Ohio Innocence Project

09/03/2026

After 24 years in prison for a case, Danyel Smith is once again a free man, having been released on bond on Tuesday in into an emotional reunion with family and friends. Smith, who had no previous criminal record, was convicted in the death of his infant son, a child born prematurely who had medical issues. Subsequent examination of the case by medical experts cast substantial doubt on whether Smith was responsible or if existing problems ultimately caused the child's death. The state offered Smith a plea deal several years back that would have allowed him to leave prison on the basis of time served, but he was adamant that he had nothing to do with his son's death.

A judge granted the 51-year-old bond while the state appeals a ruling that overturned his murder conviction and ordered a new trial.

09/02/2026

One modest-sized city of 54,000 people. Eight since 1989. Iris Seabolt became the latest in a hearing on Wednesday, after losing 19 years to . The University of Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic worked on her case.

The particulars of Seabolt's case are particularly audacious. A former Elkhart police detective implicated her for the crime to protect the actual female accomplice involved, a woman he had been paying for s*x. That detective was forced out of the department, but the city refused to reveal the reasons why for more than a decade. No physical evidence ever tied Seabolt to the crime.

With help from the University of Notre Dame's Exoneration Justice Clinic, Iris Seabolt's wrongful conviction dismissed. She served nearly 19 years.

09/01/2026

Debra Milke came within 17 days of being executed after a horribly-flawed investigation led to her in the death of her son. Now she has rebuilt her life, and shares the lessons from her experience with and police officers.

A profile of Debra Milke, who survived 25 years on Arizona’s death row before her wrongful conviction was undone

08/31/2026

The harsh reality of what life is like to come off of after 27 years and try to reestablish normalcy after a ruling is illustrated in this story about Jimmie Duncan in . It's freedom, but still a mighty struggle.

ProPublica and Verite News provide excellent reporting here. Duncan's conviction was a farce based on junk science, one that the state's Chief Justice of the Supreme Court compared to a Salem witch trial. Yet the prosecutor has yet to say whether he'll carry through on his threat to re-try Duncan, and in the meantime, establishing normalcy in his day-to-day life is difficult at best.

23-hour solitary confinement. 115-degree heat. Jimmie Duncan is haunted by the decades he spent in Louisiana’s Angola prison — and how, even after being released, he still isn’t truly free.

08/31/2026

The fact that has set an ex*****on date in a case where so many loose ends are apparent is horrifying. That they made it the day after Veterans Day for a 22-year military with tons of honors and a spotless record just seems extra cruel.

Jim Pavatt has always maintained his , and no physical evidence or eyewitness testimony ever put him at the crime scene. Additionally, another man has confessed to the murder, and in the trial of the victim's wife which came after Pavatt's conviction, prosecutors pinned responsibility for the murder on her.

https://ow.ly/VyGT50ZH4JM

08/30/2026

Uplifting stories are great to be able to share on . Here's one with video of an and his beloved deciding they wouldn't wait to get to to be married, they would do it in an impromptu ceremony on the flight there.

The pilot -- who also happened to be a minister with a long history of overseeing weddings -- officiated over the flight's PA system. Passengers cheered as the bride walked down the aisle in an improvised wedding outfit. Bride Sara Jade Arroyo Montalvo shared the video with the Storyful service of the memorable flight, just after her husband-to-be, Bladimil Arroyo, had been freed after 18 years in prison for a murder he falsely confessed to. The false confession was pretty bad -- Arroyo claimed to have stabbed the victim, when in fact, the man had been shot.

A couple shared their vows in the sky as a pilot conducted an impromptu wedding ceremony during a flight to Las Vegas.

08/29/2026

Two men will return to court on Monday, possibly on the verge of being released after being convicted a decade ago in a murder case. The Kentucky Innocence Project is involved in the case, discovering copious amounts of that was withheld from defense attorneys at trial.

Attorneys say the investigation that put the men behind bars was flawed and they should be freed.

08/28/2026

In a week when our OIP client Tyrone Noling got a favorable ruling from the Ohio Parole Board, we take note of this development from , involving Tennessee Innocence Project client Thomas Clardy. Tennessee actually has a history of being one of the more hard-line states when it comes to decisions involving cases of , yet the governor showed the ability to consider the whole picture in Clardy's case.

Thomas Clardy will be released from prison for the second time, after Gov. Bill Lee commuted his sentence.

08/28/2026

School is back in session across the state, and here's a nice job by our OIP-u chapter at Ohio University creating awareness over last weekend at their school's Involvement Fair. If you are an Ohio U. student or know of one who might be interested, the chapter will be holding their first meeting of the 2026-27 academic year this coming Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 6 p.m. in Room 124 of Bentley Hall. Stop in and see what they have in store for this year!

08/27/2026

OIP filed Wednesday a motion in seeking to free a new client. Rodney Carson has been in prison since 2003 for a murder he had nothing to do with. You can read the details and hear from him in this Columbus Dispatch story.

No physical has ever tied Carson to the crime. The brief seeking to overturn his conviction also details how false eyewitness testimony created by police pressure and suggestion played into producing his , as well as prosecutorial misconduct that prevented potentially exculpatory evidence from being introduced at trial.

The Ohio Innocence Project is seeking a new trial or an overturn of 2003 murder conviction of a Columbus man in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.