Making an Exoneree
7 years, 61 cases, 4 universities, 11 prison releases
Making an Exoneree is an extraordinary and unprecedented course and program in which undergraduate and law students work together to reinvestigate likely wrongful conviction cases, produce short documentaries that suggest innocence, and create websites and social media campaigns calling for exonerations and prison releases.
Making an Exoneree in People Magazine
He Served 17 Years for Murder, Now He and the Friend Who Helped Prove His Innocence are Helping Others
19-year-old Marty Tankleff was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for the murder of his parents, a crime he didn't commit.
By: Lizzie Hyman
November 22, 2023 12:00PM EST
The program was created by two people who share a unique connection and history: Marc Howard and Marty Tankleff. Childhood friends since the age of three, they know about wrongful convictions and exonerations through their own personal experience. Tankleff spent almost 18 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, and Howard played a role in helping to secure his exoneration. Together, they created Making an Exoneree.
The program originated at Georgetown University, where Howard and Tankleff have taught it every spring semester since 2018. Over the past six years, the Georgetown program has covered 30 cases and contributed to 6 prison releases. In the Spring 2023 semester, Princeton University piloted a Making an Exoneree course with 4 additional cases, and it has already resulted in the release of a man who spent 42 years behind bars. Put together, 9 people (who had served over 187 years in prison for crimes they didn’t commit) are now free through the Making an Exoneree program.
Kenneth Bond with the friends, family members, and Georgetown MAE supporters who came to celebrate his February 2023 release, over 27 years after he was incarcerated for a crime he did not commit.