In 2004, our family member Joseph Horton was wrongfully convicted of a murder in Champaign, Illinois (Case No. 04-CF-186), and sentenced to life in prison. He has spent over 20 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit.

For years, we fought to get physical testing done on the evidence. In October 2014, the Illinois Innocence Project completed forensic DNA testing on the deceased victim's fingernail scrapings using advanced Y-STR technology. The results were undeniable: The male DNA found underneath the victim's fingernails DOES NOT belong to Joseph Horton. Science has officially excluded Joseph from the crime scene, yet the local courts brushed this evidence aside.

We are taking matters into our own hands. We have officially consulted with independent forensic DNA expert Dr. Karl Reich, Chief Scientific Officer at Independent Forensics of Illinois. Dr. Reich has reviewed our initial records, confirmed that our data meets the requirements for post-conviction relief, and has officially accepted Joseph's case for full forensic review!

Where Your Donations Will Go:

To complete a binding Actual Innocence Affidavit for court, Dr. Reich requires the unredacted, raw "Rule 417" forensic data packet from the Illinois State Police crime lab. Because the state heavily redacts public FOIA requests sent to families, we are raising an initial goal of $3,500 to fund:

1. Retaining a limited-scope Illinois post-conviction defense attorney to act as the attorney of record to formally subpoena the full, unredacted Rule 417 data packet.
2. Covering the expert review retainer and forensic consultation fees for Dr. Reich's lab to analyze the raw data files.

Per GiveSendGo guidelines for legal defense funds, 100% of these donations will be securely routed directly to a certified attorney trust account or our retained forensic expert to cover professional consultation and filing fees. Please share Joseph's story. Thank you for helping us fight for the truth and bring an innocent man home.