The thought of an innocent person sitting in prison is deeply troubling. Yet wrongful convictions happen at an alarming rate. The Innocence Project, founded in 1992, exists to exonerate the wrongfully convicted through DNA testing and reform the criminal justice system to prevent this injustice. With tireless work addressing systemic failures that lead to false confessions, mistaken eyewitness identification, invalid or improper forensic science, and more, 337 wrongly convicted people have regained freedom thanks to the Innocence Project’s efforts. But there is more work to be done. Currently on average, three innocent people a week are exonerated.
For those with innocence claims, a dedicated criminal defense attorney provides the best chance to win exoneration and start rebuilding life. Let’s examine the Innocence Project’s critical work and how skilled post-conviction attorneys can work with them to overturn wrongful convictions and prevent future injustice.
The Innocence Project – Restoring Freedom and Transforming Systems
The Innocence Project began as a nonprofit legal organization affiliated with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. It is dedicated to exonerating individuals where forensic DNA testing of evidence can prove innocence. The Innocence Project also works to prevent future injustice by identifying flaws in the system leading to wrongful convictions and advocating for their reform.
Some key facts about the Innocence Project:
- 337 exonerations secured through DNA as of June 2022
- Over 20,000 years lost by innocent people wrongfully imprisoned
- Network of 68 innocence organizations across the United States and world
- Accepts less than 5% of ~1500 annual requests for representation
The leading causes of wrongful convictions the Innocence Project works to address include:
Eyewitness Misidentification
- Contributes to approximately 69% of convictions overturned through DNA testing
False Confessions
- Especially vulnerable are juveniles, people with disabilities, and mental health conditions
Invalid or Improper Forensic Science
- Discredited techniques like bite mark analysis or microscopic hair analysis
Official Misconduct by Law Enforcement
- Coercing confessions, suggestive eyewitness identification, evidence tampering
Unregulated Criminal Informants
- Incentives to fabricate testimony for leniency
Inadequate Defense Representation
Without diligent, properly funded public defense, innocent people suffer
The Innocence Project prioritizes cases where DNA evidence exists that was not previously tested or could now be tested with improved methods. However, they also advocate for policy reforms like videotaping interrogations, better eyewitness identification practices, increased access to DNA testing, and compensation for exonerees.
How Post-Conviction Attorneys Collaborate With the Innocence Project
Overturning wrongful convictions through the Innocence Project involves a collaborative effort between the organization itself and post-conviction Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys. There are important roles for both parties to play.
The Innocence Project maintains resources most attorneys do not have. These include:
- An in-house lab with DNA analysts and experts
- Relationships with outside forensic experts
- Federal public policy team focusing on legislative reforms
- Media department able to bring public attention to wrongful conviction cases
- Case consultants specializing in reinvestigating cases and specific causes of wrongful convictions
- Staff attorneys with deep post-conviction litigation experience
However, the Innocence Project does not directly represent convicted individuals. This is where skilled post-conviction attorneys or innocence lawyers come in.
Post-Conviction Attorneys Handle the Legal Process
Specialized post-conviction attorneys represent clients who maintain innocence and handle all aspects of litigation. Their responsibilities include:
- Reviewing trial transcripts, police reports, and evidence related to the case
- Filing petitions and briefs needed to initiate appeals and make legal arguments
- Gathering new exculpatory evidence and lining up forensic experts
- Appearing in appellate and evidentiary hearings
- Directly litigating all proceedings needed to ultimately win exoneration
Collaborating with the Innocence Project
Post-conviction attorneys and the Innocence Project have complementary roles. Attorneys manage legal proceedings while the Innocence Project provides specialized support like:
- Case evaluation including prioritizing cases with strong likelihood of exoneration
- Securing DNA testing and expert analysis
- Providing consultation from reinvestigation specialists
- State specific policy guidance and legislative reforms needed
- Garnering public attention and support through national platform
By leveraging these resources from the Innocence Project while handling legal proceedings, post-conviction attorneys can build extremely strong cases and win exonerations for wrongfully convicted clients.
The Innocence Attorney Network – Specialists in Winning Exonerations
Given the complexity of overturning wrongful convictions, having a specially skilled post-conviction attorney significantly boosts chances. The Innocence Project helped establish the Innocence Attorney Network to connect those with innocence claims to these top specialists across the country.
Innocence Network attorneys have specific knowledge and experience with:
- State specific post-conviction legal procedures
- Best practices reinvestigating and litigating innocence cases
- Developments in forensic science helpful to proving innocence
- Federal constitutional issues like due process violations
- State and national policies and reforms needed to prevent future wrongful convictions
This expertise allows Innocence Network lawyers to successfully win exonerations even in the most challenging cases.
Hope for the Wrongfully Convicted
The number of overturned wrongful convictions gives hope that miscarriages of justice can be corrected even decades later. In 2022, the exonerees through the Innocence Project had served an average of 14 years in prison.
No amount of money can make up for time lost. But a skilled criminal defense or innocence attorney from Benjamin Durham Law Firm, together with the Innocence Project’s support, provides the best chance to regain freedom. For anyone suffering the nightmare of wrongful imprisonment, the path to justice starts with contacting these indispensable advocates.
