My work is about relationships and connections that people make or don’t make. Identity and social context are important explorations in my work, and I often use figures and portraits to express this. I was curious about a case listed in the Innocence Project. A young woman and law enforcement created an identity within a construct for Clemente Aguirre-Jardin, an illegal immigrant who did not speak English well, and this cost him twelve years of his life. The woman whose DNA was actually found at the crime scene told investigators that she had a bad feeling about Clemente, and Clemente’s nightmare began. How did our justice system fail in this case? Due to the widespread belief that Clemente was the perpetrator no one tested the DNA found at the crime scene for years. When the DNA was tested, it actually belonged to the person who incriminated Clemente. The number “12” has a profound meaning, twelve years to test, twelve years to spend on Death Row, twelve years to be innocent
