Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The Illinois Innocence Project, based at University of Illinois Springfield, recognized International Wrongful Conviction Day Thursday with a display of 3,728 flags on the quad in front of the Student Union.

“Each flag represents someone in the United States who has been wrongfully convicted and exonerated,” said Kaylan Schardan, staff attorney for the project. “Of those, 573 blue flags represent all of those who have been exonerated in Illinois.”

Schardan also supervises student interns in the Illinois Innocence Project.