Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2011, $249,448)
The purpose of the Wrongful Conviction Review Program is to provide high quality and efficient representation for potentially wrongfully convicted defendants in post-conviction claims of innocence. This program is funded under the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act,Pub. L. No. 112-10, div. B, secs. 1101-1104; Pub. L. No. 111-117, 123 Stat. 3034, 3134. Post-conviction innocence claims are likely to include complex challenges to the reliability or accuracy of evidence presented at trial which fall mainly into three categories: eyewitness identification evidence; confession evidence; and forensic evidence. The goals of this initiative are to: provide quality representation to those who may have been wrongfully convicted; alleviate burdens placed on the criminal justice system through costly and prolonged post-conviction litigation; and identify, whenever possible, the actual perpetrator of the crime.
The Idaho Innocence Project, through Boise State University, will use the grant award to continue investigating and litigating cases by supporting full-time staff positions, hiring consultants, and conducting outreach to inmates statewide regarding new DNA and fingerprinting statutes. These efforts will allow the grantee to provide high quality and efficient investigation and legal representation for those who claim actual innocence and wrongful conviction.
CA/NCF