It has been a remarkable year at the Innocence Project. We've freed innocent Americans and won policy reforms that will prevent countless wrongful convictions.
We couldn’t have achieved these victories for justice in 2009 without the partnership of our online community. I’m writing to ask for your support in our pursuit of freedom and justice in 2010.
Please donate today -- your gift could open the prison door to free an innocent person.
Looking back on 2009, I’m incredibly proud of how much we’ve accomplished. Here are just a few examples from a successful year:
— Steven Barnes of New York was exonerated in January, ringing in the New Year with an astounding story of freedom and survival.
— Ernest Sonnier of Texas was freed in August after serving 23 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.
— So far this year, 18 people in the United States have been exonerated through DNA testing. The growing number of exonerations -- 245 to date -- has brought an increased need for our services. We currently represent over 250 clients across the country and we receive more than 300 new requests for assistance each month. Our intake staff works tirelessly to evaluate each and every request.
—The Innocence Project helped pass 19 state laws this year -- from evidence preservation reforms in Nevada, North Carolina and Oregon to exoneree compensation laws in Mississippi, Nevada and Texas.
—The National Academy of Sciences released a report this year calling for sweeping changes to our country’s forensic science system. We worked with dozens of partners to advocate for reforms that will ensure that our courts rely on solid science.
—Our work doesn’t end when clients leave prison. This year, our social work team worked with 40 people recently freed from prison, easing their adjustment to life after exoneration and helping them secure housing, jobs, transportation and health services.
We’ll be sure to keep you updated by email as events unfold in 2010. But the exonerations and reforms don’t just happen -- your support makes them possible. Nearly half of our funding this year came from generous and committed individual donors.
Please donate to the Innocence Project this holiday season. We’re working hard to make freedom a reality for wrongfully convicted Americans and to bring about critical changes in the system. Will you join us?
Thank you and Happy Holidays,
Barry Scheck
Co-Director
The Innocence Project
P.S. — a donation to the Innocence Project makes a wonderful and meaningful holiday present. Click here to make a gift donation in the name of a friend or relative.
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