In 2005, Tim Young was convicted for murders he had nothing to do with. We need your help to free Tim from death row. 

Tim has been incarcerated for 22 years and has lived in a windowless cell on death row in San Quentin for nearly all of his adult life. Tim suffers inhumane conditions that have only deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every minute that goes by marks another minute of injustice that Tim has suffered. We must act now. 

At the time of the crime for which he was convicted, Tim was 25 years old and enjoying life as a new father while continuing to pursue his dream to become a rapper. Tim's conviction was the result of a small community that was determined to end a ten-year investigation and put two Black men, who had been frequently targeted by the police in the past, behind bars. Tim's conviction resulted from:

• Testimony from a jailhouse informant who was facing a life sentence for unrelated crimes.
  • This informant walked free after Tim's trial. 
• Evidence that had been tampered with and was largely unprotected from contamination by the police.
  • Police officers were simultaneously in possession of key pieces of evidence and DNA samples from Tim for months and used white-out to "correct" evidence logs and erase the fact that the evidence was mishandled. This evidence never should have been admissible in court. 
  • Meanwhile, the police failed to test fingerprint evidence against all suspects. These fingerprints found at the crime scene do not match Tim. 

The police ignored suspects who had confessed to the crime and failed to inform the defense of a key witness who claimed she knew who actually committed the murders. Instead, the police and prosecution promoted the theory that Tim committed these murders for $300. They failed to investigate the far more logical theory that the murders were related to Mexican Mafia activity in the area despite evidence and confessions supporting this narrative. 

As students in Georgetown University and UC Santa Cruz's Making an Exoneree classes, we are confident in Tim's innocence. We refuse to stand by while an innocent man suffers. Tim is a passionate author and artist, but his talent and his life are wasting away behind the walls of death row. 

Petitions like these have been successful in persuading people in power to take a second look at these kinds of injustices. Sign this petition to join us and demand that Tim Young is freed, and follow Tim's story at www.timothyjamesyoung.com or @FreeTimYoung.