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 seven 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 multiple individuals. Now at 4 universities, 11 people (who have served over 200 years in prison for crimes they didn’t commit) are now free through the Making an Exoneree program. Many others are now represented by counsel and/or are receiving major media attention.