They Made a Promise in Prison. It Took 30 Years to Keep It.

About this episode

Jabbar Collins discusses his journey from wrongful conviction to freedom and his commitment to proving the innocence of fellow inmate Allen Porter.

Jabbar Collins was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1994 and spent years teaching himself the law before winning his freedom in 2010. Before leaving prison, he made a promise to fellow inmate Allen Porter, who was serving time for a double murder in a separate case, that he would help prove his innocence. Porter had been incarcerated since 1995. After his release, Collins kept that promise, continuing the legal fight that ultimately led a judge to vacate Porter’s conviction in January 2025, citing withheld evidence. Now, the two join us to talk about the bond they formed behind bars and the fight that led to Porter’s release. Read Graham Rayman’s full report on Allen Porter and Jabbar Collins on Gothamist: https://gothamist.com/news/exonerated-for-murder-jabbar-collins-is-a-force-of-nature-fighting-for-ny-prisoners​​ ​​​-Got any questions, comments or story ideas? Send us a message at NYCNow@WNYC.org

People in this episode

Guests: Jabbar Collins, Allen Porter

Topics covered

• wrongful conviction
• legal fight
• prison reform
• innocence
• bond between inmates

Keywords

• wrongful conviction
• Jabbar Collins
• Allen Porter
• prison
• legal fight
• innocence
• Gothamist

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: WNYC, Gothamist

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