WTI's 2018 Year in Review

The death row exoneree members at Witness to Innocence had a productive and meaningful 2018! Here's a look back at some highlights from the past year...

Our members continued to change minds across the country, shaping public opinion about the death penalty.

• We hosted over 110 speaking engagements in 25 states, directly reaching over 10,000 people nationwide.

• We received media coverage from over 1,000 media outlets that reached at least 100 million listeners, readers, and viewers nationwide.

Witness to Innocence participated in some huge legislative successes as well. WTI members and staff spent spent significant time lobbying legislators in Washington State to support the efforts for death penalty abolition. Our public speaking tour and Accuracy & Justice workshop in Washington ramped up the pressure and were a decisive factor leading to this decision.

We also participated in work that led to a legislative victory in New Hampshire, where the state legislators voted to repeal the death penalty in 2018; unfortunately, the action failed due to a gubernatorial veto.

We also hosted some great events throughout the year, including four Accuracy & Justice workshops, where exonerees were able to engage with over 500 law enforcement officials and prosecutors about wrongful convictions. We hosted a three-day Annual WTI Gathering of Members in Arizona, where exonerees, family members, and allies united to hold a public action against the death penalty at the Arizona State Capitol, participate in workshops, a host a public screening of the award-winning film, “The Gathering." In November, we hosted our 15th Anniversary Celebration honoring death row exonerees & our partners in our fight for abolition.

As we look ahead to 2019, we hope for continued victories in our fight toward total death penalty abolition. We are so grateful for all of our partners and supporters around the world.