Shawn Armbrust has been the Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (MAIP) since 2005. In that capacity, she works to prevent and correct wrongful convictions in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.

During her tenure, MAIP has helped free 21 innocent people, has helped secure the passage of several laws that would help prevent wrongful convictions, and has developed important relationships with prosecutors and government agencies in each of its jurisdictions.

Before joining MAIP, she clerked for the Honorable Gladys Kessler of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Prior to law school, she was the case coordinator at the Center on Wrongful Convictions at the Northwestern University School of Law. She is on the Executive Board of the Innocence Network and is a member of the National Committee on the Right to Counsel.

Ms. Armbrust graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center and with honors from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

Videos

Featured

Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project: Annual Fundraising Luncheon

A clip from the annual event

This inspiring event raises the greatest source of income for our work to provide free, timely legal services for those in DC, MD and VA who are wrongfully convicted. Last year, 285 people attended our Luncheon, and 35 sponsors made the event possible. This year, we have an ambitious goal to raise $225,000. We hope you will join us and support our work for social justice!

Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (Video)

Short video describing Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project

Stats

MEN EXONERATED - 21
YEARS SERVED - 352

What is the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project?

The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project works to prevent and correct the conviction of innocent people in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. We have one of the highest success rates in the country for exonerating those who have been wrongfully accused.

The people who come to MAIP for help have nowhere else to turn. Many have been convicted of terrible crimes and are despised and ignored by society despite their innocence. Often, they have never had competent legal representation. MAIP gives hope to people who feel that they are out of options.

Since the project began in 2000, we have helped secure the release or exoneration of 21 men in the DC area. These men spent a total of 352 years in prison–years that were not spent with their children and their families.

Donald Gates Released from Prison After DNA Evidence Proves His Innocence

MAIP Executive Director Shawn Armbrust appeared on Washington D.C.'s Fox 5 News on December 16th, 2009. Armbrust talked about Gates' release, the factors that led to his wrongful conviction, and the work that MAIP does.

Nearly three decades after he was convicted of brutal rape and murder that he did not commit, Donald Gates was freed Tuesday by a D.C. Superior Court Judge after DNA evidence proved that another man committed the crime.

MAIP Executive Director Shawn Armbrust appeared on Washington D.C.'s Fox 5 News on December 16th, 2009. Armbrust talked about Gates' release, the factors that led to his wrongful conviction, and the work that MAIP does.

For more on the Donald Gates case, click here: http://www.exonerate.org/2009/dna-lea...

Constitution Day 2013 - False Confessions: When the Innocent Confess and the Guilty Go Free

On September 17, 2013, The Constitution Project celebrated Constitution Day by presenting its annual Constitutional Commentary Award to the acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns and his colleagues, Sarah Burns and David McMahon, for their documentary, THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE. The event also featured panel discussion, moderated by NPR's Carrie Johnson, focusing on false confessions. Mr. Burns was joined by Professor Saul Kassin, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice; Shawn Armbrust, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project; and James Trainum, Retired Detective, Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia.

Publications

Featured

Reevaluating Recanting Witnesses: Why the Red-Headed Stepchild of New Evidence Deserves Another Look

When Money Isn't Enough: The Case for Holistic Compensation of the Wrongfully Convicted

News

Media

article

Shawn Armbrust column in Richmond Times-Dispatch: It's time to talk about the cost of wrongful convictions

article

Recently, the Virginia Supreme Court found that DNA evidence proved Winston Scott’s innocence of a 1975 rape, easily dismissing the arguments of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) that the DNA was meaningless.

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C-SPAN (Video): Speaking at Community Organizing event with Ralph Nader

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Washington Post OpEd: Eyewitness testimony in an imperfect world

" In a perfect world, it wouldn't happen ," said D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles, speaking of the error -- a mistaken identification -- that led to his office charging an innocent 14-year-old with 41 crimes, including four counts of first-degree murder while armed. "I wish it didn't happen."

Slate: Justice After Injustice

What happens after a wrongfully convicted person is exonerated—and the witness finds out she identified the wrong man.

VIDEO: Thomas Haynesworth Exoneration Press Conference

On December 6, 2011, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli announced the full exoneration of Thomas Haynesworth, a man that had been wrongly convicted of sexual assault in 1984. He spent 27 years behind bars for crimes he did not commit. With the help of the Innocence Project, two commonwealth's attorneys, and Attorney General Cuccinelli, Haynesworth is now a free man.

Acts of empathy: Thomas Haynesworth meets accuser for first time (Video)

Thomas Haynesworth meets accuser for first time

Thomas E. Haynesworth talks about meeting Janet Burke, the woman who mistakenly identified him as her rapist, sending him to prison for 27 years. He was released several years ago when DNA testing identified another man as the one who committed the crime.

Case of mistaken identity takes 29 years of Michael Kenneth McAlister life

Mike McAlister walked out of prison on May 13, 2015 after serving more than 29 years for a crime he did not commit. McAlister received an absolute pardon from Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, fully exonerating him.

“My release from jail was one of the greatest days of my life. My mom and sister picked me up from the prison facilities and took me home. It fulfilled a dream I never thought would actually come true.” – Michael McAlister

Michael Wayne Hash murder conviction tossed after 12 years

A U.S. federal judge throws out the 2001 capital murder conviction of Michael Wayne Hash

Yesterday was a wonderful day. We were able to take Michael home and have our first family dinner in almost 12 years.

Sabein Burgess cleared of murder after 19 years in prison

Sabein Burgess was convicted of murdering his girlfriend in 1995 based solely on gunshot residue testimony. Almost 20 years later (2014), MAIP and co-counsel Steptoe and Johnson determined that based on new research, the gunshot residue testimony was not scientifically sound.

I am being counted as a person again.

The Diane Rehm Show: Wrongful Convictions and DNA Evidence

In the past 21 years, more than 250 convicted felons have been exonerated by DNA evidence. Diane and her panel talk about the causes of wrongful convictions and ongoing efforts to free the innocent.

Thomas Haynesworth exonerated in rape case after 27 years in prison

A Virginia appeals court declared Thomas Haynesworth an innocent man Tuesday, clearing his name and acknowledging that he spent 27 years behind bars for a series of rapes he did not commit.

There are a lot of people behind the scenes who believed in me. Twenty-seven years, I never gave up.