Tennessee Innocence Project frees four wrongfully convicted Tennesseans in 2025, marks milestone year for justice reform

Organization’s 2025 Annual Report highlights three exonerations, one overturned conviction, a landmark bipartisan legislative victory, and the launch of a new Client Services Department

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Innocence Project (TIP) today released its 2025 Annual Report, detailing a year in which the organization freed four wrongfully convicted Tennesseans, secured a major legislative victory for post-conviction reform, and expanded its capacity to serve clients across the state.

In 2025, TIP exonerated three clients and won the reversal of one additional wrongful conviction. Since its founding in 2019, TIP has now secured ten exonerations, restoring a combined 537 years of freedom to individuals who lost decades to a justice system that failed them — accounting for roughly one-quarter of all exonerations statewide.

2025 Exonerations

Darren Price — Exonerated January 17, 2025, after nearly 17 years in prison for a Memphis carjacking he did not commit. New DNA evidence and previously unknown witnesses proved his innocence.

Scott Minton — Exonerated January 23, 2025, after 31 years in prison. TIP, in partnership with the Innocence Project, presented new scientific evidence on false confessions and eyewitness misidentification despite Mr. Minton having 18 alibi witnesses at trial. His case marked TIP’s first exoneration in East Tennessee.

Eric Wright — Exonerated November 18, 2025, after 36 years in prison for a South Memphis robbery and shooting. New fingerprint testing through the AFIS database — made possible by a 2021 Tennessee law TIP championed — identified the actual perpetrator and cleared Mr. Wright.

Legislative and Policy Progress

TIP secured passage of a bipartisan innocence reform bill (SB256/HB201), sponsored by Representative Bob Freeman and Senator Todd Gardenhire, creating a new legal pathway for wrongfully convicted individuals to present evidence of innocence in court. It was a bipartisan criminal justice measure passed by the Tennessee General Assembly in 2025.

Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County officially recognized October 2nd as Wrongful Conviction Day — the first municipal recognition of its kind in Tennessee. TIP is now advocating for legislation to remove barriers to compensation for exonerated Tennesseans.

Organizational Growth

To better support clients after release, TIP launched a new Client Services Department in 2025 and hired its first full-time Client Services Coordinator to connect exonerees with reentry resources, healthcare, and trauma-informed care. The organization also purchased its Memphis office, establishing a permanent presence in the community and strengthening its ability to serve clients across West Tennessee. TIP engaged nearly 3,800 community members through 39 events in seven cities, and received 156 new applications in 2025 alone, reflecting the continued and growing need for its services — 97 people currently remain on TIP’s waitlist.

Community Engagement

TIP’s signature Journey to Justice Gala drew more than 600 attendees to the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel and raised over $500,000 to support the organization’s work. TIP also launched a new Memphis event, Stories of Justice, featuring exoneree and advocate Amanda Knox in conversation with Executive Director Jason Gichner, and partnered with musician Margo Price for a concert for incarcerated women at the West Tennessee State Penitentiary, joined by TIP client and exoneree Joyce Watkins.

This year, three innocent people were exonerated and one wrongful conviction was overturned — four lives freed from the weight of injustice. Each case represents years, and often decades, lost to a system that failed them. Their freedom is a powerful reminder of why this work matters and why it must continue.

Jason Gichner Executive Director

About Tennessee Innocence Project

Tennessee Innocence Project frees innocent people through legal advocacy, strengthens the justice system through policy reform, supports reentry, and educates the public to prevent wrongful convictions. Founded in 2019, TIP provides free legal representation to individuals with credible claims of innocence and has secured ten exonerations to date.