wrongful convictions. Thanks to Dr. Pappas’ incredible generosity and the ongoing support of people like you, we’ve made tremendous progress.
The Pappas Fund for Innocence has given us the resources to litigate claims of actual innocence more effectively, access top-tier experts to support our cases, and most importantly, help free the wrongfully convicted. It has also allowed us to move out of the beloved yellow house and into a larger, more modern office, one that’s better suited for the future growth we’re driving. But we’re not finished yet. We are incredibly close to fully exhausting the $500,000 matching fund. With just over $15,000 left to raise, we need your support to complete this phase of our campaign and truly propel our growth for the years ahead. We couldn’t have come this far without your partnership, your belief in justice, and your ongoing generosity.
We ask that you continue to stand with us, invest in truth, justice, and freedom, and take full advantage of the matching funds to double the impact of your contribution. Your gift to the Pappas Fund for Innocence will help us free more innocent people, aid their reintegration into society, and change the laws that allow wrongful convictions to persist. Together, we can build a bridge to our next strategic growth plan, which will not only meet our current needs but allow us to expand and help even more innocent people get out of prison. Thank you for your support, both this year and in the years to come.
Onward to justice.
