The Marshall Project

Two Wrongful Convictions. One Happy Marriage.

“It felt like the universe put us together.”

This article was published in collaboration with Vice.

In many ways, Peter Pringle and Sunny Jacobs were destined for each other.

The two experienced a bizarrely similar injustice: Both were convicted of murdering police officers and sentenced to death; he in Ireland, she in Florida. Both maintained their innocence and were ultimately freed, but only after spending years behind bars; 15 for him, 17 for her.

So perhaps it’s no surprise that when fate — with the help of a famous American singer-songwriter — brought Pringle and Jacobs together about 20 years ago, they hit it off. They got married (the New York Times covered the wedding), they both wrote books, and Jacobs’ story was featured in a film and an Off-Broadway play.

The happy couple’s story is far from typical for exonerees, who often struggle to re-enter society after incarceration. Now Pringle and Jacobs are focused on helping others adjust to life on the outside. , which they founded at their home in Galway, Ireland, provides a “sanctuary” where exonerated people, most of whom come from the United States, can

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