The Baton Rouge Project: Righting Past Wrongs

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 FY15 (BJA - Wrongful Conviction Review) Pub. L. No. 113-76, 128 Stat. 5, 62. 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.

Innocence Project New Orleans will use the award to conduct a case review project of convictions from East Baton Rouge Parish. Law enforcement agencies in this parish routinely refuse to comply with Louisiana’s Public Record Act (PRA), which stymies efforts to investigate and litigate wrongful convictions. The funds will assist the grantee in suing record custodians to comply with the PRA, as well as investigating and litigating wrongful conviction cases.

CA/NCF