Proposal to Provide Training and Technical Assistance to Upholding the Rule of Law and Preventing Wrongful Convictions Program Grantees and Maintain Exoneration Database

The Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice (the Center) is requesting funding to: deliver training and technical assistance to assist award recipients with the implementation of their projects and improve collaboration between conviction integrity units (CIUs) and wrongful conviction review (WCR) entities; create training programs, tools, and web content to improve the knowledge in the field and share those resources via online tools; and create or maintain and enhance a database of all exonerations in the United States. The two organizations in this proposal are the Center at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and the National Registry of Exonerations Foundation (the Registry). The Center will provide training and technical assistance to award recipients by assisting them in the implementation of their projects through direct consultation and coaching, promoting strong partnerships between entities, and providing access to subject matter experts. By hiring a data analytics expert to work directly with award recipients, the Center will help grantees improve their capacity for data collection and analysis, which is critical to improving their ability to identify and review high-risk cases. The Center will also add to its existing resources through new monthly training webinars, guidelines on best practices, and materials to assist in case reviews and selection while reducing bias. New resources will be shared to the field through the Centers existing listservs reaching CIUs, WCR entities, and stakeholders and via the Online Conviction Integrity Resource Center. The Registry has created the only comprehensive database of exonerations in the United States and maintained it since 2012. It will continue to maintain that database; identify, research, code in detail, write up and post approximately 220 new cases each year; make detailed data and analyses freely available; maintain three auxiliary databases; and publish periodic reports. It will enhance its database by moving it to a new site with improved software; undertaking a first-of-its-kind study of the real perpetrators of crimes for which innocent exonerees are convicted; completing a major study of the impact of forensic evidence on false convictions; and providing training in the effective use of the resources the Registry generates.