The revelation of wrongful convictions has shaken up the criminal justice system. Nationwide, law students in innocence projects across the country have worked to free hundreds of wrongly convicted inmates, giving them their lives back after years of unjust incarceration. Law students in the Wisconsin Innocence Project have worked to free nine people, relying in some cases on cutting-edge DNA technology, in other cases on old-fashioned investigation.
Through their work on these cases, the students learn about the operation of the criminal justice system, and how our system, often touted as the best in the world, can sometimes go awry. In proving innocence years after a conviction, the students gain insight into how a wrongful conviction can occur, and how it might have been prevented.
Mission Statement
The Wisconsin Innocence Project has three core missions: 1) to investigate and litigate wrongful convictions, 2) to educate law students through closely supervised work on possible wrongful convictions, and 3) to remedy the causes of wrongful convictions through scholarship, education and collaboration with governmental and criminal justice agencies.