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2022 Winter Update

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Freedom After 28 Years!by Alan Maimon and Paul CasteleiroOn October 28, 2022, Dwayne LeBlanc walked out of Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in Louisiana as a free man for the rst time in 28 years. His release was the culmination of a 10-year eort by Centurion to prove his innocence.In 1997, Dwayne was convicted by a 10-to-2 jury verdict in Orleans Parish of the murder of a drug buyer and the attempted murder of a police ocer despite evidence that he was living in California at the time of the oenses in 1994. After a thorough re-investigation, Centurion concluded that Dwayne was in Long Beach, California and enrolled at a vocational school at the time of the murder for which he was convicted. An attendance record from the school showing he was in class on the days before and after the murder in New Orleans corroborated this claim.Centurion’s re-investigation also focused on whether Dwayne’s arrest was a case of mistaken identity. Centurion developed evidence that another man, unrelated to Dwayne, who bore a striking resemblance to him and t the prole of the shooter, was never questioned in connection with the shootings. Centurion learned that two New Orleans police ocers thought they had twice apprehended Dwayne, only to nd out that the person they were about to arrest was the other man. This fact was not disclosed to Dwayne’s trial attorney. One of those police ocers was later convicted of ordering the murder of a woman in 1994, a year of unprecedented violence and police corruption in New Orleans.In April 2019, Centurion led a federal petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on Dwayne’s behalf after he was denied relief in the state court on his claim that the State suppressed evidence going to Dwayne’s misidentication defense, and an ineective assistance of counsel claim based on trial counsel’s failures in investigating and presenting Dwayne’s alibi defense. That claim was pending when the Orleans Parish district attorney’s oce started reviewing all non-unanimous jury verdicts, which were outlawed by Louisiana voters in 2018 and later by the U.S. Supreme Court.In order to win his immediate release, Dwayne entered a no-contest plea to lesser charges in Orleans Parish District Court in October 2022. At his sentencing hearing, the prosecutor and judge acknowledged that his conviction was problematic. He was sentenced to time served, and after nearly three decades of wrongful incarceration, was reunited with his mother, Betty, his father, Gilbert, and his twin brother, Dwight.Welcome home, Dwayne! We love your energy and outlook and stand ready to help you with your re-entry.centurion.orgcenturionseeking freedom for the innocent in prisonLeft to right: Paul Casteleiro, Dwaye LeBlanc, Alan Maimon & Dwight LeBlanc.2022 Winter Update2022 Year End.indd 12022 Year End.indd 1 11/16/2022 8:12:18 PM11/16/2022 8:12:18 PM

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1 Release!68 FRED to date!715 inquiries162 cases in development*38 Fred clients suported23 cases in active litigation & investigation1 new board membercase inquiriesby statehighlights202*123 cases are pending nal assignment..as of November 2022*10 cases where states are unknown / undenedFollow CenturionCenturion -Freedom for the innocent@CenturionFreecenturion.freedom Centurion2022 Year End.indd 22022 Year End.indd 2 11/16/2022 8:12:18 PM11/16/2022 8:12:18 PM

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Board of Directors December 2022 Chairman Rob Mooney Snowden Lane Partners Vice Chairman Rob Connor PhD Christina Seix Academy Treasurer Jozelyn Davis PhD BaneLab LLC Corey Waldron Executive Director Charles S Crow III Esq Crow and Cushing Mary Catherine Cuff P J A D Dear donors A few short weeks ago Centurion freed its 68th client from wrongful imprisonment On October 28 Dwayne LeBlanc walked out of a Louisiana prison and was reunited with his loving family including his mother father and twin brother Mr LeBlanc lost 28 years of his life serving time as an innocent man nearly three decades behind bars for another person s crime Sadly his story is not uncommon Currently Centurion is representing 23 innocent men and women just like Mr LeBlanc and evaluating the claims of nearly 100 individuals who maintain they are wrongfully imprisoned There are thousands more who need us Your gift is needed to bring them home Retired Jim Floyd PhD Advocate Kate Germond Senior Advocate and Investigator John Grisham Author and Advocate Ken Javerbaum Esq Javerbaum Wurgaft James C McCloskey Founder Richard Miles Miles of Freedom Edwin Pisani CPA Retired Partner Ernst Young LLP Stephen A Pollard Merrill Lynch Kathy Vik Advocate Centurion Board Emeritus Virginia Long Esq Fox Rothschild LLP Chairman Retired James S Regan Harbourton Enterprises Vice Chairman Retired T Joseph Semrod Centurion spent 10 years working to prove Mr LeBlanc s innocence That s about the average amount of time it takes us to free an innocent person once we take on their case It is an arduous and costly process only made more difficult by a justice system that continues to create new barriers to overturning wrongful convictions The challenges we face in reinvestigating and litigating our innocent clients cases are significant but we remain undeterred Behind every field interview we conduct and every appeal we submit is a human being waiting to be freed from a nightmare most of us cannot fathom Thanks to generous donors like you our team is uniquely positioned to tackle the most challenging cases that other innocence organizations are not equipped to take on Over the past two years with your help we ve made investments in our team that will allow us to take on more clients and better support them after they are freed We dramatically expanded our legal team s capacity with the addition of an outstanding Assistant Legal Director who can provide unmatched representation for our clients We built a sustainable structure around our Post Release Support services with the hiring of a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and established critical partnerships with organizations around the country to meet our clients needs Your continued partnership will enable our growing team to continue our fight for justice for more innocent people in prison Since his release I m happy to report that Mr LeBlanc is joyfully adjusting to life in the free world enjoying football Sundays with his family cooking with his mother and preparing for his first holidays at home in nearly three decades He s taking the first steps in building a life of his own design that he deserves Your support ensures that we will be there to help him every step along the way Fleet Boston Financial Theodore V Wells Jr Esq Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton Garrison In Memoriam William Sword Jr Willem Kooyker On behalf of the innocent men and women we serve thank you for your unwavering dedication to our work Please consider renewing your gift this year With gratitude Corey Waldron Executive Director 1000 Herrontown Road Princeton NJ 08540 609 921 0334 fax 609 921 6919 centurion org info centurion org

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Centurion’s team continues to grow and evolveso that we can provide the best possible servicesfor innocent men and women in prison. Recently,we’ve made two important changes to our teamthat will better position us to bring more wrongfullyimprisoned people home to their families where theybelong.Kim Weston has been promoted to Director ofCase Development. Kim, a practicing attorney, is uniquely qualied to lead the Case Developmentteam, having worked for Centurion in variouscapacities for more than 11 years. She will leadthe Case Development team in rening our caseassessment process, and collaborate with ourInvestigative and Legal teams to ensure that ourprospective and current clients have the bestpossible opportunities to prove their innocence.Laila Wilson-McCoy has been promoted toDirector of Development. Previously our Manager of Organizational Initiatives and Planning for thepast four years, Laila has an extensive backgroundin development and fundraising. She will beresponsible for working to engage our donors, andraise awareness about the incredible work we do onbehalf of the wrongfully imprisoned.Congratulations to these two outstanding teammembers!Our Team is Changing!On ursday, November 3, Centurion lost Board memberWillem Kooyker. Mr. Kooyker and his wife were longtimesupporters of and advocates for our work. Mr. Kooykerjoined Centurion’s board in 2021; we are truly saddenedto have lost him so soon. A generous philanthropist,loving husband and father, Wim will be missed by many.We send our condolences to his family and friends.Learn more about his exceptional life on Legacy.comWILLEM KOOYKER1942 - 20222022 Year End.indd 32022 Year End.indd 3 11/16/2022 8:12:19 PM11/16/2022 8:12:19 PM

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A Moment of Closure: Centurion marks a crucial part of each person’s journey with a Name Removal Ceremony at our national headquarters in Princeton, NJ. It’s an emotional moment of closure, community, and gratitude. On September 29, four of our recently released clients took part in this ceremony. Thank you to all that attended and supported the 2022 Family Gathering. We are very grateful for all of the support and are looking forward to 2023’s Family Gathering 40th Anniversary Gala!! Details coming soon.Check out the recap on View more picture and a video recap oncenturion.org/2022-amomentofclosure/centurion.org/2022-family-gathering2022 Year End.indd 42022 Year End.indd 4 11/16/2022 8:12:21 PM11/16/2022 8:12:21 PM