The Hawaii Innocence Project

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 FY13 (BJA - Wrongful Conviction Review) Pub. L. No. 113-6, 127 Stat. 198, 253. 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 University of Hawaii, in conjunction with the Hawaii Innocence Project, will use its FY 2013 Wrongful Conviction grant to provide free, high-quality legal representation to Federal, military, and local prisoners in the entire state of Hawaii, as well as educate the public on ways to reduce wrongful convictions and raise public awareness on this issue. The grantee will use the award to hire personnel, attend trainings, and fund DNA testing and other services related to investigations of cases.

CA/NCF