INNOCENCE PROJECT

Pervis Payne has maintained his innocence for more than 30 years. Yet, despite having no prior criminal record and living with an intellectual disability, he was sentenced to death in Tennessee. Gov. Bill Lee granted Mr. Payne a temporary execution reprieve in November 2020, and a year later, Mr. Payne was officially removed from death row following the Shelby County district attorney's concession that he is a person with an intellectual disability and therefore cannot be executed... We are a community of empathetic, open-minded, and creative individuals who are passionate about driving necessary change in the criminal justice system... Founded in 1992 by visionary attorneys Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck, the Innocence Project has been at the forefront of criminal justice reform, using DNA and other scientific advancements to prove wrongful conviction.

Also known as: Pervis Payne

Primary location: New York United States