Netflix's 'Innocence Files' Subjects All Served Prison Time, But Where Are They Now?

The show is truly powerful, revealing systemic injustice, opportunities for reform, and most importantly the people caught up in it all. These individuals had their lives absolutely turned upside down and lost years as a result of their wrongful conviction.

Meet the eight men from The Innocence Files and find out where they are now.

Chester Hollman III

At 21 years old, he was accused of committing a robbery-turned-murder that resulted in the death of Tae-Jung Ho, a student at the University of Pennsylvania, on Aug. 20, 1991, per the Innocence Project . With the testimony of a homeless man and known drug addict near the scene, he was convicted of second degree murder and robbery. While behind bars, Chester learned to draw and sketched portraits of his family. He also taught himself to play the keyboard and became a mentor to others.

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Now: After 28 years in prison, the charges against Hollman were completely dismissed. At the July 30, 2019 hearing, Philadelphia's Conviction Integrity Unit director Patricia Cummings said, I apologize to Chester Hollman. I apologize because he was failed, and in failing him, we failed the victim, and we failed the community of the city of Philadelphia. Chester was released from state prison in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

Hollman adopted a puppy and named her Journey, per Philadelphia Inquirer . He met the dog while still in prison, where she was in a program for inmates to foster dogs.

Kenneth Wyniemko

He was sentenced to 40 to 60 years in prison for a sexual assault. Kenneth Wyniemko matched a police composite sketch of the attacker and was identified, though incorrectly, by the victim.

Now: Wyniemko served nine years of his sentence before post-conviction DNA testing proved that he was innocent. On June 17, 2003, Wyniemkos charges were dismissed and he walked out of prison a free man.

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Wyniemko's ordeal is the basis of the book, Deliberate Injustice , which was published in 2017. He explains that sharing his story of wrongful incarceration and life after exoneration was something he always wanted to do.

Alfred Dewayne Brown

He was convicted for the capital murder of Houston police officer Charles Clark, which occurred during a botched robbery in November 2003, per the University of Michigan . Brown spent over 10 years in solitary confinement on death row.

Now: In February 2019, Brown was declared factually innocent of the crime, which made him eligible for about $2 million in state compensation. In May 2019, Judge George Powell granted Brown a certificate of innocence but his compensation claim was later denied.

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"I went in an innocent man and I came out an innocent man," said Brown. Texas death penalty abolitionists created an Indiegogo campaign to help him rebuild his life. The campaign raised $6,850. According to a campaign update: "Dewayne is doing well these days."

As a free man, he enjoys feeding the horses. Brown said, "I wake up every day and am happy."

Thomas Haynesworth

At age 18, he was arrested and convicted of four violent rapes. He was sentenced to 74 years in prison. After 27 years in prison, DNA evidence helped identify the real perpetrator, according to the Innocence Project.

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Now: On March 21, 2011, Haynesworth was granted parole and was released from prison after 27 years, per Innocence Project . It wasn't until December 6, 2011, that he was fully exonerated. The Court of Appeals of Virginia granted Haynesworth two Writs of Actual Innocence Based on Non-Biological Evidence.

The biography Vindicated shared his experience, but little else is known about his post-prison life.

Francisco "Franky" Carrillo

In 1992, he was convicted of murder and six counts of attempted murder for a shooting that occurred on January 18, 1991 in spite of a solid alibi. He was in a different city at the time, but six eyewitnesses told police they saw Carrillo shoot the gun. Carrillo spent 20 years wrongfully imprisoned.

Now: Following his exoneration on March 14, 2011, Carrillo filed a claim for compensation from the state of California and he was awarded $683,300, according to the Northern California Innocence Project . Carrillo also filed a federal civil rights lawsuit seeking damages from the city of Los Angeles and was awarded $10.1 million in a settlement with the city. Carrillo graduated with a bachelor's degree from Loyola Marymount University in May 2016.

Levon Brooks

He was sentenced to life in prison for the sexual assault and murder of a 3-year-old girl in Mississippi in the early '90s. Bite marks on the girl appeared to match his. In 2001, DNA testing proved Brooks was not the culprit and his conviction was overturned, the Clarion Ledger reported. However, he remained in jail, because the prosecutors intended to retry him.

It wasn't until 2008, that DNA testing cleared another man, Kennedy Brewer, who had been sentenced to death for a nearly identical murder in the same town. The DNA results implicated the perpetrator of that crime, and he confessed to committing both murders, and both men were released.

Now: In 2009, he was awarded $500,000 from the state of Mississippi to be paid over 10 years for being wrongly convicted. Brooks had two grown daughters, and spent much of his free time hunting and fishing as well as collecting birds, from doves to turkeys. Brooks began dating a woman named Dinah soon after his release, and they married in 2016.

On January 31, 2018, Brooks passed away after a five-year battle with colon cancer at age 58.

Kennedy Brewer

He was accused and convicted of killing his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter. His capital murder conviction sent him to death row, but DNA testing cleared him and Brooks in 2008.

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Now: Brewer also was awarded $500,000 from Mississippi to be paid over 10 years for being wrongly convicted. After his release, he settled into a quiet life in Brooksville, Mississippi, per the Clarion Ledger .

Keith Harward

He was convicted of rape and murder of a couple in their home in 1982. A dentist reported the bite marks on the victims didn't match his teeth, though. He was convicted to a life sentence for rape and murder. Harward ended up serving 33 years of the wrongful conviction, per the the Innocence Project .

Now: The Virginia Supreme Court granted a writ of actual innocence, and Harward walked out of a Virginia prison on April 8, 2016 a free man. Since then, Harward has spoken out about the injustices and what led to his wrongful conviction.

Im not here to make any friends, Harward explained at the 69th annual meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, The Richmond Times Dispatch reported. "This stuff is all crap. Its bogus. This bite mark stuff is bogus. Why even continue with it? It just doesnt make sense. He continued: "This is a warning if I find out anybodys testifying in bite mark evidence cases I will come to the courtroom, I will contact the media, I will stand on the street corner in a Statue of Liberty outfit with a big sign saying 'This is Crap.'"