Impact
Systems fail people. Here's what happens when someone fights back.
Exonerations & Wrongful Convictions
Maceo Troy Streater
Convicted 1993 for murder, served 23 years. Pardoned on innocence grounds. Claims Commissioner awarded $5.75M compensation. Currently before legislature.
Dieter Tejada
Wrongfully convicted of assault as high school student (2008), served 9 months. Prosecution witness recanted; exculpatory police reports withheld. Absolute pardon on innocence grounds September 2023. Subsequently graduated UConn, Vanderbilt Law, admitted to bar.
Charles Williams
Convicted 2014 of unlawful restraint (acquitted of sexual assault). Habeas petition granted August 2023 after undisclosed police records surfaced. Conviction vacated, released September 2023.
Alexy Martinez-Mercado
Convicted 2016 of first-degree sexual assault despite exculpatory DNA. Actual perpetrator identified via database match 2017. Conviction vacated February 2023 after 6.5 years. $5M+ compensation claim filed.
James Hilton
Convicted 2001 for murder, sentenced to 60 years. Medical examiner's contact wound testimony disproven by Dr. Cyril Wecht. Key eyewitness concealed family ties to alternative suspect. Prosecutor found improper by Appellate Court. Currently before CT Supreme Court. #FreeJamesHilton
Landmark Civil Rights Cases
Prison Gerrymandering Precedent
2d Cir. 2019. First federal appeals court to allow challenge to counting incarcerated people in prison districts rather than home districts. Nationwide precedent. Co-counsel with Yale Law School Rule of Law Clinic.
Housing Rights Settlement
$18.75M class action settlement for 1,000+ residents of Church Street South Section 8 housing complex. Mold, deterioration, demolition by neglect.
Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit
Former Yale student and Afghan citizen tased seven times by plainclothes ICE agents in Hartford federal courthouse. Federal civil rights suit filed.
Title IX Accountability
Acquitted Yale student expelled after disciplinary hearing sued for defamation. CT Supreme Court held absolute immunity does not apply. Current counsel (2025–present) pursuing remaining claims on remand.
Election Law Victory
Won right for candidates to use public campaign funds for childcare expenses. Ruling codified into Connecticut state law (SB 761, 2021).
Wrongful Death Settlement
15-year-old shot by Bridgeport police officer, May 2017. Federal civil rights suit. Settled.
Education Funding Rights
Supervised Yale Law School clinic representing coalition challenging CT's public education system as constitutionally inadequate.
Sentence Modifications & Post-Conviction Relief
Board of Pardons & Paroles Commutations
46 people | 779.5 years freed
Average 16.9 years per client
Court Modifications
66 people | 368.5 years freed
Jurisdictions Served
New Haven, Hartford, Waterbury, Bridgeport, Danbury, New Britain, New London, and more
Demographics
89% of clients with recorded demographics are people of color
Michael Braham: From 25 Years Inside to UConn Law
In 1996, Michael Braham was arrested at 21 for the murder of a childhood family friend. He pled guilty on counsel's advice and received a 32-year sentence. While incarcerated, he earned a bachelor's from Wesleyan University in philosophy and a second bachelor's from Charter Oak State College, becoming known as a jailhouse lawyer who helped fellow inmates with their cases. Taubes took on his case pro bono, uncovered potential bias in the sentencing, and secured a 7-year sentence reduction. One month after release, Braham was hired as a paralegal at Taubes Law. Through Yale Law School's Access to Law School Program, he was accepted to UConn School of Law — 25 years after his conviction.
Ray Boyd: From 30 Years Inside to Reentry Leader
Incarcerated at age 17, served nearly 30 years. Took full responsibility for his crimes and dedicated himself to helping others. While inside, cofounded the Skills of Socialization (S.O.S.) program at Osborn Correctional and the T.R.U.E. Reentry program at Cheshire Correctional (featured on 60 Minutes). Since release in 2021, opened a two-family home for returning citizens. Granted full pardon.
Daryl Valentine: 32 Years for a Crime He Didn't Commit
Convicted in 1991 of a double murder outside the Athenian Diner in New Haven. Sentenced to 100 years. Two of the State's three key witnesses recanted before trial, testifying that Detective Joe Greene coerced their statements — one witness said Greene bribed her with money for cocaine and fed her information to repeat on tape. Despite this, Valentine was convicted twice (first conviction overturned on appeal, reconvicted 1998). The State's own Conviction Integrity Unit issued a report citing credible evidence of witness coercion. Valentine is the first person in Connecticut to have received a public CIU report. The Board of Pardons and Paroles granted a 57-year sentence commutation in May 2022, and Valentine completed his remaining sentence in May 2023. He continues to fight for full exoneration and justice.
Gaylord Salters: From 20 Years Inside to New Havener of the Year
Convicted in 2003 of first-degree assault and conspiracy — a conviction he has always contested. Sentenced to 24 years. Released after a key witness recanted, with his sentence modified under Connecticut's second-look law. Since release, Salters has become one of the state's most prominent advocates against wrongful convictions and mass incarceration. Named New Haven Independent's New Havener of the Year (2023). Featured by The Sentencing Project. Co-organized the 7 Days of Truth with Proof rally series. Now teaches at a local Boys and Girls Club with plans to develop the program nationally. Pursuing a formal complaint with the Department of Justice regarding his case.
Legislative Advocacy & Op-Eds
Legislative Testimony
- SJ 00007: Streater wrongful conviction compensation (2026)
- SB 1327: Sentencing reform (2026)
- SJ 41, SJ 49, HJ 46: Opposing DOC negligence immunity (2026)
- SJ 8: Tejada wrongful incarceration compensation (2026)
- HB 6588: Rent stabilization (2023)
- SB 761: Campaign childcare reimbursement (2021)
- SB 873: Property liens on public assistance beneficiaries (2021)
- HB 6416: Public assistance estate recovery (2021)
- LCO #3471: Police accountability (2020)
- LCO #3576: Absentee voting (2020)
- HB 6139: Affordable housing appeals - Sec. 8-30g (2015)
- SB 432: National popular vote (2013)
Published Op-Eds
- Connecticut, America's strongest incumbent-protection state — CT Mirror, Aug 2025
- Repeal CT's law that denies justice to injured inmates — CT Mirror, June 2025
- CT DOC tries to hide from prison brutality finding — CT Mirror, Feb 2025
- Eliminating cash bail won't threaten public safety — CT Mirror, Oct 2024
- CT AG's office must change culture of callousness, obstruction — CT Mirror, Aug 2024
- New Jersey's embrace of justice, Connecticut's retreat — CT Mirror, July 2024
- Help prison staff and incarcerated: reinstate good time — CT Mirror, Aug 2021
Community Impact
Rewriting Justice: Criminal Justice Reform Panel
Yale Law School. Sponsored by Taubes Law. Moderated by Dr. Elizabeth Hinton. Featured speakers: Freeway Rick Ross, Hocus 45th, Andre Brown. Hosted at L.O.R.D. Afro-American Cultural Center.
7 Days of Truth with Proof Rally Series
Week-long rallies on wrongful convictions. Featured exonerees: Gaylord Salters (20 years), Stefon Morant (21 years), Scott Lewis (18 years), Bobby Johnson (9 years). Partnered with NAACP, Yale Law, ACLU, New England Innocence Project.
Stop Solitary CT Panel
Featured speaker Barbara Fair. Advocating for elimination of solitary confinement in Connecticut prisons.
Systems Fail People. I Fight Systems.
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