In September 2016, represented by the Great North Innocence Project and pro bono attorney David Schultz (Maslon LLP), Terry Olson was released from prison after serving almost 11 years for a crime he didn’t commit. He has now spent 10 years free, attempting to rebuild the life that was stolen from him. He has found…
Read MoreThe Great North Innocence Project’s Guiding Stars: Erika Applebaum Zemby
Erika Applebaum Zemby, Practice Manager at Wigren Forensic, was the first executive director of the Innocence Project of Minnesota (now Great North Innocence Project). During her tenure as the organization’s leader, Erika built the operational infrastructure and financial health of the organization, enabling it to grow into a fully functioning legal justice nonprofit. Erika recalls…
Read MoreThe Great North Innocence Project’s Guiding Stars: Jennifer Kramer
Jennifer Kramer is the founder of the Innocence Project of Minnesota, now the Great North Innocence Project. Motivated by the lessons she learned as an Assistant Ramsey County Public Defender and inspired by what she heard at an early Innocence Network Conference, Jennifer gathered a powerful and dynamic group of advocates and launched Minnesota’s first…
Read MoreThe Great North Innocence Project’s Guiding Stars: Ed Magarian
Ed Magarian, Partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP, is one of the Great North Innocence Project’s (formerly the Innocence Project of Minnesota) founding Board members. In all, Ed served on the Board off-and-on for almost two decades. He actively worked on GNIP cases and provided advice and guidance on others, including the case of GNIP’s…
Read MoreThe Great North Innocence Project attends the 2026 Innocence Network Conference
The Great North Innocence Project team, including four of GNIP’s exonerated clients, just returned from the 2026 Innocence Network Conference in Chicago. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community, GNIP raised more than $16,000, reaching 80% of our goal and helping several GNIP clients attend this year’s Innocence Network Conference in Chicago. For our clients,…
Read MoreThe Great North Innocence Project’s Guiding Stars: Julie Jonas
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…
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