Innocence Project

Background

In 1992, the Innocence Project was founded by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld as a legal clinic at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University with the belief DNA technology could be used to prove the innocence of wrongfully convicted persons. It operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates for policies that it argues would reduce the number of wrongful convictions and it helps potentially wrongfully convicted persons submit DNA evidence that may prove their innocence. ⁷

The Innocence Project’s website states that it trains its employees to use the identity politics concept of intersectionality as a part of its equity and anti-racism training. It has hired the Perception Institute, Village Enrichment, and other far-left organizations to train its employees that America is subjected to so-called structural racism. ⁸

Advocacy

Public Defenders

The Innocence Project advocates for increased spending on and regulations of public defenders to increase staffing and to hold them accountable for their professionalism. It claims public defenders have been found to be overworked, unprofessional, or otherwise incompetent. ⁵

Criminal Procedure

The Innocence Project advocates for policy restricting the use of jailhouse informants in criminal cases. It claims that jailhouse informants may falsify evidence due to the incentives available to informants, wasting taxpayer money and resulting in wrongful convictions. ¹

The Innocence Project advocates for repealing laws that limit when or how new evidence can be used to repeal settled cases of potentially wrongful convictions. It also advocates for policies that require courts to expedite processes that would allow new evidence to be introduced and potentially overturn wrongful convictions. ²

Regarding the ethics issues of eyewitness testimony, the Innocence Project advocates for policies that would restrict how law enforcement can help witnesses identify suspects. It argues law enforcement should use “double blind” procedures during suspect identification procedures so that they cannot suggest witnesses towards lead suspects. It also argues law enforcement should be required to use non-suspects who have similar features as lead suspects in lineups so they do not stand out as much to witnesses. Additionally, the Innocence Project argues witnesses should be required to identify how confident they are in their identification of witnesses. ⁴

To address the issue of false confessions, the Innocence Project advocates for policies that would require law enforcement to record interrogations. It argues that a significant portion of wrongful convictions are due to false confessions during interrogations and that false confessions are often due to potentially unethical practices. ³

Compensation for Wrongfully Convicted Individuals

The Innocence Project advocates for providing people who are proven to be wrongfully convicted with compensation based on the length they were incarcerated. ⁹

“Tough-on-Crime” Policies

The Innocence Project criticizes policies that increase sentences and punishments for crimes and claim they violate individuals’ right to their presumption of innocence. It names former President Bill Clinton’s 1994 Crime Bill and the New York City Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policy during the 1990s as prime examples of unjust “Tough-on-Crime” policies. It compares “Tough-on-Crime” policies to Jim Crow Laws, the Black Codes, and America’s history of lynchings, because it claims “Tough-on-Crime” laws result in unjust incarcerations of ethnic minorities. ¹⁰

Data Privacy

The Innocence Project advocates for policies that restrict the tracking and sharing of data between technology companies and law enforcement. It describes data collection as surveillance and states that when government agencies access the data, it violates citizens’ right to privacy and subjects them to being at risk of wrongful convictions. ⁶

People

Calvin Johnson is a founding board member of the Innocence Project and was selected to be a founding member since he was exonerated while incarcerated by DNA evidence. While describing the Innocence Project’s advocacy, Johnson stated that “as soon as the DNA” evidence is found that could possibly prove the innocence of a convicted individual, they should immediately be exonerated, provided compensation for allegedly being wrongfully convicted, given a job, and provided housing. ¹¹

Funding

According to its tax returns, the Innocence Project reported $15.9 million in total expenses in 2020, $10.5 million of which was spent on salaries and compensation of employees and $4.4 million of which was spent on legal services for potentially wrongfully convicted persons. ^{12 13} It also reported receiving $21.3 million in total revenue and $20.6 million of which came in the form of contributions. ¹⁴