​​Founding Donor & Board Member

He/Him

Andrew Leander Wilson was wrongly convicted in 1986 of a murder he did not commit.  At the age of 31, married and the father of a young girl, Andy was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.  In other words, he would die in prison. 

Andy spent the next 31 years of his life fighting for his freedom, steadfastly maintaining his innocence, while the real perpetrator remained free.  With the help of LAIP Director Paula Mitchell, Andy was finally exonerated and finally walked free in 2017.  After years of additional litigation, Andy was compensated for his wrongful conviction and incarceration. 

Throughout his incarceration, Andy remained connected to his purpose of being of service to others.  Now, he continues in that mission as the Los Angeles Innocence Project’s founding donor, laying the groundwork through his generous support to continue the critical work of freeing the many innocent individuals in California’s prisons. 

Andy’s wrongful conviction was caused by many different errors – all of them preventable.  These errors included false and mistaken eyewitness testimony, police misconduct, and the failure of prosecutors to disclose favorable evidence to him and his attorneys.  Through its partnership with the California Forensic Science Institute’s scientists and students, the Los Angeles Innocence Project’s work will improve the reliability of scientific evidence in California courts and work to prevent and correct wrongful convictions in the state.