PBEye Blog - Pro Bono Institute

Why Does Dewey Bozella “Stand Tall”?

August 24, 2017

Looking for a good read for the last long weekend of the summer? Check out Stand Tall: Fighting for My Life, Inside and Outside the Ring by Dewey Bozella, who was wrongfully imprisoned for 26 years until he was freed with the help of pro bono counsel from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr*† and the Innocence Project. From 1983 until 2009, Bozella was incarcerated in Sing Sing Correctional Facility for the murder of a 92 year-old woman in upstate New York. His memoir, Stand Tall, details his path to freedom through his perseverance, dedication, and resilience. Bozella’s story from

VIDEO: 26 Years: The Dewey Bozella Story

March 20, 2012

In November, PBI was honored to hear from Dewey Bozella at the 2011 PBI Annual Dinner in New York. Bozella, an amateur boxer who was wrongly imprisoned for 26 years, was exonerated in 2008 with the hard work of pro bono attorneys at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP*. Bozella subsequently received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage and won his first and only professional boxing match. Now, Bozella’s story, and the hard work of WilmerHale, is the subject of an hour-long documentary by ESPN Films. We at The PBEye, are happy to see this kind of attention paid

Pro Bono Summer Reading

May 23, 2013

Looking for a pro bono-themed read for the upcoming long weekend? In summers past, our suggestions have included the best-selling The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, an article on feedback loops, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic To Kill A Mockingbird. This year, we continue to be inspired by Dewey Bozella and the work of our friends at Fredrikson & Byron P.A.*†on behalf of Damon Thibodeaux, and have made selections that focus on pro bono work to exonerate the wrongfully convicted. John Hollway and Ronald Gauthier’s Killing Time: An 18-Year Odyssey From Death Row To Freedom tells the true story of

VIDEO: Meet the Face of Pro Bono

November 17, 2011

Just a week away from Thanksgiving, we at The PBEye are thinking about what we’re most thankful for. Overall, we’re very thankful for all of our friends and supporters who spend so much of their time and energy fighting for access to justice for those in need. We’re also thankful this year for having had the opportunity to meet Dewey Bozella and hear his words on the importance of pro bono at the 2011 PBI Annual Dinner. Bozella, who spent 26 years in prison for a wrongful murder conviction, was freed two years ago with the help of pro bono

TKO for Pro Bono

October 17, 2011

The PBEye sends special congratulations to Dewey Bozella on winning his first and only professional boxing match on Saturday. As we’ve reported on this blog previously, Bozella was an amateur boxer when he as wrongfully convicted of murder and spent 26 years in prison. He was released in 2008 thanks to the hard work of attorneys at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP*, which took his case pro bono. Incidentally, Bozella will be our special guest at the 2011 PBI Annual Dinner in New York. Bozella’s story is truly inspiring and reminds us of the importance of pro bono in closing

Ashe Awardee Fights for Justice

July 15, 2011

Yet again, pro bono is found where one would least expect it. The PBEye was pleased to hear that ESPN gave the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage to Dewey Rader Bozella at its annual ESPY Awards earlier this week. Bozella, 51, was imprisoned for 26 years following a wrongful conviction in the gruesome murder of a 92-year-old woman in 1977. Our own Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® Signatory WilmerHale was the firm behind Bozella’s 2009 release. But this pro bono miracle came only after many trials and tribulations for this innocent man. Bozella had a rough childhood, from witnessing his