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Resources: Innocence Projects
PARC corresponds with and mails a directory of these resources to prisoners, their friends and family members. We are often the first point of contact for people to connect with prisoners' rights organizations, community organizations, prison literature and arts projects, family and visiting resources, health care and legal resources, parole and pre-release resources, and the prison abolition movement.
Download a PDF copy of the November 2024 Edition here.
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Northern California Innocence Project Accepts actual innocence cases for people convicted in a Northern or Central California county; DNA and non-DNA cases; no minimum sentence requirements. The applicant must have been convicted in state court of a serious felony. Will consider cases involving faulty forensic science, police or prosecutor misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, eyewitness misidentification, false testimony and false confessions. Northern and Central California only.
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Legal Resources, Innocence Projects |
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Ohio Innocence Project Accepts cases of actual innocence in Ohio; DNA and non-DNA cases; no sentence requirements. Only serves prisoners in Ohio. |
Legal Resources, Innocence Projects |
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Ohio Public Defender Wrongful Conviction Project Cases accepted for review: Cases of actual innocence in Ohio; non-DNA cases only; arson cases; Shaken Baby Syndrome cases; child sex abuse cases; all other claims of actual innocence. Serves Ohio only.
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Legal Resources, Innocence Projects |
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Oklahoma Innocence Project The Oklahoma Innocence Project accepts cases of actual innocence in Oklahoma; DNA and non-DNA cases; no sentence requirements. Must have credible evidence of factual innocence and be convicted in Oklahoma state court (no federal convictions). Serves Oklahoma only. |
Legal Resources, Innocence Projects |
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Palmetto Innocence Project Focuses on claims of actual innocence or contentions of serious injustice in the criminal process exist. Must have at least 3 years left on sentence; conviction/appeals are final; and new evidence of innocence, such as DNA evidence, key trial witness recantation (e.g. change in testimony), or other credible evidence substantially affecting the case result. Serves South Carolina only. |
Legal Resources, Innocence Projects |
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Pennsylvania Innocence Project The Pennsylvania Innocence Project only takes on cases from factually innocent individuals who have been wrongfully convicted and exhausted their appeals. The Project takes on cases with or without DNA evidence, and will consider arson, shaken baby syndrome, and child abuse cases. Only serves people convicted in Pennsylvania.
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Legal Resources, Innocence Projects |
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Rocky Mountain Innocence Center Accepts cases of actual innocence in Nevada, Wyoming or Utah; DNA and non-DNA cases; seven or more years left to serve on sentence; must be completely innocent; significant new evidence must be available to prove the prisoner’s innocence. |
Legal Resources, Innocence Projects |
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The Exoneration Initiative Accepts cases of actual innocence in New York; DNA and non-DNA cases (specializes in non-DNA); no sentence requirements. |
Legal Resources, Innocence Projects |
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The Exoneration Project Legal clinic reviewing cases of innocence for people who have gone to trial and were found guilty of crimes they did not commit. They consider post-conviction cases from across the nation for individuals wrongfully convicted of different types of crimes and with different sentence lengths, including cases where a defendant has served their complete sentence or pled guilty. They do not consider cases of self-defense. In order to apply for representation, the defendant must be innocent of the crime and the trial must be completed and have resulted in a conviction. Expect delays in the summer. Will consider cases nationwide. |
Legal Resources, Innocence Projects |
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The Last Resort Exoneration Project Free investigative and legal services to the convicted innocent of New Jersey who have substantial claims of factual innocence and are willing to cooperate with requests aimed at discovering the truth. Serves New Jersey only. |
Legal Resources, Innocence Projects |
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Thurgood Marshall School of Law Innocence Project Handles claims of actual innocence typically involving DNA evidence testing, mistaken identification, or that a crime never actually occurred. Thurgood Marshall law students work directly on the project and screen cases, obtain and review case histories, investigate facts, interview involved persons, write case timelines and summaries, perform case analyses, and prepare written case evaluations and pleadings. Serves Texas only. |
Legal Resources, Innocence Projects |
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University of Baltimore Innocence Project Clinic The University of Baltimore Innocence Project Clinic seeks to identify individuals who have been convicted in Maryland state courts of crimes they did not commit and to provide them with assistance in the investigation of their claims. In appropriate cases, representation will be provided in post-trial litigation efforts to secure exonerations. Accepts cases of actual innocence in Maryland; DNA and non-DNA cases. Serves Maryland only. |
Legal Resources, Innocence Projects |
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University of Miami Law Innocence Clinic The clinic handles cases involving innocent individuals incarcerated for a minimum of 10 years who have new evidence ranging from recanting witnesses to new witnesses discovered by students to prosecutorial misconduct and ineffective assistance of counsel. The clinic also accepts cases involving DNA evidence. Florida only. |
Legal Resources, Innocence Projects |
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Washington Innocence Project In order to qualify for representation, a prisoner must: Be wrongly convicted of crimes in Washington; be unable to afford counsel; no longer have the right to appointed counsel; have completed the direct appeals process; have at least three years of prison time remaining to be served; have a claim of actual innocence that can be proven through DNA testing or other newly discovered evidence; and have no involvement in the crime whatsoever. Must have been convicted in Washington state to qualify. |
Legal Resources, Innocence Projects |
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West Virginia Innocence Project Accepts cases of actual innocence in West Virginia; DNA and non-DNA cases; three or more years left to serve. Serves West Virginia only. |
Legal Resources, Innocence Projects |
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Wisconsin Innocence Project The Wisconsin Innocence Project (WIP) is a clinic at the University of Wisconsin Law School. WIP reviews cases of actual innocence. Must have at least seven years left of your sentence, and have a significant chance that substantial new evidence may be found to support a claim of innocence. This newly discovered evidence (NDE) could be physical evidence that was not previously subjected to forensic examination, such as DNA testing. NDE may also include non-physical evidence, such as from an eyewitness who was previously unknown or a recantation from a victim, if such a recantation is supported by other new evidence. Serves Wisconsin only. |
Legal Resources, Innocence Projects |