Christina Swarns

Christina Allison Swarns is an American lawyer and the executive director of the Innocence Project since September 8, 2020. As of 2012, Swarns had seven convicted murderers taken off of death row, one of whom was exonerated, three had their convictions overturned, and three had their sentences vacated. She received national media attention after her U.S. Supreme Court victory in Buck v. Davis, a case that overturned a death sentence on the grounds of unfair racial bias.

Early life and education Christina grew up in Staten Island with her two sisters Jessica and Rachel. Her father was a real estate broker.

Christina attended Howard for her undergraduate education and received a B.A. in Political Science in 1990.

Early career Six months after graduating from law school, Swarns began volunteering at the Legal Defense Fund.

Supreme Court victory In 1997, Duane Buck, an African American man, was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend, Debra Gardner, and one of her friends, Kenneth Butler, after arriving at her home armed with a rifle and shotgun on July 30, 1995. Additionally, Buck shot and wounded his stepsister, who was also at Gardener’s home at the time of the incident. One of the psychologists, Dr. Walter Quijano, used Buck’s race as a factor in determining the likelihood that he would commit similar actions again. On February 22, 2017, the judgment was reversed and remanded in a 6-2 vote with Associate Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissenting.

Abu-Jamal case While working with the Legal Defense Fund, Swarns overturned Abu-Jamal's death sentence after the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Abu-Jamal’s jury received flawed instructions and his death sentence was unconstitutional.

Personal life Christina has a daughter named Amina, who she adopted from Ethiopia as an infant.