Help Edward Martinez Rebuild His Life After 20 Years Stolen

In 2006, Edward Martinez was convicted of aiding and abetting a 2003 murder he did not commit. He was sentenced to spend 55 years in prison—meaning he would come home when he turned 73 years old.

Edward was found guilty on discrepant evidence for being the driver of a car where the man in the passenger seat got out and shot someone—even though Edward did not have prior knowledge that anyone would be killed that night. The shooter, who threatened to hurt Edward’s family if Edward gave up his name, escaped and was never identified or tried in court.

To protect his family, Edward did not defend himself. Although another witness told prosecutors the shooter’s name, the police never pursued him, and instead zeroed in on Edward—even though they knew he was innocent. The prosecution’s notes from the conversation with this witness, which would have exculpated Edward, were never disclosed to the defense. In addition to this and other substantial Brady violations, the prosecution’s case against Edward rested on the testimonies of unreliable witnesses who received payments after they testified at trial, and on the testimony of a disgraced lead detective.

After 20 years in prison for a murder nobody ever believed or argued Edward committed, he is at long last home. Edward agreed to be released on a time-served sentence in exchange for not pursuing the myriad Brady claims in his case.

Edward walked free on May 24, 2024—the same day his daughter, Freedom, turned 21. Freedom was not yet born when Edward went to prison, but every birthday wish she's ever had was for her dad to come home. She, along with Edward's four other beautiful, extremely accomplished children—who, despite having grown up without their father’s physical presence, are incredibly close with him—will now be able to spend this next chapter of their lives with their dad.

Edward has been the best father anyone could be from behind bars, and today, he can finally hug his family and begin to build back the life that was stolen from him for the past two decades.

Any contribution you make to supporting Edward is money invested in the most amazing, inspiring person I have ever had the privilege of meeting—and will undoubtably help him make the world an immeasurably better place, which he's already been doing from behind bars.

On a personal note, Edward changed my life forever. Getting to know him and reinvestigate his wrongful conviction five years ago as an undergraduate student at Georgetown inspired me to work at the Innocence Project after college and to apply to law school. But how he shaped the entire trajectory of my career pales in comparison to what he's taught me about love, honor, faith, advocacy, patience, and perseverance.

"The tree of patience is bitter but its fruit is so sweet," Edward says. "Hate put me in prison, and love got me out."

Thank you so much for welcoming Edward Martinez home, where he should have been for the past 19 years, 11 months, and 24 days. To learn more about his story, watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wF0wBqfiR8.