Deputy CEO Rob DeLeon Released Statement on International Wrongful Conviction Day

Today, on International Wrongful Conviction Day, The Fortune Society honors and remembers those incarcerated while innocent. We honor those like Jon Adrian “JJ” Velazquez who, on September 30th, 2024, upon being exonerated after spending 24 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, said that an exoneration is not a sign that the system is working, nor is it a celebration, but “an indictment of the system!”

We must bring an end to the procedural barriers that make it difficult if not impossible, for innocent people to challenge their convictions. To bring long-overdue fairness to the system in New York, Fortune continues to support the Challenging Wrongful Conviction Act, which would provide pathways for innocent people who have pled guilty to seek review. We know that far too many innocent people plead guilty out of fear of facing the “trial penalty” if they lose, which is additional time when one exercises their constitutional right to trial. New York has the third-highest rate of wrongful convictions in the country and bears the unfortunate distinction of being one of only five states that does not have a right to counsel in post-conviction cases. We can and we must do better. Let us make 2025 the year that we move forward on the pathway to true justice.