In 1988, 17-year old Martin (“Marty”) Tankleff awoke to find his parents had been brutally attacked in their home on Long Island, New York. Two years later, Marty was wrongfully convicted of murdering his parents on the basis of statements he made during a lengthy and coercive interrogation. He then spent over 17 years in prison before being exonerated in 2007.

Since his release, Marty has dedicated his life to advocating for criminal justice reform. He received his J.D. from Touro Law School in 2014, and was admitted to the NYS Bar in 2020. He works now as an Attorney at Metcalf & Metcalf, and is also an adjunct professor at Touro Law School and Georgetown University, where he is co-directs the Making an Exoneree program with his childhood friend Marc Howard.

With an abiding commitment to humanizing those impacted by the criminal justice system, Marty is a leading voice in the wrongful conviction and criminal justice reform movements.