What is Wrongful Conviction Day?

By: IPF Interns, Joziah Burnett and Nina Mansilla

International Wrongful Conviction Day (IWCD) is observed every year on October 2nd. First launched in 2014, IWCD was created as a coordinated effort to shine a global spotlight on wrongful convictions and their devastating consequences. The day grew out of the broader “innocence movement,” which gained momentum in the late 20th century as advocates began exposing systemic flaws in the justice system. Like many movements of that era, Black Lives Matter, Marriage Equality, Me Too, it was born out of organizing, truth-telling, and a demand for change.

Since then, IWCD has become much more than a symbolic commemoration. For freed people, families, advocates, and communities, it is a day of healing, awareness, and action. Clients of Innocence Network organizations have collectively spent more than 14,770 years wrongfully incarcerated, a number that underscores both the depth of injustice and the urgency of reform.

Freed folks: Neil Robinson, Robert DuBoise, James Bain, Dean McKee, Stephanie Spurgeon, and Paul Hildwin

The Purpose of Wrongful Conviction Day

IWCD raises awareness about the causes, prevalence, and consequences of wrongful convictions, issues too often hidden from public view. Misidentification, false confessions, official misconduct, and flawed forensic practices are just a few of the systemic failures that send innocent people to prison.

The day also amplifies the voices of freed and exonerated people. While high-profile cases like the Exonerated Five

( Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Yusef Salaam, and Korey Wise) gained media attention, countless others remain untold. Wrongful convictions don’t just steal years from freed folks, they devastate families and communities for generations. Even after release, freed people face enormous challenges rebuilding their lives, from employment and housing barriers to untreated trauma.

At its core, IWCD is a call to action, a demand for reforms in policing, prosecution, and accountability. Many organizations use October 2nd to launch or advance campaigns pushing for systemic change.

How We Celebrate Wrongful Conviction Day

Aunjanue Ellis and Ethan Herisse in When They See Us chronicling the case of the Exonerated Five. Photograph: Atsushi Nishijima/Netflix

IWCD is marked through gatherings, rallies, panels, and storytelling events across the U.S. and the globe. From rallies on courthouse steps to school-based education programs, these events bring freed people, judges, advocates, and communities together. The Innocence Network coordinates much of this work, offering a global platform and interactive event map to connect people everywhere to the movement.

Film screenings have also become a powerful way to educate and engage. Documentaries and dramatizations like When They See Us, Just Mercy, Making a Murderer, The Innocence Files, Time: The Kalief Browder Story, and Crown Heights help humanize the stories of freed folks and reveal the systemic failures behind wrongful convictions.

In addition, organizations host fundraisers, social media campaigns, and resource fairs to raise awareness and directly support freed folks navigating life after prison. Hashtags like #WrongfulConvictionDay amplify stories, while resource fairs provide housing, healthcare, and employment support.

Why It Matters

IWCD allows freed people to break the silence, reclaim their narratives, and build community. It validates their struggles while giving the public a chance to listen, learn, and act. Just as importantly, it builds momentum for policy reforms that address the root causes of wrongful convictions.

For the Innocence Project of Florida (IPF), this day reinforces our mission: to free the innocent, support freed clients, and reform the system that continues to steal years from innocent lives. It is a reminder that justice is not just an ideal, it is a right.

As we mark this year’s International Wrongful Conviction Day, we honor the resilience of freed folks, recommit to fighting for truth, and invite everyone to stand with us in building a fairer, more just future.

Happy International Wrongful Conviction Day, here’s to many more years of advocacy, action, and change.