Innocence Project

Innocence Project

Visit the Innocence Project website and learn more about its work and some of the cases on which it has focused. (The link is below)

You may instead visit a state Innocence Project if you wish…this is recommended so you don’t duplicate a case selected by another student (you’ll see why below)

Read about cases worked on by the Project.  Then:

• Select a case worked on by the Innocence Project in which the convicted person was exonerated after being convicted and sentenced to prison.  Hint:  select a case in which there is sufficient material available about the investigation…its steps and methods …available for you to review by researching it online.
• Identify and analyze the investigative tools and investigative steps used for the defendant’s conviction, and determine “what went wrong.”  What did they miss or ignore (or perhaps even hide !!!)
• Include analysis and ideas on what you would have done differently as an investigator, prosecutor or other member of the criminal justice profession (or what procedural or legal protections might have been in place or should have been in place) to prevent this person’s wrongful conviction.

Then, write a summary of your case, your findings and your recommendations. Your summary should be 1.5 to 2 pages long, and cite sources (including in-text citations) abd in Word.  Use at least 2 sources not including our textbook.  Submit it by clicking on the assignment title line above.

AND, be prepared to talk about your case and what you discovered about it in our April 6th class session.