Julie Jonas, now a law professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, served as the Great North Innocence Project’s inaugural attorney and legal director for nearly two decades. Prior to officially joining the then-Innocence Project of Minnesota (IPMN), Julie partnered with the organization’s founder, Jennifer Kramer, to plan the Innocence Ball to…
Read MoreJudge vacates Great North Innocence Project client’s decades-old murder conviction
Today, the Great North Innocence Project (GNIP) announced that North Dakota’s Ramsey County District Court has overturned Werner Rümmer-Kunkel’s 1995 murder conviction. Mr. Rümmer-Kunkel has spent 31 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Upon learning that his conviction was vacated, Mr. Rümmer-Kunkel said, “I refuse to let three decades of wrongful…
Read MoreReflections on 25 years of justice: A note from Executive Director Sara Jones
This year is the 25th Anniversary of the founding of what is now known as the Great North Innocence Project. In 2018, when I joined what was then the Innocence Project of Minnesota as executive director, I dove into an exploration of our organization’s history, reading through notes on its founding and early board meeting…
Read MoreMan freed after 26 years in prison for murder he maintains he did not commit
Today, Centurion Ministries d/b/a Centurion and the Great North Innocence Project (GNIP) announced that their client Brian Pippitt is free. This morning, the Department of Corrections released Mr. Pippitt from custody following the Minnesota Pardon Board vote to grant him a sentence commutation in September. About his release, Mr. Pippitt said, “After many hurdles, I…
Read MoreThe Cassandra Black Elk Story: Part 4
“Life Just Keeps Flowing” It’s been nearly three years since Cassi met Jim, Hayley, and Adam from the Great North Innocence Project during their visit to the North Dakota women’s prison. A lot has happened since then. A lot has changed, including Cassi. But, Cassi’s internal fortitude and strength that she began to cultivate and…
Read MoreThe Cassandra Black Elk Story: Part 3
Truth Revealed Cassi took it upon herself to try and get the autopsy report. She contacted the medical examiner’s office and requested the results be sent to her at the prison. To her shock, she actually received them. “I got the autopsy report the last week of July. I didn’t read it at first; I…
Read MoreThe Cassandra Black Elk Story: Part 2
In October 2023, Cassandra Black Elk was exonerated after being wrongfully convicted in the death of her infant daughter, StarLight Black Elk. After losing her child to an unexplained, sudden infant death (formerly known as “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome” or “SIDS”); a year of unjust incarceration; forced separation from her other two young children; and…
Read MoreThe Cassandra Black Elk Story: Part 1
In October 2023, Cassandra Black Elk was exonerated after being wrongfully convicted in the death of her infant daughter, StarLight Black Elk. After losing her child to an unexplained, sudden infant death (formerly known as “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome” or “SIDS”); a year of unjust incarceration; forced separation from her other two young children; and…
Read MoreSentence commuted in case of man who Minnesota Conviction Review Unit determined is innocent
Today, Centurion Ministries d/b/a Centurion and the Great North Innocence Project (GNIP) announced that the Minnesota Pardon Board voted to commute the sentence of their client, Brian Pippitt, clearing the way for his release from prison after 26 years of incarceration.
Read MoreBryan Hooper, Sr. exonerated after spending 27 years in prison for a crime he did not commit
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and the Great North Innocence Project (GNIP) announced Thursday that Bryan Hooper, Sr. has been exonerated and is expected to be released from Stillwater Correctional Facility today. In her decision vacating the conviction, Judge Marta Chou found that “Mr. Hooper’s conviction was tainted by false evidence and that without this…
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