Identification, assessment, investigation, and litigation of post-conviction claims of innocence across Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Innocence Project (PAIP) works throughout Pennsylvania to exonerate those convicted of crimes they did not commit, to prevent innocent people from being prosecuted and convicted, and to help those wrongfully convicted transition to freedom. PAIP accomplishes these goals by providing free legal representation; advocating for systemic change to address the root causes of wrongful convictions; and providing reentry services to freed and exonerated individuals. The proposed project will build PAIP’s investigative capacity, allowing them to handle more cases by addressing an existing investigative bottleneck in our four-stage case evaluation process. The sustained, mindful growth of PAIP’s attorney staff over the last several years has made PAIP’s case evaluation efforts more efficient and allowed PAIP to move more cases through the initial review stages more quickly.  As a result, PAIP has dozens of cases identified for further investigation, but lacks investigative staff to conduct those investigations, which can often involve interviewing dozens of individuals, so that PAIP can help exonerate more innocent individuals. The proposed increase in investigative resources will allow PAIP to represent more clients, reduce the amount of time that any wrongly incarcerated person remains in prison, waiting for help, and strengthen PAIP’s work to improve the integrity of our criminal legal system. This will further amplify work on systemic changes to mitigate the risk of wrongful convictions and allow PAIP to efficiently identify and litigate more innocence claims. The proposed project will enhance the applicants capacity to engage with historically underserved and marginalized communities and those adversely affected by systemic inequities; address the persistent factors contributing to wrongful convictions across the Commonwealth; and create better access to justice for those wrongly convicted.