John,

Hey there, I’m Amanda and I work at the Innocence Project as a state policy advocate.

The work we all do at this organization isn’t solely focused on freeing people who are wrongly incarcerated, but also on transforming our criminal legal system to prevent wrongful convictions from happening in the first place. So it’s my job to advocate for state-level policy changes that will not only help prevent and correct wrongful convictions, but make our criminal legal system more just and equitable overall.

From improving access to post-conviction DNA testing, to strengthening police and prosecutorial accountability, to ensuring that exonerated people are fairly compensated, our policy efforts have led to the passage of more than 200 transformative state laws and federal reforms.

Thanks to our new website, you can see some of the current and past bills we’ve pushed forward, and see how we’re advancing the innocence movement in your state — take a look right now.

Every day, the policy team works to tackle the flaws within our criminal legal system. By doing this, we’re trying to eliminate the failings that lead to wrongful convictions and disproportionately harm communities of color, especially Black people.

Whether it’s passing laws that strengthen our standards for forensic science in courts or laws that enable police accountability — none of this would be possible without the partner organizations we work with, the policymakers who fight alongside us, and of course steadfast supporters like you.

Supporters like you are the ones who put the pressure on state and federal lawmakers by urging them to pass new bills, and the entire policy team is so grateful for you.

But our work is far from done. Now, you can easily find all of the information you need about our policy efforts, new and old, and learn how to get involved in your state. Take a look at our new website right now and let’s transform the system together.

Thank you so much,

Amanda Wallwin
State Policy Advocate
Innocence Project