The Review of Law & Social Change, the Innocence Project (IP) and the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law (CRIL) were proud to host the 2026 Race and Wrongful Conviction Symposium on October 2, 2026. The Symposium was anchored by the historic, posthumous exoneration of Tommy Lee Walker, an innocent Black man executed in Texas in 1954. It featured a series of thoughtful conversations led by those with lived experience, renowned scholars in the fields, and members of the media – exploring wrongful convictions, systemic racism and innovative approaches to reform – followed by a reception.

In connection with the Symposium, the Review of Law & Social Change is seeking submissions for Volume 51.3, a special issue on race and wrongful conviction, published in partnership with the Innocence Project and the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project. Selected articles will respond to the brief and the issues it raises, including race, wrongful conviction, capital punishment, and posthumous exoneration. Please see the Submission Guidelines here. The submission window will close January 15, 2027.

Please see a selection of photos included in the gallery below. Also included are links to videos of several of the conversations held at the Symposium, though all videos from the event are available on NYU Law’s YouTube page.

Stories of Freedom (video starts at 20:59) with Marvin Anderson (Exoneree and Board Member, IP), Huwe Burton (Exoneree, IP), and Kevin Anderson (Member, Exonerated Five), moderated by Ashley Burrell (Special Advisor on Race and Wrongful Conviction, IP)

Breaking Point: False Confessions and Wrongful Conviction with Robin Dahlberg (Author, Breaking Point) and Raymond Santana (Member, Exonerated Five)

Race and Capital Punishment, Then and Now with Prof. Ngozi Ndulue (Post-Conviction Criminal Defense Clinic, University of British Columbia), Prof. Alexis Hoag-Fordjour (Center for Criminal Justice, Brooklyn Law School), and Ashley Burrell (Special Advisor on Race and Wrongful Conviction, IP), moderated by Prof. Vincent Southerland (CRIL)

A Conversation on the Importance of Scholarship in Social Change with Prof. Alexis Karteron (NYU Law) and Prof. Daniel Harawa (NYU Law), moderated by Kelis Johnson (NYU Law J.D. Candidate ’27 and Co-Editor-in-Chief of RLSC)

Media Matters: Reporting Race, Capital Punishment, and Wrongful Conviction with Maurice Chammah (Author and Journalist, The Marshall Project) and Walter Katz (Policy Director, IP)

“Tricked Out of My Life”: Tommy Lee Walker Case with Edward Lee Smith (Tommy Lee Walker’s son), Lauren Gottesman (Senior Staff Attorney, IP), and Alex Stein (Program Director, Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, Northeastern University School of Law), moderated by M. Chris Fabricant (Director of Strategic Litigation, IP)