The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation

We turned the Knicks championship run into a wrongful conviction edition—because if you’ve ever watched our team fight to free an innocent person, you know it feels a lot like a playoff series. 🏀

Congratulations to the New York Knicks on their first title in over 50 years. As a New York-based nonprofit, we felt that one. But here’s the thing about our version of the game: there’s no final buzzer. Every exoneration takes years of motions, buried evidence pried loose, witnesses found, DNA retested, and procedural deadlines that never stop running. The other side plays to keep people in. We play to bring them home. And unlike basketball, the stakes aren’t a trophy—they’re someone’s actual life, counted in years they can never get back.

We don’t get to walk off the court. The work is constant, and we can’t do it without you. If these memes made you smile, let them also be a reminder: real people are waiting for their win right now.

Help us score some of our own. Support our work at the link in our bio. 🧡

You can spot a familiar face in this celebration. 🤍 Jeffrey Deskovic—freed by the Innocence Project after 16 years of wrongful incarceration—was honored to attend the Innocence Project’s 2026 Gala, “Free At Last: A Celebration of Freedom and Justice.”

The evening brought together exonerees, advocates, and supporters from across the movement. Among the highlights were beautifully produced short films debuted at the gala, including “Rebuilding Life After Exoneration,” spotlighting the social workers who help exonerees navigate everything from daily necessities to support groups after their release. Grammy winner Samara Joy moved the room with a soulful performance, and the Champions of Justice Awards celebrated the heroes driving this work forward.

Jeffrey’s own journey began with the Innocence Project, and being in that room—surrounded by others who know exactly what freedom hard-won feels like—is a full-circle reminder of why this fight matters.

📸 Originally shared by Innocence Project

The Foundation’s work doesn’t stop at state lines. Jeffrey traveled all the way up to Alaska—alongside his fiancée Samantha—to serve as guest speaker at the Alaska Innocence Project benefit. Deeply honored to stand with fellow advocates fighting wrongful convictions across the country, because justice knows no borders.

From New York to the last frontier, the mission stays the same: free the innocent, reform the system, and never stop fighting.

CASE UPDATE ⚖️

For the first time, our founder Jeffrey Deskovic argued a case at the appellate level — standing up for Eliseo DeLeon, a man fighting to overturn a murder conviction built on the work of disgraced NYPD detectives.

The weight of that moment is hard to overstate. Sixteen years wrongfully imprisoned before his own exoneration, Jeffrey now stood before the Appellate Division, Second Department, fighting for someone else’s freedom.

The case centers on a 1995 Brooklyn killing and an investigation led by former detectives Louis Scarcella and Steven Chmil — whose documented misconduct has helped overturn more than a dozen convictions since 2013. Jeffrey argued the identification of DeLeon was tainted from the start, that the lineup and a disputed “confession” DeLeon denies making can’t be trusted, and that with no physical evidence and no video, this conviction cannot stand.

The case is now in the appellate court’s hands, and a decision is expected in the coming months.

We’ll share more as it develops.

Listen to and view the hearing here: https://bit.ly/deleonappeal

What would Jeffrey Deskovic tell his 16-year-old self?

In a recent StoryCorps interview recorded at the Innocence Project, Jeffrey reflected on the interrogation tactics used against him as a teenager, the false confession that contributed to his wrongful conviction, and the lesson he wants young people and families to understand: innocence alone does not protect you in an interrogation room.

Jeffrey was invited to bring someone to join him in conversation, and he chose filmmaker Jia Rizvi, creator of Sixteen Years, as a way to thank her for the work she has done documenting, promoting, and helping share his story.

During the interview, Jia also reflects on the emotional weight of Jeffrey’s case, including the devastating reality that another young person questioned by police had a father figure who intervened, while Jeffrey did not. That difference helped shape two very different lives.

We are grateful to the Innocence Project and StoryCorps for including Jeffrey and The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice in this important project, and to Jia Rizvi for her continued work bringing Jeffrey’s story to wider audiences.

Listen to the full interview through the Innocence Project / StoryCorps.

On May 20, The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice participated in Hudson Valley Gives for the first time, and thanks to our generous supporters, we raised nearly $1,800.

Only $25 was matched through the larger giving platform, but for a first-year experiment, we are incredibly grateful for what our community made possible.

That amount can make a real difference. It can help cover costs for a small but critical private investigation task, support case review efforts, or assist people who are still fighting for their freedom, as well as those who are home but still struggling to clear their records and rebuild their lives.

Every gift matters. Every dollar helps move justice forward.

Thank you to everyone who donated, shared, encouraged, and continues to believe in this work.

New York’s Youth Interrogation Act / Right to Remain Silent Bill has advanced in Albany.

Current status:

S878C is in the Senate Finance Committee.

A2620B is in 3rd reading in Rules.

This bill would help ensure young people have access to legal counsel before and during police questioning, helping prevent coerced or uninformed statements.

Jeffrey Deskovic knows why this matters. He was only 16 when he falsely confessed after being interrogated without a lawyer or parent present. DNA evidence later proved his innocence after nearly 16 years in prison.

What you can do:

Contact your New York State Senator and Assemblymember and urge them to support and prioritize passage of S878C/A2620B.

Share information to raise awareness.

Encourage community organizations to advocate collectively.

Read more in the Public News Service article by Edwin J. Viera: bit.ly/nyyouthact

Protect youth rights. Prevent coerced confessions. Help prevent wrongful convictions.

This morning, The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice, through founder Jeffrey Deskovic, Esq., virtually presented oral argument in Eliseo Deleon’s case.

Eliseo and Jeffrey first met while incarcerated at Elmira Correctional Facility. Years later, Jeffrey is now standing beside him as an attorney and advocate.

Eliseo spent more than 24 years in prison for a 1995 murder conviction that was later vacated. His case has been tied to former NYPD Detective Louis Scarcella and Detective Steven Chmil, whose involvement in cases has raised serious concerns about misconduct and wrongful convictions.

After Eliseo’s conviction was overturned, he was retried and convicted again in 2022. Today’s oral argument is part of his continued fight to clear his name.

This is what the work of the Foundation looks like: standing with people long after the headlines fade, challenging convictions that deserve scrutiny, and fighting for justice one case at a time.

More updates to come.

Swipe through the headlines that told Jeffrey Deskovic’s story as it unfolded.

“Formally freed.” At 17, Jeffrey was convicted of a r**e and murder he didn’t commit, built on a false confession his DNA never matched. In 2006, after 16 years behind bars, DNA finally set him free.

Then came the moment most exonerees never get: watching the real perpetrator sentenced for the crime that stole his youth.

And then the hardest part, rebuilding. Back to school. Learning to trust again. Turning the worst thing that ever happened to him into a life’s mission as an attorney, educator, and advocate.

These front pages are from his home state of New York. But his fight belongs to every state, including Alaska, one of just 17 with no law to compensate the wrongfully convicted.

You can hear Jeffrey’s full story in person if you’re in Alaska, or send this to a friend who is. Either way, you can stand with the Alaska Innocence Project as it works to free wrongfully convicted Alaskans.

🎟️ Reserve your spot: https://bit.ly/supportaip
📍 The Nave, 3520 Spenard Road, Anchorage
🗓️ Thursday, June 4th · 5:30–7:30PM
💵 $50 admission · food included

Alaska, wrongful conviction is closer to home than you think 👇

Here are 4 things every Alaskan should know:
1️⃣ Alaska is one of just 17 states with NO law to compensate the wrongfully convicted.
2️⃣ A reform bill to pay exonerees per year served has stalled in the legislature for years.
3️⃣ It costs about $60K a year to imprison one Alaskan, so a wrong conviction hits everyone’s taxes too.
4️⃣ Alaska Natives in rural communities face the highest risk of all.

These aren’t abstract numbers. The Fairbanks Four served a combined 72+ years for a crime they didn’t commit. Exoneree, attorney, and advocate Jeffrey Deskovic served 16 before DNA proved his innocence. Now he’s coming to Alaska to tell his story and stand with the fight here.

Join the benefit and hear it firsthand. Every ticket supports the Alaska Innocence Project’s work to free wrongfully convicted Alaskans.

🎟️ Reserve your spot: https://bit.ly/supportaip
📍 The Nave, 3520 Spenard Road, Anchorage
🗓️ Thursday, June 4th · 5:30–7:30PM
💵 $50 admission · food included

Seats are limited. Grab yours and be part of the change 👇
https://bit.ly/supportaip