The numbers are staggering!
Convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, Sonny Bharadia lived a nightmare for 23 years. But he was one of the lucky ones. The Georgia Innocence Project obtained a writ of habeas corpus, a legal action used to challenge a person’s detention or imprisonment, and got his case dismissed in 2025 after 20 years of legal proceedings. Although he resembled the perpetrator, the crime had occurred in Thunderbolt, Georgia, where he had never been.
“We’ve helped free 16 people and have 112 cases with credible innocence claims waiting to be assessed,” says Executive Director Kristin Verrill. “Since our founding in 2002, we’ve received over 9,200 applications. It’s estimated that there are at least 2,200 people in Georgia prisons who are innocent.”
Sandy Springs attorney Noah Pines with Ross & Pines is one of many lawyers who volunteer with GIP and has spent hundreds of hours on Bharadia’s case. “This is the most rewarding work I do,” he says. “Getting the writ lets prisoners get back up to bat. My job is to get them home from there.”
Reentry into an entirely new reality is a difficult process, Verrill says. “We stick with our clients and help them with housing and jobs as long as they need us.”
THE GEORGIA INNOCENCE PROJECT
georgiainnocence.org
@gainnocence
