Cornelius Dupree was exonerated in 2011 for a crime that he did not commit, after serving more than 30 years of his 75-year sentence. Upon his release, he went to community college and interned with Rodney Ellis, former Chair of the Innocence Project Board of Directors. He was eventually compensated by state statute. For the 2018 Innocence Network Conference in Memphis, Cornelius came up with the idea of a march to the Civil Rights Museum to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He is a former member of the Innocence Project Exoneree Advisory Council and a current Lead Conference Ambassador.