Pennsylvania Innocence Project

More photos from the 2026 in the windy city!

Our PA team enjoyed catching up with old friends, leading sessions, immersing ourselves in the work, and exploring both the beauty and history of Chicago.

We can’t wait to see everyone next year in Anaheim, CA!

It's always fun running into familiar faces at the - especially when it's your 2026 JoAnne A. Epps Hero of Justice Award recipient, Maddy deLone.

For more than two decades, Maddy has been a tireless leader in the innocence movement. She spent 16 years as the Executive Director of the Innocence Project in New York and molded it into the organization that you see today. Maddy continues to offer her knowledge and experience to multiple organizations as a consultant and board member.

In Fall 2024, the PA Innocence Project was proud to have Maddy serve as Interim Executive Director. She navigated us through tough challenges and made a significant impact in a short period of time. Now, Maddy is happy to be working alongside Innocence Project Delaware as Interim Executive Director.

We hope that you will join us in Philadelphia on Wednesday, May 13th as we celebrate Maddy alongside our other recipients for their extraordinary contributions to our work.

Tickets and sponsorships are available now — you don't want to miss this year's event! https://www.painnocence.org/17th-anniversary-celebration

“While I was incarcerated, what I noticed is that the population of men that were coming through were younger and younger. These were kids, and they were staying for almost the rest of their lives.

"So I wanted to teach them critical thinking and conflict resolution. I shifted my playwriting skills to writing these educational short films. Fast forward, I’m home nine months, and I’ve been going into schools all over the country, talking to the young men and women.”

Tune in to hear our own board member, Termaine Hicks, in 'Stories of Freedom,' a partnership between the Innocence Project and StoryCorps to build a permanent archive in the Library of Congress of conversations with people impacted by mass incarceration and wrongful convictions.
https://ow.ly/IOI350YGNv3

Innocence Project and StoryCorps Studios Launch ‘Stories of Freedom’ More than 30 intimate conversations from people impacted by wrongful conviction will be preserved in the Library of Congress.

“When we saw the courts hold several years ago that children should not be subject to mandatory life without parole, that was eventually held to be retroactive and applied to everyone. I think and hope that we’re headed in that same direction here.”

At the end of March, the PA Supreme Court deemed mandatory sentencing to life in prison without the possibility of parole for second-degree murder convictions unconstitutional - "a sweeping change and a victory for the people of Pennsylvania."

Hear what this could mean for Project clients and hundreds more people incarcerated across the Commonwealth, from our own legal director Nilam Sanghvi on KDKA radio:

https://www.audacy.com/podcast/the-colin-dunlap-show-952bd/episodes/the-colin-dunlap-show-2pm-3-26-516f6