Innocence Project Explained

Innocence Project, Inc.
Status:501(c)(3)[1]
Type:Nonprofit organization
Tax Id:32-0077563
Headquarters:40 Worth Street,
New York, NY 10013
Region:United States
Owners:-->
Leader Title:Executive Director
Leader Name:Christina Swarns[2]
Leader Title2:Chair
Leader Name2:Jack Taylor[3]
Affiliations:The Innocence Network
Endowment:$21,620,304 (2020)[4]
Revenue:$21,373,256
Revenue Year:2020
Expenses:$15,944,005
Expenses Year:2020
Employees:91
Employees Year:2020
Volunteers:22
Volunteers Year:2020

Innocence Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal organization that is committed to exonerating individuals who have been wrongly convicted, through the use of DNA testing and working to reform the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.[5] The group cites various studies estimating that in the United States between 1% and 10% of all prisoners are innocent.[6] [7] [8] [9] The Innocence Project was founded in 1992 by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld who gained national attention in the mid-1990s as part of the "Dream Team" of lawyers who formed part of the defense in the O. J. Simpson murder case.[10]

, the Innocence Project has helped to successfully overturn over 300 convictions through DNA-based exonerations.[11] In 2021, Innocence Project received the biennial Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty by Cato Institute, awarded in recognition and gratitude for its work to ensure liberty and justice for all.[12] In March 2022, The Innocence Project won two Webby Awards for its Happiest Moments video, winning the Best Humanitarian & Services campaign in both the brand and non-profit categories. Happiest Moments was the organization's first-ever public service announcement that premiered in June 2021 and was produced by Hayden5.[13] [14]

Founding

The Innocence Project was established in the wake of a study by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Senate, in conjunction with Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, which claimed that incorrect identification by eyewitnesses was a factor in over 70% of wrongful convictions.[15] [16] [17] The Innocence Project was founded in 1992 by Scheck and Neufeld as part of a law clinic at Cardozo. It became an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization on January 28, 2003,[18] but it maintains institutional connections with Cardozo.[19] [20] Madeline deLone was the executive director from 2004 until 2020,[21] [22] succeeded by Christina Swarns on September 8, 2020.[23] [24]

The Innocence Project is the headquarters of the Innocence Network, a group of nearly 70 independent innocence organizations worldwide.[25] One such example exists in the Republic of Ireland where in 2009 a project was set up at Griffith College Dublin.[26] [27]

Mission

The Innocence Project's mission is "to free the staggering number of innocent people who remain incarcerated, and to bring reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment."[28] [29]

The Innocence Project focuses exclusively on post-conviction appeals in which DNA evidence is available to be tested or retested.[30] [31] DNA testing is possible in 5–10% of criminal cases.[32] [33] Other members of the Innocence Network also help to exonerate those in whose cases DNA testing is not possible.[34]

In addition to working on behalf of those who may have been wrongfully convicted of crimes throughout the United States, those working for the Innocence Project perform research and advocacy related to the causes of wrongful convictions.[10] [35]

Some of the Innocence Project's successes have resulted in releasing people from death row. The successes of the project have fueled American opposition to the death penalty and have likely been a factor in the decision by some American states to institute moratoria on criminal executions.[36]

In District Attorney's Office v. Osborne (2009), US Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts wrote that post-conviction challenge "poses questions to our criminal justice systems and our traditional notions of finality better left to elected officials than federal judges." In the opinion, another justice wrote that forensic science has "serious deficiencies". Roberts also said that post-conviction DNA testing risks "unnecessarily overthrowing the established system of criminal justice." Law professor Kevin Jon Heller wrote: "It might lead to a reasonably accurate one."[37]

The Innocence Project, as of June 2018, receives 55% of its funding from individual contributions, 16% from foundations, 16% from events, 8% from investments, and the remaining 5% from corporations, Yeshiva University, and other sources.[38]

Work

The Innocence Project originated in New York City but accepts cases from other parts of the country. The majority of clients helped are of low socio-economic status and have used all possible legal options for justice. Many clients hope that DNA evidence will prove their innocence, as the emergence of DNA testing allows those who have been wrongly convicted of crimes to challenge their cases. The Innocence Project also works with the local, state and federal levels of law enforcement, legislators, and other programs to prevent further wrongful convictions.[39] [40]

All potential clients go through an extensive screening process to determine whether or not they are likely to be innocent. If they pass the process, the Innocence Project takes up their case, resources permitting. About 2,400 prisoners write to the Innocence Project annually, and at any given time the Innocence Project is evaluating 6,000 to 8,000 potential cases. In addition to their co-directors and a managing attorney, the Innocence Project has six full-time staff attorneys and nearly 300 active cases.[41] [42]

In almost half of the cases that the Innocence Project takes on, the clients' guilt is reconfirmed by DNA testing. Of all the cases taken on by the Innocence Project so far, about 43% of clients were proven innocent, 42% were confirmed guilty, and evidence was inconclusive and not probative in 15% of cases. In about 40% of all DNA exoneration cases, law enforcement officials identified the actual perpetrator based on the same DNA test results that led to an exoneration.[43] [44]

Overturned convictions

, 375 people previously convicted of serious crimes in the United States had been exonerated by DNA testing since 1989, 21 of whom had been sentenced to death.[45] [46] Almost all (99%) of the wrongful convictions were males,[47] [48] with minority groups constituting approximately 70% (61% African American and 8% Latino).[49] [50] The National Registry of Exonerations lists 2,939 convicted defendants who were exonerated through DNA and non-DNA evidence from January, 1989 through January, 2022 with more than 25,600 years imprisoned.[51]

According to a study published in 2014, at least 4.1% of persons overall sentenced to death from 1973 to 2004 are probably innocent.[52] The following are some examples of exonerations they helped bring about:

Sheldon Johnson Jr.

Sheldon Johnson Jr. was serving 25 years of a 50 year prison sentence for robbery when the innocence project intervened to have the sentence commuted as being too extreme.https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/08/sheldon-johnson-arrested-torso-new-york Johnson has subsequently become the suspect of the murder and dismemberment of Colin Small. On February 1, 2024, only a month before the murder of Collin Small, Johnson was featured as a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, wherein he talked about his criminal history and advocated for prison rehabilitation.https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/03/08/sheldon-johnson-collin-small-body-parts-freezer/72893473007/

Innocence Network

The Innocence Project is a founding member of the Innocence Network, a coalition of independent organizations and advocates, including law schools, journalism schools, and public defense offices that collaborate to help convicted felons prove their innocence.[80] [81], there were 68 organizations in the network, operating in all 50 US states and 12 other countries, and had helped exonerate 625 people.[82] [83]

In South Africa, the Wits Justice Project investigates South African incarcerations. In partnership with the Wits Law Clinic, the Julia Mashele Trust, the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), the Open Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC), the US Innocence Project, and the Justice Project investigate individual cases of prisoners wrongly convicted or awaiting trial.[84] [85]

In popular culture

Film

Literature

Podcasts

Television

See also

Related groups and regional chapters

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Innocence Project Inc. (within Search for Tax Exempt Organizations). Internal Revenue Service. August 11, 2021.
  2. Web site: Staff - Christina Swarns. Innocence Project.
  3. Web site: Board of Directors - Jack Taylor. Innocence Project.
  4. Web site: 2020 Form 990 for Innocence Project Inc. (within Search for Tax Exempt Organizations). Internal Revenue Service. August 11, 2021.
  5. Web site: Innocence Project - Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP . 2023-06-05 . www.weil.com.
  6. Web site: Why the innocent end up in prison. John. Grisham. John Grisham. Chicago Tribune. March 14, 2018.
  7. Web site: How many innocent people are in U.S. prisons, and why can't we find them?. KARE11. Emily. Haavik. May 31, 2021.
  8. Web site: How Many Innocent People Are in Prison?. Beth. Schwartzapfel. Hannah. Levintova. December 12, 2011. Mother Jones.
  9. Web site: How many innocent people are there in prison? . Innocence Project . December 12, 2011 . 13 September 2018.
  10. Web site: The Innocence Project . 2023-06-05 . Crime Museum . en-US.
  11. Web site: Wrongful Convictions and DNA Exonerations: Understanding the Role of Forensic Science. National Institute of Justice. Gerald M. Laporte. September 7, 2017.
  12. Web site: Cato Institute Awards 2021 Milton Friedman Prize to the Innocence Project . 2021. July 16, 2021. Cato Institute.
  13. https://www.shootonline.com/video/top-spot-week-hayden5-captures-happiest-moments%C2%A0first-ever-psa-innocence-project Top Spot of the Week: Hayden5 Captures "Happiest Moments," First-Ever PSA For The Innocence Project
  14. https://www.campaignlive.com/article/innocence-projects-first-psa-captures-happiest-moments/1721250 The Innocence Project's first PSA captures the ‘Happiest Moments’
  15. Web site: Facts about Wrongful Convictions >>Mistaken Eyewitness Identifications. December 12, 2006. Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080822012129/http://www.exonerate.org/facts/causes-of-wrongful-convictions/mistaken-eyewitness-identifications/. August 22, 2008.
  16. Web site: The Innocence Project . 2023-06-06 . cardozo.yu.edu . en.
  17. Web site: O'Sullivan . Rory . 2018-03-08 . The Innocence Project: A Short History Since 1983 • . 2023-06-06 . en-US.
  18. Web site: Public Inquiry - Search Our Corporation and Business Entity Database. New York State Department of State, Division of Corporations. August 11, 2021.
  19. Web site: Frequently Asked Questions. December 9, 2011. Innocence Project. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20071228011313/http://www.innocenceproject.org/about/FAQs.php. December 28, 2007.
  20. Web site: element . Aebra Coe 2022-10-27 10:43:14-0400 · Listen to article Your browser does not support the audio . Cardozo To Build Justice Center With $15M From Marvel Chair - Law360 Pulse . 2023-06-05 . www.law360.com . en.
  21. Web site: Madeline deLone, Executive Director. Innocence Project. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100627030642/http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Madeline_deLone.php. June 27, 2010.
  22. Web site: Avenue . 677 Huntington . Boston . Ma 02115 . 2016-07-19 . A Matter of Conviction . 2023-06-05 . Harvard Public Health Magazine . en-US.
  23. Web site: 2020-04-27. Innocence Project announces new executive director. 2021-02-15. Innocence Project. en-US.
  24. Web site: Leading the Innocence Project . 2023-06-05 . www.law.upenn.edu . en.
  25. Web site: Innocence Movement, the Innocence Network, and Policy Reform (From Wrongful Conviction and Criminal Justice Reform: Making Justice, 2014, Marvin Zalman and Julia Carrano, eds., See NCJ-244328) Office of Justice Programs . 2023-06-05 . www.ojp.gov.
  26. The Irish Innocence Project Symposium: An International Exploration of Wrongful Conviction 80 University of Cincinnati Law Review 2011-2012. University of Cincinnati Law Review. 80. 1293. 2017-11-14. Langwallner. David.
  27. Web site: Langwallner . David . The Irish Innocence Project . 2012-06-05 . University of Cincinnati.
  28. Web site: About – Innocence Project. Innocence Project. August 11, 2021.
  29. Web site: ICJIA Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority . 2023-06-05 . icjia.illinois.gov.
  30. News: Submit a Case to the Innocence Project. 2022-01-18. Innocence Project. en-US.
  31. Web site: Acrobat Accessibility Report . 2023-06-05 . www.ojp.gov . en-us.
  32. Web site: The Innocence Project. Innocence Project. June 6, 2016. New York. 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20101015191928/http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Issue_in_focus_Evidence_Preservation.php. 2010-10-15. dead.
  33. Web site: STATEMENT OF THE INNOCENCE PROJECT .
  34. Singh . Saumya . Majumdar . Rima . 2018 . Innocence Project - Righting a Wrong . Nirma University Law Journal . 7 . 11.
  35. Web site: Innocence Project . 2023-06-05 . InfluenceWatch . en-US.
  36. Web site: Rosenthal. Brian. Quinn signs bill ending death penalty in Illinois - Medill Innocence Project credited with having role in statewide debate. March 10, 2011. The Daily Northwestern. June 6, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20110314205336/http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/quinn-signs-bill-ending-death-penalty-in-illinois-1.2510908. 2011-03-14. dead.
  37. Web site: Lundin. Leigh. Dark Justice. Criminal Brief. June 28, 2009.
  38. Web site: Annual Report 2018. The Innocence Project.
  39. Web site: Innocence Project New Orleans partners with JusticeText to litigate wrongful conviction cases . 2023-06-06 . justicetext.com . en.
  40. Web site: Innocence Project . 2023-06-06 . www.law.upenn.edu . en.
  41. Web site: Contact/FAQ. 2022-01-18. Innocence Project. en-US.
  42. Web site: Project . Innocence . Eyewitness Identification NYXT . 2023-06-06 . Eyewitness Identification NYXT.
  43. Web site: How often do DNA tests prove innocence in your cases? Does testing ever prove guilt? — The Innocence Project . Innocenceproject.org . 2015-03-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150105175457/http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/How_often_do_DNA_tests_prove_innocence_in_your_cases_Does_testing_ever_prove_guilt.php . 2015-01-05 . dead .
  44. Web site: Social Justice & Racism - Temple Sinai Summit . 2023-06-06 . www.templesinainj.org.
  45. Web site: DNA Exonerations in the United States . Innocence Project . 17 November 2019.
  46. Web site: Bruenig . Elizabeth . 2021-06-09 . Not That Innocent . 2023-06-06 . The Atlantic . en.
  47. Web site: Female DNA Exonerees Represent Only a Few of the Women Who Have Been Wrongfully Convicted Nationwide. The Innocence Project. January 3, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120405100201/http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Female_DNA_Exonerees_Represent_Only_a_Few_of_the_Women_Who_Have_Been_Wrongfully_Convicted_Nationwide.php. 2012-04-05. dead.
  48. Web site: Innocence Project – Dipping Into Light . 2023-06-06 . en-US.
  49. News: Kanu . Hassan . 2022-09-27 . Rising number of false convictions shows stark racial patterns . en . Reuters . 2023-06-06.
  50. Web site: Systemic Injustice in the Criminal Justice System Comparative Studies 1100 Autumn 2021 (Calderon Ortiz) . 2023-06-06 . u.osu.edu.
  51. Web site: The National Registry of Exonerations . Michigan Law.
  52. Web site: More than 4% of death row inmates wrongly convicted, study says. Los Angeles Times. April 29, 2014.
  53. Web site: Steven Avery. The Innocence Project .
  54. Web site: 2021-08-27 . 'Making A Murderer's' Steven Avery Demands Review Of Latest Decision In His Case . 2023-06-06 . Oxygen Official Site . en-US.
  55. News: Avery found guilty of killing woman . Tom . Kertscher . . March 19, 2007 . January 15, 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121023221942/http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/29388834.html . October 23, 2012 . mdy-all.
  56. Web site: Steven Avery - National Registry of Exonerations . 2023-06-05 . www.law.umich.edu.
  57. Web site: Cornelius Dupree, Jr.. National Registry of Exonerations. 2012.
  58. Web site: Cornelius Dupree . 2023-06-05 . Chron . en.
  59. Web site: Samuel Scott. National Registry of Exonerations. 2012.
  60. Web site: Douglas Echols - Innocents Database of Exonerations . 2023-06-05 . forejustice.org.
  61. Web site: Clarence Elkins. National Registry of Exonerations. 2012.
  62. Web site: Wrongfully convicted man challenges Ohio's giving IRS his prison medical records . 2023-06-05 . The Columbus Dispatch . en-US.
  63. Web site: Ryan Ferguson. National Registry of Exonerations. November 14, 2013.
  64. News: Harris. Dan. Dan Harris (journalist). Yu. Katie. Effron. Lauren. Exonerated Death Row Inmate Meets the Former Prosecutor Who Put Him There. April 18, 2015. Nightline. ABC. April 18, 2015.
  65. Web site: Hunt exonerated . Zerwick, Phoebe . February 6, 2004 . Winston Salem Journal . June 2, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130429011312/http://www.truthinjustice.org/hunt-exonerated.htm . April 29, 2013 .
  66. Zerwick, Phoebe (2003) "Murder, Race, Justice: The State vs. Darryl Hunt" Journal Now
  67. Web site: Michael Morton. National Registry of Exonerations. 2012.
  68. Web site: Anthony Porter. National Registry of Exonerations. 2012.
  69. https://innocenceproject.org/cases/james-tillman/ James Tillman – 17 Years in Prison: Innocent
  70. Web site: Borsuk . Ken . 2018-10-10 . Innocence Project brings message of healing to Greenwich . 2023-06-05 . GreenwichTime . en-US.
  71. Web site: After 36 Years in a Louisiana Prison for a Rape He Didn't Commit, Archie Williams Wins Freedom — and a TV Show Spotlight | Prison Legal News.
  72. Web site: Kenneth Wyniemko. National Registry of Exonerations. 2012.
  73. Web site: Negussie . Tesfaye . March 10, 2023 . Two wrongfully convicted men granted scholarships to University of Akron . 2023-06-05 . ABC News . en.
  74. Web site: Leonard Mack - National Registry of Exonerations . 2023-11-14 . www.law.umich.edu.
  75. Web site: Propper . David . 2023-09-06 . Leonard Mack exonerated of 1975 rape of teen girl in Westchester . 2023-11-14 . nypost.com . en-US.
  76. Web site: Hit in DNA Database Proves Leonard Mack's Innocence After 47 Years of Wrongful Conviction . 2023-11-14 . Innocence Project.
  77. Web site: 2023-10-11 . Oklahoma man who spent 30 years in prison for rape is exonerated after DNA testing: "I have never lost hope" - CBS News . 2023-11-14 . www.cbsnews.com . en-US.
  78. News: After 35 Years, Perry Lott Receives Delayed Justice - Oklahoma Watch . en-US . Oklahoma Watch . 2023-11-14.
  79. Web site: Greco . Jonathan . 2023-10-10 . Oklahoma man exonerated after being wrongfully convicted in 1988 of rape, burglary . 2023-11-14 . KOCO . en.
  80. Web site: How You Can Help The Innocence Project — The Advocates Behind Netflix's New Docuseries. Elly. Belle. Refinery29. April 15, 2020.
  81. Web site: Innocence Network - Our Story . https://web.archive.org/web/20210730224058/https://www.innocencenetwork.org/category/who-we-are . 2021-07-30 . Innocence Network . August 11, 2021.
  82. Web site: Innocence Network. Innocence Project. August 11, 2021.
  83. Web site: Illinois Innocence Project to mark Wrongful Conviction Day with events . 2023-06-05 . The State Journal-Register . en-US.
  84. Web site: Gordin. Jeremy. The Justice Project. Wits Journalism Programme. 2011-01-04. Witwatersrand, SA. August 2009 .
  85. Web site: cdaniel . Innocence Project South Africa Archives . 2023-06-05 . Santa Clara Law . en-US.
  86. Web site: Sanders . Jessica . After Innocence Film Review Spirituality & Practice . 2023-06-05 . www.spiritualityandpractice.com . en.
  87. News: Aitkenhead . Decca . 2010-12-11 . Betty Anne Waters: 'We thought Kenny was coming home' . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-06-05 . 0261-3077.
  88. Web site: Go Behind the Story of CONVICTION with The Innocence Project . 2023-06-05 . Searchlight Pictures.
  89. Web site: Jury Rules Against 'Conviction' Arts The Harvard Crimson . 2023-06-05 . www.thecrimson.com.
  90. https://innocenceproject.org/innocence-project-honored-with-two-webby-anthem-awards-dedicates-action-speech-to-melissa-lucio-on-texas-death-row/#:~:text=(New%20York%2C%20NY%20—%20March,by%20the%20renowned%20Webbys%20Awards. Innocence Project Honored With Two Webby Anthem Awards, Dedicates Action Speech to Melissa Lucio on Texas Death Row
  91. Web site: Happiest Moments - The Shorty Awards . 2023-06-05 . shortyawards.com.
  92. Web site: Robinson . Lisa . 2022-09-20 . Innocence Project: Problem of wrongful convictions is systemwide . 2023-06-05 . WBAL . en.
  93. Web site: 2022-09-21 . 'Serial' Subject Adnan Syed, Who Was Aided by Innocence Project at UVA Law, Released From Prison . 2023-06-05 . University of Virginia School of Law . en.
  94. Web site: 2010-12-13 . Starr report . 2023-06-05 . en-US.
  95. News: Smallman, Etan. The Innocence Squad: Etan Smallman meets five students forgoing the pub and lie-ins to devote their time to investigating alleged miscarriages of justice. https://web.archive.org/web/20081007213839/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/student/student_life/article1685105.ece. 2008-10-07. deviated. Times Online. April 23, 2007. April 4, 2023.
  96. Web site: Scheck on "The Good Wife" . The Innocence Project Blog . June 6, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120803001838/http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Tune_in_Tonight_Scheck_on_The_Good_Wife.php . August 3, 2012 .
  97. Web site: This founder of The Innocence Project once appeared on The Good Wife . 2023-06-05 . Start TV.
  98. Web site: 2010-12-15 . 'The Good Wife' . 2023-06-05 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
  99. Web site: 2017-08-18 . Catching Up With Former U.S. Attorney Zane Memeger '91 . 2023-06-05 . University of Virginia School of Law . en.
  100. Web site: Henehan . Billy . 2018-10-24 . Syndicated Comics . 2023-06-05 . The Beat . en-US.
  101. Web site: 2021-08-27 . 'Making A Murderer's' Steven Avery Demands Review Of Latest Decision In His Case . 2023-06-05 . Oxygen Official Site . en-US.
  102. News: Horton . Adrian . 2020-04-15 . The Innocence Files: a shocking Netflix series on wrongful convictions . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-06-05 . 0261-3077.
  103. Web site: Watch The Innocence Files Netflix Official Site . 2023-06-05 . www.netflix.com . en.
  104. Web site: 2023-03-13 . Quantum Leap Season 1 Episode 15 Review: Ben Song For The Defense . 2023-06-05 . TV Fanatic . en.
  105. Web site: Povey . Jennifer R. . 2023-03-29 . Quantum Leap Episode Review — Season One, Episode 15 "Ben Song For The Defense" . 2023-06-05 . Views of Other Planes . en.
  106. 2018-12-14 . The Story Behind Netflix's True Crime Series 'The Innocent Man' . 2023-06-09 . Time . en.
  107. Web site: Watch The Innocent Man Netflix Official Site . 2023-06-09 . www.netflix.com . en.

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