Our Mission is to support and exhibit art by incarcerated individuals to promote dialogue on ways to: Prevent Crime, Reduce levels of incarceration, and Find effective, humane ways to improve the criminal justice system.

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DANIEL GWYNN

EXONERATED ARTIST 197

Daniel Gwynn's Tortuous and Triumphant Journey Home


Above– a collage of photos documenting some of the 2025 accomplishments of Daniel Gwynn - First Solo Art Exhibit for his One Year Freedom Anniversary, Speaker for: Greene Street Friends School, Barnes Foundation, Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Compassion Exhibit for Lourds University, Alaskans Against the Death Penalty, ACLU of Alaska, Unitarian Church of Alaska, Moravian Academy Upper School, Moravian University’s School of Theology, etc.


Below - Mr. Gwynn’s painting, “The Prisoner,” 2006, created when he was on death row in PA. AM Kirk, Director of Art for Justice, purchased “The Prisoner” in 2007 at Mother Mary of the Captive’s Annual Exhibit. Mr. Gwynn and AMKirk then began a consistent correspondence and collaboration which made it possible for Art for Justice to share his art and the truth of his wrongful conviction at exhibits and public events in PA and surrounding states. 


Daniel Gwynn was exonerated on February 28, 2024 – and since then to now, Art for Justice has steadfastly stood by him through the challenges he has faced and accomplishments he has made. We celebrate his art and his life!               


Daniel Gwynn's European Tour 2026

Daniel’s latest painting “Forgiveness”

Exonerated Artist, Daniel Gwynn’s, 2026 Speaking Tour in Switzerland and Paris


Daniel spoke in Switzerland (Zurich, Bern, and Lausanne) about his wrongful conviction and decades on death row in Pennsylvania. The four events were sponsored by Lifespark, Amnesty Internation, and Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture and the Death Penalty (ACAT).


The World Congress Against the Death Penalty highlighted Daniel’s art at an exhibit at their 9thAnnual Conference in Paris. Daniel spoke at the Opening Press Conference for the World Congress and told of his tortuous experiences on death row during a panel discussion. 


Daniel said of his tour, “Despite the heat wave Europe came out to experience the living proof, through my testimony, of the malevolent, systemic crisis of the death penalty.”


Jacqueline Locher-Malapert, a guest at Daniel’s presentation in Bern, was in awe of Daniel’s truth-telling. She wrote, “I feel really privileged to have met Daniel and to have attended his talk. He certainly is an inspiration to all of us. It is difficult to imagine having 30 years chopped out on one’s life…prime years at that. I find it remarkable that he has been able to forgive and move forward.”


Website: www.danielgwynn197.com

Link: Interview with French TV

DENARD GALLOWAY

Denard Galloway fights for justice while sentenced to life without parole for a crime he says he did not commit, Mr. Galloway creates art to sustain his spirit and keep his hope alive.


Denard Galloway had an Evidentiary Hearing on August 26, 2025 at which time the Defense attorneys stated that the Prosecution withheld evidence during his previous trials which would have supported his claims of innocence. They argued, “Critical evidence was withheld, testimony was manipulated, and officials covered up misconduct that ultimately ensured his wrongful conviction.”


Denard wrote about his experience, “I have been in prison in PA for 25 years - wrongly convicted of a murder I did not commit. Just imagine my being an innocent man, spending 9,000 days in prison and losing 90% of my family while confined.”


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RENE ANGEL ORTIZ

Released on January 17, 2025 after 34 years of Incarceration


Abstract 2, Rene Angel Ortiz

Man On A Mission, Rene Angel Ortiz

Abstract 1, Rene Angel Ortiz

RENE ANGEL ORTIZ RELEASED on JANUARY 17, 2025

Abstract 2, Rene Angel Ortiz

Wiso Ortiz, Sonya Ortiz and Rene Angel Ortiz

Rene Ortiz’s family, supporters, and legal team immediately after the 1/17/25 hearing where Judge DiClaudio ordered his release.

Rene Angel Ortiz - Released

 

Rene Ortiz, who spent 34 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, was released from Phoenix SCI on January 17, 2025.

 

Judge DiClaudio spoke during Mr. Ortiz’s hearing, 1/17/25, about newly discovered evidence in the case saying that had the jury known of this evidence at the time of the original trial, it would have benefited Mr. Ortiz. The Prosecution and Defense attorneys had presented an agreement for a plea deal to DiClaudio whereby Mr. Ortiz would agree to plead guilty to a lesser charge of 3rd degree in exchange for a revised sentence of 17 – 34 years. As Rene Ortiz had already served the maximum of 34 years, Judge DiClaudio ordered that he be released.


Rene Ortiz, 2nd from the left, and his family, moments after his release from prison the evening of 1/17/25.

Eddie Ramirez endured 27 years of incarceration in PA for a crime he did not commit. There was no physical evidence that connected Eddie to the crime. The DNA found at the scene of the crime was not Eddie’s. Eddie’s constitutional rights were violated because the Prosecution withheld from the Defense multiple pieces of evidence which would have benefited Eddie’s case.


Eddie steadfastly fought against the injustice he was experiencing. With the support of his family and friends who stood by him throughout his struggle during the past 27 years, Eddie Ramirez has won the freedom that was stolen from him in 1996.


The Court vacated Eddie’s sentence and the Philadelphia D.A. declined to retry the case. Eddie is exonerated.


EDDIE'S STORY

DENARD GALLOWAY

Denard Galloway contacted Art for Justice to share his experience of injustice in Pennsylvania's criminal justice system. As he fights for justice while sentenced to life without parole for a crime he says he did not commit, Mr. Galloway creates art to sustain his spirit and keep his hope alive.


Denard wrote, “I have been in prison in PA for 25 years - wrongly convicted of a murder I did not commit. Just imagine my being an innocent man, spending 9,000 days in prison and losing 90% of my family while confined.”


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Portraits of Philadelphia

Works by Charles Zafir Lawson

Co-Founder of Art for Justice


Charles Zafir Lawson, serving life without parole at Phoenix SCI in PA, is a self – taught artist. Mr. Lawson began to paint as a way to save his sanity and to call out the injustice and oppression in the criminal justice system. Charles Lawson’s thought provoking, inspirational art has been exhibited by AfJ at over 100 venues and events. Many of the murals in Philadelphia created by the Mural Arts Program were painted by individuals incarcerated at Graterford Prison – Charles Lawson’s portraiture is seen in the faces in some of these murals. Mr. Lawson is also to Co-Creator of the Road Map for Life Workshops for Youth.

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