Driving Change Through
Public Action
Systemic improvements to the policy gaps and malicious practices that result in wrongful convictions can only happen through a seismic shift in the public’s awareness and involvement in that change. That’s why one of our most important goals is to educate the public about wrongful convictions.
Our Director of Outreach, Anna Vasquez, is an exoneree who works tirelessly to share her story and shine a light on the causes and consequences of wrongful convictions. Anna also leads IPTX’s efforts to assist exonerees in their transition to freedom and works with social service agencies throughout the state to help clients access housing, employment assistance and mental health services.
If your group would like to request a speaker, please use this form to contact us.
-
800
Law Students & Legal
Professionals Trained Annually -
60
Presentations Per Year
To Educate the Public
Release & Exoneration Stories
Melvin Quinney
Released & Exonerationed
- Convicted:
- 1991
- Sentence:
- 20 Years
- Released:
- 1999
- Exonerated:
- 2023
Release & Exoneration Stories
Dennis Lee Allen
Released & Exonerationed
- Convicted:
- 2000
- Sentence:
- Life
- Released:
- 2014
- Exonerated:
- 2019
Release & Exoneration Stories
Anna Vasquez
Released & Exonerationed
- Convicted:
- 1998
- Sentence:
- 15 Years
- Released:
- 2012
- Exonerated:
- 2016
Systemic Injustice Statistics
People of color and people living in poverty are more likely to be wrongly convicted and significantly less likely to be able to afford the help they need to appeal their convictions.
-
34%
of those incarcerated in Texas are black compared to 13% of Texas’ total population.
PRISON POLICY INITIATIVE -
48%
of exonerees are black men.
NATIONAL REGISTRY OF EXONERATIONS -
12%
Latinos comprise only 12% of exonerees despite making up 22% of the incarcerated population.
UCLA LAW REVIEW -
19X
Black people are seven times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder and 19 times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of drug possession.
NATIONAL REGISTRY OF EXONERATIONS -
40%
of Latino exonerees who falsely confessed to crimes said that they “did not fully understand spoken English.”
UCLA LAW REVIEW -
9th
At more than 160,000 prisoners, Texas has the 9th largest prison population in the world with an additional 60,000 held in jails and juvenile detention centers.
PRISON POLICY INITIATIVE -
1.5%
Only 1.5% of prosecutor’s offices in the U.S. have conviction integrity units.
EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE
Systemic Failures Have Wrongly
Imprisoned Thousands of Texans.
The Generosity of Their Fellow Citizens Can Provide Them
The Freedom They Deserve.
