Innocence Project Thesis

Since the founding of our judicial system there have always been individuals claiming innocence to a crime that they have been found guilty of, traditionally, after their sentencing no matter how innocent they may or may not be would have to serve, live and possibly die by the decision of their peers. The Innocence Project, founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck alongside Peter J. Neufeld faces this issue by challenging the sentencing of convicted individuals who claim their innocence and have factual ground to stand upon. The Innocence Project uses the recent advances in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing to prove their client’s innocence by using methods that were not available, too primitive or not provided to their clients during their investigation,

The Innocence Project has been able to lend aid to many individuals, who without their help, would not have seen life outside of prison again. The most well-known client of The Innocence Project is Steven Avery, whom is essentially famous due to a documentary series which followed his struggle for freedom. (Thesis) The Innocence Project is a national and international public organization committed to absolving wrongfully convicted individuals through DNA testing and dedicated to the reconstruction of the criminal justice system, in order prevent any further injustice of innocent men or women. Many have been freed with the help of The Innocence Project and the advances in DNA testing, one of the most well-known clients being Steven Avery whom at the age of 22 was wrongfully convicted of

The Innocence project was founded at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of law located at Yeshiva University and is a public organization which committed itself to the exoneration of falsely convicted individuals through deoxyribonucleic acid testing. In 2004 The Innocence Project became a nonprofit organization, continuing its close affiliation with Cardozo. Since the founding of The Innocence Project it has spread throughout the nation, aiding those who have nowhere else to turn. Since the first DNA exoneration in 1989, exonerations have been won in 37 states, totaling 337 exonerations. To date more than “337 people in the United States have been exonerated by DNA testing, including 20 individuals who were at one time sentenced to death” (The Innocence Project). Out of the 337 cases where innocent men and women were wrongfully imprisoned nearly half of the true suspects were identified and convicted. The racial heritage of those who have been exonerated is fairly diverse, consisting of “206 African Americans, 104 Caucasians, 25 Latinos, and 2 Asian Americans” (The Innocence Project). (Transition) Although The Innocence Project has changed the lives of many who others would not afford them the opportunity to prove their innocence, they would not have been able to do so without the recent