The Exoneration Project represents innocent individuals who were wrongfully convicted, working to secure their freedom and expose the systemic failures that produce wrongful convictions. The Exoneration Project litigates in state and federal courts across the country. This year, the Exoneration Project exonerated its 250th client.

In 2025–2026, clinic students were essential to the Project’s success and instrumental in securing justice for its clients. Third-year students argued in court, examined witnesses on the witness stand, investigated cases, developed case strategies, met with incarcerated clients, and drafted court filings. The following is a summary of the Exoneration Project Clinic’s work during the academic year.

Kevin Murray

In 1987, Chicago police detectives Kriston Kato and John Summerville interrogated Kevin Murray over the course of 35 hours and subjected him to extreme physical abuse until he falsely “confessed” to being the getaway driver in a double murder. Mr. Murray was tried before Judge Thomas Maloney. It would be Maloney’s last trial before he was himself arrested and convicted as part of Operation Greylord, a sweeping investigation into corruption and bribery in the Cook County Judiciary.

As a result of the tortured “confession,” Murray was convicted on a theory of accountability sentenced to life in prison.

The Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission (“TIRC”) found sufficient evidence to refer his case for judicial review. In addition, the Exoneration Project gathered extensive evidence of Mr. Murray’s innocence and secured a statement from the real killer exculpating Mr. Murray.

Because Det. Kato is married to a sitting Cook County Criminal Court judge, the Cook County judiciary recused itself from Mr. Murray’s case and the Illinois Supreme Court appointed a judge from Will County to preside over it. For the same reason, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office recused itself and the court hired private lawyers to represent the State. Those private lawyers then embarked on a lengthy campaign of delays. The post-conviction matter has been pending since 2017.

The special prosecutor attempted to have TIRC held unconstitutional and sought to have its referral of Mr. Murray’s case dismissed. The Will County judge declined to hold TIRC unconstitutional, but denied Murray relief after conducting what he labeled an evidentiary hearing, but at which Murray was not given an opportunity present evidence. The Exoneration Project appealed and won. The matter is now back before the Will County court.

Clinic students did an enormous share of the work that followed: researching and drafting arguments contesting the special prosecutor’s authority, preparing the case for the evidentiary hearing, meeting with the client, and appearing in court to argue pieces of the case themselves.

The case is ongoing.

Johnny Plummer

As a 15-year-old child, Johnny Plummer gave a false “confession” following an abusive interrogation involving notorious Chicago police detectives with a documented pattern of illegal, coercive investigative tactics. Ahead of an evidentiary hearing, the Exoneration Project successfully sought to estop the State from disputing that the officers have a relevant history of misconduct, narrowing the issue at the hearing to whether they engaged in that misconduct in Mr. Plummer’s case specifically.

This year, students participated in preparing for and litigating the evidentiary hearing on Mr. Plummer’s behalf. They delivered the opening statement, examined an expert witness on the science of coerced and false confessions, and examined a fact witness.

Mid-hearing, the students also discovered a long-suppressed medical document corroborating that Mr. Plummer was abused during his interrogation. Students then met with witnesses and secured affidavits confirming the suppression of the document and assisted in drafting and filing a supplemental petition advancing this Brady claim.

The hearing remains ongoing.

Frank Drew

Frank Drew was exonerated in 2024 following a contested evidentiary hearing at which students gave opening statements and conducted the examinations of several witnesses. This year, that work resulted in an appellate court ruling that will undoubtedly assist other wrongfully convicted individuals in Illinois.

Following his exoneration, Mr. Drew sought a certificate of innocence officially clearing his name. The relevant statute states that, in the context of certificate of innocence proceedings, petitioners need not re-prove his innocence if, like Mr. Drew, they were exonerated on the basis of innocence. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office asked the court to interpret the statute in a way that, despite the statute’s clear language, would require re-litigation of the innocence issue. That office has made the argument in countless cases, causing extended delays in adjudicating certificate of innocence matters.

On appeal, the appellate court agreed with the Exoneration Project and held that once “all the pre-requisites are met … a circuit court must enter an order for a certificate of innocence.” That ruling stands to affect certificate of innocence proceedings well beyond Mr. Drew’s own case and draws on the hard work of Clinic students over the years.

Jamie Snow

Jamie Snow has maintained his innocence for more than 25 years, and clinic students have worked on his case across multiple years. This year, novelist and lawyer John Grisham examined the case and, writing in the Chicago Tribune, described it as “a shocking example” of officials abusing the criminal justice system and urging the Governor to grant Mr. Snow clemency. Mr. Grisham ultimately concludes: “Enough is enough.”

Exonerations, Releases, & Certificates of Innocence

After more than four decades of fighting their convictions, Exoneration Project client Jimmy Soto and his cousin David Ayala received certificates of innocence this year, having spent 42 years in prison for a double murder they did not commit—the longest documented wrongful incarcerations in Illinois history. Arthur Almendarez, John Galvan, and Francisco Nanez also received certificates of innocence, four decades after Chicago detectives with a documented pattern of misconduct coerced false confessions from all three men following a 1986 house fire. The men were exonerated in 2022 after 35 years of wrongful imprisonment.

Christopher Ellis—whose post-conviction case was tried jointly with the Civil Rights & Police Accountability Clinic—finally resulted in his exoneration when prosecutors dismissed all charges in November.

In Kentucky, Exoneration Project client Brandon Lamotte was exonerated after the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld the reversal of his conviction. In Cairo, Illinois, Danny Davis was exonerated after 33 years following an evidentiary hearing at which the Exoneration Project presented DNA evidence that disproved the false confession underlying his 1992 conviction. In Philadelphia, Dawud Turner walked free after nearly 40 years once the Commonwealth conceded his conviction was no longer defensible. Also in Philadelphia, a judge vacated the wrongful conviction of Exoneration Project client Jermal Shuler and his two co-defendants in a 1997 murder case built on flawed forensic testimony and an unreliable eyewitness. The three men had spent 28 years in prison.

These exonerations pushed the Project’s total number of exonerations past 250.

Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission

In March, the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission referred two Exoneration Project matters to the courts after finding credible evidence that the men had been tortured by police.

Legislative Advocacy

Together with the Illinois Innocence Project and others, the Exoneration Project worked to craft and pass HB3663, legislation that increases the compensation available to exonerees who receive certificates of innocence.

Clinic Students

Twelve students participated in the Exoneration Project Clinic during the 2025–2026 academic year. Seven graduated this spring.