A wrongful conviction has devastating ripple effects across time, across families, and across communities. There is no instruction manual or one-size-fits-all model to heal from a wrongful conviction, not for the freed person or their loved ones. It demands time and space for the sharpness of these ripple effects to dull and for individuals, families, and communities to metabolize the injustice.
Starr Hansen knows this more than most. As the daughter of exoneree Michael Hansen, she has born the brunt of a wrongful conviction’s ripple effects and is an example of how an individual and a relationship, in this case that of father and daughter, can persevere and evolve in the face of loss, grief, and protracted injustice.
Read moreAdam Martin, Founder & CEO of the F5 Project and GNIP Board Member, writes about the unique challenges freed and exonerated people face upon release from prison after a wrongful conviction.
Read moreMy name is Terry Olson and I am a proud 2016 GNIP exoneree. I first attended the Innocence Network Conference in 2018. Now, I invite you to join me in donating to the Great North Innocence Project’s campaign to send more freed and exonerated clients and their support people to this important event. I know firsthand how transformative the experience can be.
Read moreCatherine Lipinsky is a valuable member of the Great North Innocence Project volunteer community. She’s contributed to GNIP’s mission as a member of the Benefit for Innocence Committee and worked with GNIP freed client Tom Rhodes to launch his digital art gallery, Thomas D Galleries.
Read moreIn this month's spotlight, we proudly feature Sydney Dobbs, a devoted member of the Great North Innocence Project community.
Read moreSummer legal intern, Anna Mae Engel, accompanied GNIP’s managing attorney, Andrew Markquart, to Mississippi to support during the evidentiary hearing for GNIP’s client, Amy Wilkerson. Amy has been incarcerated for a crime that she did not commit for 18 years. Below, Anna Mae details what it was like as a law student to attend the hearing and collaborate with the legal team to support Amy’s case.
Read moreThis Mother’s Day is especially meaningful at the Great North Innocence Project. Already in 2023, we freed our first client who is a mother and saw her reunited with her children, and also grieved the loss of a freed client’s mother who never forgot about him.
Read moreOn February 15, Great North Innocence Project Managing Attorney Jim Mayer joined friends and family of his very first innocence client, Michael Wearry, to experience the height of any innocence attorney’s career: watching his client walk free from incarceration.
Read more about Michael's case and how Jim's experience working to free an innocent man from death row catalyzed his eventual career as a full time innocence attorney.
Read moreTattoo artist and owner of Kinship Collective Tattoo in Northfield, Minnesota, Michael Hansen, spoke with GN-IP this month for National Tattoo Day where he gave us a tour of his shop and talked all things tattooing.
Mike spent nearly seven years in prison for a crime he did not commit. After being freed with the help of GN-IP, Mike accomplished a long held dream that seemed impossible after his conviction: becoming a tattoo artist. Now, he's not only achieved that, but he's opened his own shop, has supervised the apprenticeships of four aspiring tattoo artists, and built a dedicated, supportive staff of artists along the way.
Read moreDuring this month of Father's Day, GN-IP exonerated client Javon Davis reflected on what he is grateful to be able to do with his kids now that he has been freed.
Read more
