Korey Wise Innocence Project

05/26/2026

When Jeanne Segil joined KWIP in 2022, she started where so much of this work begins, the backlog. One of the first files she pulled was a letter Stephen Martinez had sent years earlier, asking for help, a case that had sat for nearly a decade. Jeanne wrote back, met with him, and kept digging until the record told a different story than the one that sent him to prison. This week’s Denver Gazette piece follows that path and the years of work it took to bring him home after 27 years.

From the first time she looked at Stephen Martinez’s case, Boulder attorney Jeanne Segil knew she had a shot at getting him released from prison. Martinez, 58, spent 27 years behind bars for a crime he now says never happened. Four-month-old Heather Lynn Mares, the daughter of Martinez’s roommat...

05/14/2026

A judge has ruled that prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence in the case of Deborah Nicholls. Supported by the Korey Wise Innocence Project alongside McCabe Law, Ms. Nicholls is pursuing post‑conviction relief, with a hearing set for May 27.
Read more from The Denver Post:

The judge did not take action on Deborah Nicholls’ convictions in the April order but set the case for a hearing on May 27.

05/14/2026

James Genrich spent 34 years in prison wrongfully convicted of multiple homicides that occurred in Grand Junction, Colorado, as a result of a series of pipe bombings. Decades later, he was granted a retrial because those convictions had been based on since-discredited junk science. In April 2026, th...

05/08/2026

“To leave all that steel and concrete behind.” After 27 years in prison for a crime he never committed, Stephen Martinez is home. In a new People article, Stephen shares what freedom feels like and what he hopes comes next. We are honored to walk alongside our clients as they reclaim their lives.

Stephen Martinez, who was wrongfully convicted of the death of an infant, was freed from prison in April—after serving 27 years for a crime that he did not commit. “This feels wonderful, amazing," Martinez tells PEOPLE exclusively of his newfound freedom.

04/30/2026

False confessions don’t happen because someone is guilty. They happen because pressure works.

This article underscores how deceptive interrogation tactics can produce confessions even when no crime occurred. We see the real-world consequences of this every day, including in the wrongful conviction of our recently freed KWIP client, Stephen Martinez. These practices cause long-lasting and life-altering harm, and they are exactly what the Korey Wise Innocence Project works to confront and prevent.

An experiment with AI underscores the perils of police deception and the Reid technique

04/29/2026

It has been one year since KWIP client James “Cass” Garner came home.

After 15 years of wrongful incarceration, his sentence was vacated through the advocacy of the Korey Wise Innocence Project. KWIP attorneys Kathleen Lord and Jeanne Segil played a central role in securing his release.

Today, we are reflecting on Cass’s resilience, the work that made his freedom possible, and the life he continues to rebuild beyond prison.

Videographer: Nick Ruskey

04/21/2026

After 27 years of incarceration for a crime he did not commit, KWIP client Stephen Martinez will be freed following the overturning of his wrongful conviction.

This outcome reflects years of advocacy, investigation, and persistence and Stephen’s own resilience through decades of injustice.

The court’s ruling follows years of extensive investigation and advocacy led by KWIP at the University of Colorado Law School with support from Stinson LLP, including Perry Glantz and Judith Araujo, along with Seth Temin. The Denver District Attorney's Conviction Review Unit also conducted their own thorough investigation and agreed to vacate Mr. Martinez's conviction.

04/17/2026

Last week at the conference..

Some proud moments, lots of learning, and heaps of gratitude. It meant so much to be there together as a team and alongside people who know this work firsthand, including those who were once KWIP clients and are now exonerees and leaders in this movement.

The conference is always inspiring and reinvigorating. We’re back in Colorado energized and ready to keep fighting ✊🏻