Ohio Innocence Project

10/15/2026

An man who lost nearly 27 years to until being freed earlier this year is now suing those involved from the City of in his wrongful conviction. Reginald Dillard, who was convicted in a case involving a 1998 murder, was represented in his efforts by the Notre Dame Law School's Exoneration Justice Clinic.

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10/15/2026

OIP's outreach and education efforts were back on the road again Wednesday, this time talking with students at Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High School in , Ohio. OIP client Laurese Glover, at right, shared his story of 20 years of , and is joined in this photo by OIP Director of Policy and Engagement Pierce Reed and NDCL teacher and Mock Trial advisor Victoria Frabotta.

The program was part of OIP's rural outreach program, and was supported by the Ohio State Bar Foundation. Our thanks to all involved for a great experience!

10/14/2026

One bad cop, a staggering price paid in years stolen and now in compensation paid by taxpayers. The facts of the case were so bad that Chicago City Council approved this, the largest settlement of its kind in U.S. history, by a unanimous vote today.

The Chicago City Council is expected to consider a staggering multimillion dollar payout to settle wrongful conviction lawsuits tied to former CPD Detective Reynaldo Guevara.

10/14/2026

Belated best wishes to our OIP client Al Cleveland, on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of his Freedom Day, which was Tuesday. Al lost 25 years in prison to a until he was freed on Oct. 13, 2020. Anyone familiar with Al knows he is always filled with creative energy and inspiration, and here he was putting his communication skills on display reaching out to students at Saint Ignatius High School in October of 2023.

Please join us in wishing Al all the best as we celebrate again his return to !

10/13/2026

Students at West Carrollton High School outside of Dayton on Monday were able to talk with OIP client Marcus Sapp about his experience of being and losing 13 years of his . Our thanks to Social Studies faculty member PJ Carlisle for the invitation to speak, and to the Dayton Legal Heritage Foundation and Eddings Foundation for their support of our outreach and educational efforts in the Miami Valley.

10/12/2026

A man who has always maintained his but nonetheless has been imprisoned for the last 45 year in has had his case heard by the state's Advisory Board of Pardons, which could grant him clemency. No physical evidence ever tied James Rodwell to the crime scene, and both of the key witnesses at his trial have been shown to be flawed. Among those supporting Rodwell's bid for freedom is Michael Albano, a former member of the Advisory Board of Pardons as well as the former mayor the City of Springfield.

A man who has spent more than four decades behind bars for a murder he says he didn’t commit got the chance to ask for clemency on Tuesday.

10/11/2026

John Grisham was first an attorney, then a best-selling fiction author whose books were structured around issues in the law. Eventually, that led to non-fiction and books about the movement, where he has become one of the highest-profile voices talking about the problems that plague our justice system. He was OIP's special guest at our 20th anniversary gala in 2023, and in this story from an event this week in his home state of , he talks about the latest in his career and his advocacy for the wrongfully convicted.

John Grisham discusses journalism, wrongful convictions and his latest nonfiction project during Mississippi Today’s 10th anniversary celebration.

10/10/2026

Bad policing that results in has many costs. In this latest example, the damage is nearly $4 million for the taxpayers in .

Keith West sued after spending years in prison for a double murder case involving former Louisville detective Mark Handy’s misconduct.

10/10/2026

With the back in the news, particularly with last week's events in Tennessee, it's a good time to examine efforts in Ohio drive to eliminate it as a sentencing option, and the reasons behind arguments from both sides. An adjunct professor from The Ohio State University who works in the field of violence prevention does a good job analyzing all sides of the issue in this column. OIP has been actively working with other organizations to get the death penalty abolished in our state, which has the alarming recent history of having one exoneration per every five people on death row.

For Ohio, the failed ex*****on in Tennessee adds urgency to the debate over whether changing ex*****on methods can address the broader concerns about capital punishment or whether the state should abolish it altogether.

10/08/2026

Nothing is more glorious in this field than seeing an person reach the point where their legal peril finally and permanently ends. It happened in Wednesday, when a judge agreed with the district attorney that a murder indictment against Tameshia Shelton should be thrown out. Tameshia, a mother of four, wrongfully served the last 11 years in prison.

The dismissal means this judicial district has seen seven people freed from prison after courts overturned their murder convictions —all prosecuted under former district attorney Forrest Allgood.