Pursuing Justice

Harriet Hendel

What if you or someone you loved were arrested, convicted and incarcerated for a crime --a crime for which you or that person was innocent?
What if the lawyer you hired was incompetent and you were out of funds and out of options?
What if years and decades had gone by and you or your loved one were still behind bars?
Where would you find help?

Wrongful conviction in the United States occurs more often than you might think. In 2022, the National Registry of Exonerations recorded 417 people who were proven innocent.

They have tracked cases of innocence since 1989. Since 1973, 200 people were taken off Death Row and freed from prison.

The total number of men and women exonerated since 1989 is 3,460. That is just the tip of the iceberg as it is estimated that 4%-6% of the 2 million people doing time are innocent.

The desperate help these people need is coming from innocence organizations in most every state in addition to groups like Conviction Integrity Units around the nation. They work pro bono for each client.

This podcast will explore causes of wrongful conviction in addition to many other topics related to our criminal justice system. We will continue to interview exonerees, share memoirs they have published, speak to Professors of Law who are also authors of books about false confessions and junk science. We will interview directors of Innocence Projects around the nation in addition to organizations like "Puppies Behind Bars".

Host Harriet Hendel served on the Board of Directors of the Innocence Project of Florida from 2013~2019, having been active with IPF since 2009. The project is the sponsor of the podcast.

Harriet has been teaching classes on topics related to our justice system since 2012 in Florida and New Jersey. Her goal is to shine a light on the miscarriage of justice going on all over our nation with the hope that one day wrongful conviction will be eliminated for good.

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#255
September 17 · 23 min
From Behind Bars To Passing The Bar - Professor Marty Tankleff [Part 2]
Marty Tankleff was arrested at age 17 for the double murder of his adoptive parents~a crime he didn't commit (and which is still unsolved over 30 years later). He was sentenced to 50 years to Life. He served 17 years of that sentence and after exoneration, he graduated from college and law school and is now a practicing lawyer. His story was shown on "48 Hours" in 2008 titled: "Fight for the Truth". In addition, he is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Learn more about Marty's Making An Exoneree here.
#254
September 10 · 21 min
From Behind Bars To Passing The Bar - Professor Marty Tankleff [Part 1]
Marty Tankleff was arrested at age 17 for the double murder of his adoptive parents~a crime he didn't commit (and which is still unsolved over 30 years later). He was sentenced to 50 years to Life. He served 17 years of that sentence and after exoneration, he graduated from college and law school and is now a practicing lawyer. His story was shown on "48 Hours" in 2008 titled: "Fight for the Truth". In addition, he is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Learn more about Marty's Making An Exoneree here.
#253
September 3 · 23 min
[Re-Air] SMOKE BUT NO FIRE with Author & Professor Jessica S. Henry [Part 2]
On this episode of Pursuing Justice, we're joined by Professor Henry, who will talk about the many cases of wrongful conviction where innocent people were convicted of crimes that simply never happened. She exposes a deeply flawed criminal justice system that allows-even encourages-these no-crime wrongful convictions to regularly occur. Jessica Henry is an author, commentator, blogger and social justice advocate. She earned her JD from NYU School of Law and served as a public defender in NYC for nearly a decade. As a professor at Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ, she was awarded the 2022 University Distinguished Scholar Award in recognition of her outstanding scholarship. She teaches classes on wrongful conviction, criminal law, hate crimes and death penalty perspectives. She is the author of: Smoke But No Fire: Convicting the Innocent of Crimes That Never Happened, published in 2020. Click here to order Smoke But No Fire: Convicting the Innocent of Crimes That Never Happened To learn more about Professor Henry and her work, you can visit her website: https://jessicahenryjustice.com This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#252
August 27 · 22 min
[Re-Air] SMOKE BUT NO FIRE with Author & Professor Jessica S. Henry [Part 1]
On this episode of Pursuing Justice, we're joined by Professor Henry, who will talk about the many cases of wrongful conviction where innocent people were convicted of crimes that simply never happened. She exposes a deeply flawed criminal justice system that allows-even encourages-these no-crime wrongful convictions to regularly occur. Jessica Henry is an author, commentator, blogger and social justice advocate. She earned her JD from NYU School of Law and served as a public defender in NYC for nearly a decade. As a professor at Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ, she was awarded the 2022 University Distinguished Scholar Award in recognition of her outstanding scholarship. She teaches classes on wrongful conviction, criminal law, hate crimes and death penalty perspectives. She is the author of: Smoke But No Fire: Convicting the Innocent of Crimes That Never Happened, published in 2020. Click here to order Smoke But No Fire: Convicting the Innocent of Crimes That Never Happened To learn more about Professor Henry and her work, you can visit her website: https://jessicahenryjustice.com This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#251
July 30 · 28 min
[Re-Air] A Conversation with Justice Defenders CEO & Founder Alexander McLean [Part 2]
Alexander McLean is C.E.O. and founder of Justice Defenders. This organization trains incarcerated people and prison staff side by side as paralegals and lawyers to serve those denied justice in Kenya and Uganda. They have been able to secure a release for 72,000 people, trained 740 paralegals in addition to 67 people who earned a law degree from the University of London while in prison or as prison staff. McLean created this nonprofit in 2007 having graduated from the University of Nottingham as a Barrister that year. Alexander has been honored for his work by being recognized in TIME's 30 Under 30 Changing the World and on "The Power List". He was UK Young Philanthropist of the Year in 2007. Grinnell College awarded him the "Innovator for Social Justice Prize" in 2020. To learn more about Justice Defenders, visit www.justice-defenders.org Alexander's TED Talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sTBdU0SIJc The Whole Story - https://youtu.be/NPVLb4SwQU4 60 Minutes - https://drive.google.com/drive/search?dmr=1&ec=wgc-drive-globalnav-goto&q=60%20minutes%20type:video This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#250
July 23 · 22 min
[Re-Air] A Conversation with Justice Defenders CEO & Founder Alexander McLean [Part 1]
Alexander McLean is C.E.O. and founder of Justice Defenders. This organization trains incarcerated people and prison staff side by side as paralegals and lawyers to serve those denied justice in Kenya and Uganda. They have been able to secure a release for 72,000 people, trained 740 paralegals in addition to 67 people who earned a law degree from the University of London while in prison or as prison staff. McLean created this nonprofit in 2007 having graduated from the University of Nottingham as a Barrister that year. Alexander has been honored for his work by being recognized in TIME's 30 Under 30 Changing the World and on "The Power List". He was UK Young Philanthropist of the Year in 2007. Grinnell College awarded him the "Innovator for Social Justice Prize" in 2020. To learn more about Justice Defenders, visit www.justice-defenders.org Alexander's TED Talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sTBdU0SIJc The Whole Story - https://youtu.be/NPVLb4SwQU4 60 Minutes - https://drive.google.com/drive/search?dmr=1&ec=wgc-drive-globalnav-goto&q=60%20minutes%20type:video This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#249
July 16 · 24 min
[Re-Air] Writing From Behind The Wall with John J. Lennon [Part 2]
John J. Lennon is serving his twenty-fourth year behind bars, currently in Sing Sing Correctional Facility. His writing has appeared in The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Esquire, and New York magazine. His work has been anthologized in the Best American Magazine Writing, and he’s twice been a finalist for the National Magazine Award, in feature writing and reviews and criticism. Lennon recently published his first book, The Tragedy of True Crime: Four Guilty Men and the Stories That Define Us, which was named a "best book of the year" by the New York Times and NPR. Lennon will be eligible for parole in 2029. To learn more about John, and to purchase his book, visit https://johnjlennon.net/ This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#248
July 9 · 20 min
[Re-Air] Writing From Behind The Wall with John J. Lennon [Part 1]
John J. Lennon is serving his twenty-fourth year behind bars, currently in Sing Sing Correctional Facility. His writing has appeared in The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Esquire, and New York magazine. His work has been anthologized in the Best American Magazine Writing, and he’s twice been a finalist for the National Magazine Award, in feature writing and reviews and criticism. Lennon recently published his first book, The Tragedy of True Crime: Four Guilty Men and the Stories That Define Us, which was named a "best book of the year" by the New York Times and NPR. Lennon will be eligible for parole in 2029. To learn more about John, and to purchase his book, visit https://johnjlennon.net/ This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#247
July 2 · 21 min
Quentin Lewis: Jailhouse Lawyer, Poet, Fighting His Wrongful Conviction [Part 4]
Quentin Lewis has been incarcerated since he was 16. He's now 45 and an inmate at Wende Correctional Facility in upstate NY. He earned his G.E.D. and an Associates Degree in prison. He's been fighting a wrongful conviction since 2001. Students at Cardozo School of Law and Yeshiva are assisting with his case. Quentin is certified as law clerk in the prison system. Read his article in the New York Times here. Read Quentin's poem below. Jailhouse Lawyer, by Quentin Lewis You not a Jailhouse Lawyer Unless you won a case Stop sitting on the sideline Looking out of place You sitting down at Chowtime Looking at your plate Like wait How I'm gone get out From behind this gate Go escape in the law library Lifting weights Damn straight This time is scary As your fate No date upstate The cell your sanctuary Like a braincell Where your energy is carried The law legalise In my memory is buried Due process Came way before slavery Maybe you need to learn Johnson verse Avery Supreme Court said Jailhouse Lawyers amazing Filing torts Trying to get back to the pavement A better person More than before I was caged in Trailblazing Champion of human rights Hell raising The right to counsel never dies After direct appeal You still alive Strategize like a chess game Be a knight Bounds versus Smith Is your right to fight life Late night on the West law legal cite Hype as a typist type Defending rights Wrongfully convicted Feel like double jeopardy twice. This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#246
June 25 · 20 min
Quentin Lewis: Jailhouse Lawyer, Poet, Fighting His Wrongful Conviction [Part 3]
Quentin Lewis has been incarcerated since he was 16. He's now 45 and an inmate at Wende Correctional Facility in upstate NY. He earned his G.E.D. and an Associates Degree in prison. He's been fighting a wrongful conviction since 2001. Students at Cardozo School of Law and Yeshiva are assisting with his case. Quentin is certified as law clerk in the prison system. Read his article in the New York Times here. This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#245
June 18 · 20 min
Quentin Lewis: Jailhouse Lawyer, Poet, Fighting His Wrongful Conviction [Part 2]
Quentin Lewis has been incarcerated since he was 16. He's now 45 and an inmate at Wende Correctional Facility in upstate NY. He earned his G.E.D. and an Associates Degree in prison. He's been fighting a wrongful conviction since 2001. Students at Cardozo School of Law and Yeshiva are assisting with his case. Quentin is certified as law clerk in the prison system. Read his article in the New York Times here. This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#244
June 11 · 19 min
Quentin Lewis: Jailhouse Lawyer, Poet, Fighting His Wrongful Conviction [Part 1]
Quentin Lewis has been incarcerated since he was 16. He's now 45 and an inmate at Wende Correctional Facility in upstate NY. He earned his G.E.D. and an Associates Degree in prison. He's been fighting a wrongful conviction since 2001. Students at Cardozo School of Law and Yeshiva are assisting with his case. Quentin is certified as law clerk in the prison system. Read his article in the New York Times here. This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#243
May 28 · 23 min
The Dismantling of Youth Prisons and Our History of Locking Up Our Children with Nell Bernstein [Part 2]
Nell Bernstein is an investigative journalist and author of 3 books. Her most recent book is In Our Future We Will Be Free. Nell is the recipient of a White House award given to her by President Obama (Champion of Change). The American Bar Association recognized her 2014 book, Burning Down the House by giving her their Silver Gavel Award. Nell focuses on juvenile justice and the effect of incarceration on children. She writes for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Newsday, Mother Jones, Salon and USA Today. Her first book is: All Alone In the World. To learn more about Nell, visit her website: https://www.nellbernstein.com/ This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#242
May 21 · 21 min
The Dismantling of Youth Prisons and Our History of Locking Up Our Children with Nell Bernstein [Part 1]
Nell Bernstein is an investigative journalist and author of 3 books. Her most recent book is In Our Future We Will Be Free. Nell is the recipient of a White House award given to her by President Obama (Champion of Change). The American Bar Association recognized her 2014 book, Burning Down the House by giving her their Silver Gavel Award. Nell focuses on juvenile justice and the effect of incarceration on children. She writes for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Newsday, Mother Jones, Salon and USA Today. Her first book is: All Alone In the World. To learn more about Nell, visit her website: https://www.nellbernstein.com/ This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#241
May 14 · 28 min
A Conversation with Justice Defenders CEO & Founder Alexander McLean [Part 2]
Alexander McLean is C.E.O. and founder of Justice Defenders. This organization trains incarcerated people and prison staff side by side as paralegals and lawyers to serve those denied justice in Kenya and Uganda. They have been able to secure a release for 72,000 people, trained 740 paralegals in addition to 67 people who earned a law degree from the University of London while in prison or as prison staff. McLean created this nonprofit in 2007 having graduated from the University of Nottingham as a Barrister that year. Alexander has been honored for his work by being recognized in TIME's 30 Under 30 Changing the World and on "The Power List". He was UK Young Philanthropist of the Year in 2007. Grinnell College awarded him the "Innovator for Social Justice Prize" in 2020. To learn more about Justice Defenders, visit www.justice-defenders.org Alexander's TED Talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sTBdU0SIJc The Whole Story - https://youtu.be/NPVLb4SwQU4 60 Minutes - https://drive.google.com/drive/search?dmr=1&ec=wgc-drive-globalnav-goto&q=60%20minutes%20type:video This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#240
May 7 · 22 min
A Conversation with Justice Defenders CEO & Founder Alexander McLean [Part 1]
Alexander McLean is C.E.O. and founder of Justice Defenders. This organization trains incarcerated people and prison staff side by side as paralegals and lawyers to serve those denied justice in Kenya and Uganda. They have been able to secure a release for 72,000 people, trained 740 paralegals in addition to 67 people who earned a law degree from the University of London while in prison or as prison staff. McLean created this nonprofit in 2007 having graduated from the University of Nottingham as a Barrister that year. Alexander has been honored for his work by being recognized in TIME's 30 Under 30 Changing the World and on "The Power List". He was UK Young Philanthropist of the Year in 2007. Grinnell College awarded him the "Innovator for Social Justice Prize" in 2020. To learn more about Justice Defenders, visit www.justice-defenders.org Alexander's TED Talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sTBdU0SIJc The Whole Story - https://youtu.be/NPVLb4SwQU4 60 Minutes - https://drive.google.com/drive/search?dmr=1&ec=wgc-drive-globalnav-goto&q=60%20minutes%20type:video This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#239
April 16 · 23 min
A Conversation with Crime Survivors Speak National Director Aswad Thomas
In 2009, Aswad Thomas was 26 years old and weeks away from going to Europe to play professional basketball. As he left a convenience store he was approached by two young men intent on robbing him and he suffered two near-fatal gunshot wounds to his back ending his basketball career. Today, Aswad is Vice President of the public safety organization Just Safe and the director of Crime Survivors Speak, a national network of over 200,000 crime victims across the country, particularly from communities hardest hit by crime and violence. At Crime Survivors Speak Aswad helps elevate the voices of crime victims in policy debates, which has helped pass legislation increasing crime prevention, rehabilitation and access to victim compensation and trauma recovery. Aswad has been featured in news stories across the country including the New Yorker "Black Wounds Matter, NPR: “Black Men Who Are Crime Victims Have Few Places to Turn”, and the Sacramento Bee: “California's crime survivors must speak out for smart justice”. Learn more about TimeDone at https://timedone.org/ Learn more about JustSafe at https://justsafe.org/ This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#238
April 9 · 25 min
Ending Post-Conviction Poverty with Saad Soliman of TimeDone
Saad M. Soliman is the National Director of TimeDone at Just Safe, where he leads national policy advocacy and movement-building efforts on behalf of over 200,000 people with past convictions. A nationally recognized expert in reentry systems and public safety reform, he builds scalable, mission-driven initiatives that advance equity and public safety. Known as a serial entrepreneur, Soliman has founded and grown multiple ventures serving justice-impacted communities. His professional background includes roles with the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. District Courts, and the U.S. Probation Office in Delaware, and he currently advises the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the American Institutes for Research.. Appointed and reappointed to the Delaware Workforce Development Board by successive governors, he specializes in assisting people leaving the justice system with jobs, healthcare and housing to increase successful reentry at local, state, and national levels. Learn more about TimeDone at https://timedone.org/ Learn more about JustSafe at https://justsafe.org/ This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#237
February 26 · 26 min
Jasmine Harris of The Innocence Center of San Diego, California Working to Free the Innocent [Part 2]
Jasmin Harris is director of policy and development at The Innocence Center, the policy representative for the California Innocence Coalition and the Co-Chair of the Policy Committee of the Innocence Network Board. She began her work in the Innocence movement in 2014 after her brother was incarcerated for participating in a non-violent peaceful protest. Jasmin's work in the Coalition has resulted in the passage of 11 groundbreaking laws dedicated to preventing wrongful convictions, guiding the path for the wrongfully incarcerated to reclaim their freedom, facilitating their successful reintegration into society. Learn more about The Innocence Center here. This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.
#236
February 19 · 24 min
Jasmine Harris of The Innocence Center of San Diego, California Working to Free the Innocent [Part 1]
Jasmin Harris is director of policy and development at The Innocence Center, the policy representative for the California Innocence Coalition and the Co-Chair of the Policy Committee of the Innocence Network Board. She began her work in the Innocence movement in 2014 after her brother was incarcerated for participating in a non-violent peaceful protest. Jasmin's work in the Coalition has resulted in the passage of 11 groundbreaking laws dedicated to preventing wrongful convictions, guiding the path for the wrongfully incarcerated to reclaim their freedom, facilitating their successful reintegration into society. Learn more about The Innocence Center here. This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.

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