OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Miracle of Innocence, a nonprofit founded by people who were wrongfully convicted, held its eighth annual gala over the weekend, highlighting the nonprofit's continued work to help rebuild lives stolen by wrongful imprisonment.
Exonerees Darryl Burton and Lamonte McIntyre started the organization, which helps investigate innocent people who are incarcerated.
Once released, they are provided housing assistance, clothing, food, transportation and counseling/mentorship referrals.
“In the last eight years, you done had 30 exonerees, 30 people get out of prison that were wrongfully convicted," McIntyre said. "That is staggering. Those numbers is way too many.”
Saturday's gala focused on "the exonerated woman," featuring ladies who served time for crimes they didn't commit.
"I’m the first woman to be exonerated from death row in the United States out of the state of Mississippi," said exoneree Sabrina Smith.
"I spent 16 1/2 years in prison for a murder service station crime that I didn’t commit," said exoneree Ellen Reasonover. “At the time of my arrest, life was beautiful. I was in college. I had only been married two weeks. I had a baby daughter, she was two years old."
“I went to prison in 1986, and it took almost 40 years of people working hard for me to finally be freed," said exoneree Patty Prewitt.
The National Registry of Exonerations reports about 3,600 people have been exonerated in the U.S. from 1989 through 2024.
Data from the Innocence Project shows exonerees lose an average of 16 years of their lives to wrongful imprisonment — and in some cases, much more.
"We have an investigative team, what we call case developers, and they go over everything very thoroughly," said Darryl Burton, Miracle of Innocence co-founder. "We take only innocent cases; 100% innocent."
While every case is unique, wrongful convictions most often stem from false confessions, mistaken identity, official misconduct and inadequate defense.
“It takes a lot of resources and funding to help these cases,” Burton said.
The gala set a goal to raise $250,000 to support legal work and reentry services exonerees need to regain stability and opportunity after incarceration.
—
KSHB 41 reporter La’Nita Brooks covers stories providing solutions and offering discussions on topics of crime and violence. Share your story idea with La’Nita.
