Innocence Project of Texas Working to Prove Innocence of Inmates
The Innocence Project of Texas is a non-profit organization in Lubbock, Texas that offers legal aid to inmates who claim to have been falsely convicted. This organization is affiliated with the law school at Texas Tech University and is comprised of law students, three lawyers, an advisory board, and an office off-campus, who all manage 10,000 files from state prisoners.
Each file contains a letter from an inmate proclaiming innocence and asking for help in proving such in courts. Law students conduct a “needle in a haystack” method, send questionnaires to inmates, and start an investigation on cases where there is some doubt in the inmate’s guilt. The project can have anywhere from 30 to 50 investigations underway at any time; however, many investigations go nowhere, as students soon discover that an inmate might be withholding important facts or that vital evidence has been lost.
The Innocence Project of Texas and other numerous organizations, which are working to prove the innocence of inmates, can be found at multiple public law schools throughout the country.
Interested in reading more? Click here to view the full article!
Source: New York Times
[Abstract written by Noel Andres, ForensIQ Intern, 4/24/14]
