Delaware Cases
Mark Purnell
Mark Purnell had been incarcerated since 2006 for a murder he did not commit. On April 28th, 2022, in response to the defense motion to dismiss, the State of Delaware dismissed all charges against Mark. Mark finally came home.
Mark was represented by Innocence Delaware, a member of The Innocence Network and our dedicated probono attorneys from Milbank LLP (New York) and Rigrodsky Law (Delaware).
Exoneration of Mark Purnell
What happens when a BigLaw firm brings its resources to bear on a wrongful conviction case? In Part 2 of this dramatic story, hear from a Milbank LLP partner and counsel about their successful pro bono advocacy for a wrongfully imprisoned client who was denied release even after his murder conviction was overturned.
In Delaware, Elmer Daniels was released from prison in December 2018, after serving 39 years behind bars. His conviction had been based in part on hair-matching testimony from an FBI forensics investigator whose testimony was later found by the U.S. Department of Justice to have “exceeded the limits of science.” For this and other reasons leading to uncertainty about the conviction, the Delaware Attorney General filed a motion asking for Daniels' conviction to be dismissed. Daniels was fortunate to have the help of a dedicated pro bono attorney in his quest to have his charges dismissed. “To find someone that believed in me... For the most part, it felt like nobody cared, but he did,” said Daniels.
ELMER DANIELS
Jermaine “Marlow” Wright spent more than 20 years on death row before a Delaware court overturned his 1991 conviction.
Wright, 43, was sentenced to death in 1992 in the killing of 66-year-old Phillip Seifert, a clerk at a liquor store and bar outside Wilmington. At the time the Supreme Court overturned his sentence, he was the longest-serving death row inmate in Delaware.
“After 24 years incarcerated, I would just like to go home,” Wright told the court. He was expected to head to his mother's home for a barbecue celebration upon his release.
Wright's attorney, Herbert Mondros, stressed that Wright has maintained his innocence since he was first arrested at 18.
“As Mr. Wright made clear ... this no contest plea is not an admission of guilt,” Mondros said in a statement. “It is simply a way for Wright to put an end to this unjust nightmare and get back to his family.”
Innocence Project Delaware Board Member, James Moreno, also fought to overturn Wright’s conviction.
MARLOW WRIGHT
How to Help?
Delaware is a small state with a big wrongful conviction problem. Innocence Project Delaware is looking to change that.