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Witness to Innocence was founded in 2003 by Sister Helen Prejean, internationally renowned anti-death penalty activist, author, and Nobel Prize nominee, and Ray Krone, the 100th person exonerated from death row in the United States. We began as a project of the New Orleans-based Moratorium Campaign Education Fund.

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Two years later WTI moved to Philadelphia, PA and launched our first visible national organizing campaign in September 2005, when 25 exonerated death row survivors, family members, and allies came together for a three-day gathering of the exonerated community. We have since become one of the most powerful and unique anti-death penalty organizations in the United States.​

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Our exoneree members have played an essential role in the abolition movement by sharing our stories with millions of people around the country and around the world. We have educated tens of thousands of Americans through speaking events at colleges, universities, professional associations, academic conferences, law schools, faith communities, K-12 schools, and civic groups. We have testified before state legislatures, met with government officials and world leaders, and reached tens of millions of people worldwide through the media. Witness to Innocence has shifted public opinion on the death penalty, playing an integral role in successful repeal campaigns in states across the country.