The Wisconsin Innocence Project has three core missions:
to investigate and litigate wrongful convictions
to educate students through closely supervised work on possible wrongful convictions
to remedy the causes of wrongful convictions through scholarship, education, and collaboration with governmental and criminal justice agencies
About the Wisconsin Innocence Project
The revelation of wrongful convictions has shaken up the criminal justice system. Nationwide, law students in innocence projects across the country have worked to free hundreds of wrongly convicted inmates, giving them their lives back after years of unjust incarceration. Law students in the Wisconsin Innocence Project have worked to free nine people, relying in some cases on cutting-edge DNA technology, in other cases on old-fashioned investigation. Through their work on these cases, the students learn about the operation of the criminal justice system, and how our system, often touted as the best in the world, can sometimes go awry. In proving innocence years after a conviction, the students gain insight into how a wrongful conviction can occur, and how it might have been prevented.
In the News: Jarrett Adams Aims for Law School
In a new article for the National Defender Investigator Association Jarrett Adams speaks about his life during and after his incarceration. Adams discusses his hopes of attending law school and perhaps practicing criminal defense.
Wrongful Conviction Project Receives Department of Justice Grant
The U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance has
awarded $249,901 to the University of Wisconsin for the Wrongful
Conviction Review Program conducted by the Wisconsin Innocence Project
under the direction of Professor Keith Findley. The Innocence Project is
a legal clinic at the Law School that screens applications,
investigates, and, in some cases, litigates on behalf of wrongfully
convicted clients.
The funding will allow the program to employ two full-time clinical
instructors and a half-time Intake Specialist. The Clinical Instructors
are experienced attorneys who will supervise law students as they review
cases, visit courthouses, police departments, prisons and other
locations to gather documents, speak with potential witnesses, and
locate physical evidence. The funding will also cover the costs of
consultation with DNA experts and DNA testing of biological evidence, as
well as travel costs and other office expenses.
According to Findley, “This grant will allow us to continue and expand
the work we have been doing finding new evidence to exonerate the
innocent, drawing lessons from the wrongful conviction cases to improve
the reliability of the criminal justice system, and providing
first-class learning opportunities for law students. It reflects the
importance of this work, and enables us to come one step closer to
meeting the need for such services.”
News
Compensation for Exonorees
When wrongly convicted individuals are released from Wisconsin prisons, the State provides almost no support to help them get back on their feet and reclaim their shattered lives.
Currently, Wisconsin's statutory scheme is so outdated that it provides the least adequate compensation package in the country among states with such statutory provisions. At this time Wisconsin provides only $5,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment, this amount is capped at a maximum of $25,000. Furthermore, the state of Wisconsin does not provide any social services assistance, such as help with housing, health care, counseling, employment, or education.
To remedy these deficiencies, the Wisconsin Innocence Project is working with a bipartisan group of legislators on a bill that will update Wisconsin's statutory law and provide more meaningful and adequate assistance to individuals who suffer the horror of conviction for a crime they did not commit. To read about the issue, and the legislative proposal, see the links below.
Robert Lee Stinson awarded compensation by the Wisconsin Claims Board.
Davonn Robinson freed through work of Wisconsin Innocence Project (video)
Wisconsin Innocence Project client featured in Chicago Sun Times
Group that cleared murder suspect says it has identified real killerDNA evidence in 25 year old conviction points to possible perpetrator
New book features former WIP client, explains why people confess to crimes they did not commit
Wisconsin Innocence Project client featured in Kalamazoo Gazette
Innocence Network
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