History
GIP History
Calvin is Georgia's first DNA exoneree and his exoneration inspired the creation of the Georgia Innocence Project. He went on to serve on GIP's board and as board President.
Georgia Innocence Project is founded by two Georgia State law students.
The state statute allows any person convicted of a crime to petition for post conviction DNA testing with the court that entered the judgement of conviction. GIP played an instrumental role in the passing of this statute.
Clarence Harrison, Georgia Innocence Project’s first exoneree, served nearly 18 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. He was released in 2004 after post-conviction DNA testing conclusively proved his innocence.
Robert was exonerated in December 2005, and walked out of prison an innocent man. At the time of his arrest, he was 21 years old, the father of a 5-year-old son, and lived with his mother, who never lost faith in him throughout his trial and incarceration.
On January 23, 2007, after serving over 22 years of a 45-year sentence, Pete Williams was released from prison at the age of 45. When asked how it felt to be released after all the years he spent in prison, Pete said, “Being free—nothing can replace that."
John White walked out of prison a free man on December 10, 2007, after spending over 27 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.
On December 14, 2009, more than two years after being wrongfully convicted, Michael Marshall was set free after post-conviction DNA testing proved his innocence.
A unique partnership between the Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys' Council, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Georgia Innocence Project led to the exoneration of Michael Googe of Brunswick, GA. He was convicted in 2007 for the burglary of a convenience store.
Kerry Robinson walked out of Coffee Correctional Facility a free man on January 8, 2020, after 18 years wrongly convicted of a rape that he did not commit.
Johnny Lee Gates spent more than 43 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. On May 15, 2020, he walked free from Muscogee County Jail.
Terry Talley walked out of Dooly State Prison a free man after Georgia Innocence Project, LaGrange Police Chief Lou Dekmar, and Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Herb Cranford, Jr. all agreed Terry never should have been convicted of a number of violent sexual assaults in 1981.
After more than 20 years behind bars, and just over one year after his release from prison, Dennis Perry was finally exonerated of the 1985 double murder of Harold and Thelma Swain.
At 61 years old, after spending more than half his life incarcerated for a crime he did not commit, Ron Jacobsen was at last fully exonerated.
After 23 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit, Devonia Inman walked out of a Georgia prison and into the arms of family in time to celebrate his first Christmas as a free man in more than two decades.
After 25 years behind bars for a crime that never happened, Lee Clark was exonerated and walked out of Floyd County Jail into the arms of dozens of friends, families, and loved ones on December 8th, 2022.