Cook County judge exonerates Brian Beals after 35 years of wrongful incarceration

A Cook County judge has overturned the wrongful murder conviction of Brian Beals, who spent 35 years incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. The dismissal of all charges against Beals marks the end of a legal battle that began in 1988 when he was wrongly accused of murdering a 6-year-old boy in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood.

Illinois Innocence Project at UIS begins Wrongful Conviction Awareness and Avoidance training

The Illinois Innocence Project (IIP), based at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS), held its first mandated statewide Wrongful Conviction Awareness and Avoidance (WCAA) training for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Police Training Institute (PTI) recruit officers on Friday, March 31, in Urbana.

Defenders of the Innocent 2022

Time to Celebrate!

It's time to reconnect and celebrate! Join the Illinois Innocence Project at our Defenders of the Innocent event to support our fight to free the innocent, and honor the many freed and exonerated guests in attendance.

The Exoneree Band returns to the stage with special guest Amanda Knox. Freedom and a love of music bind these exonerees who collectively lost 100+ years of their lives to wrongful imprisonment for crimes they did not commit. 

Donate

IIP provides all legal and advocacy services at no cost to clients and their families. Your financial support is vital to our efforts to correct miscarriages of justice and bring freedom to the wrongfully convicted. We cannot do it without you.

Contact

Main Office Phone

 (217) 206-6569

Email Address

iip@uis.edu

Address

Illinois Innocence Project
Center for State Policy and Leadership
University of Illinois Springfield
One University Plaza, MS PAC 409
Springfield, IL  62703-5407