John,

This week marks 31 years since the Innocence Project began this work.

In 1992, we launched a small legal clinic at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law based on the belief that if DNA technology could prove people guilty of crimes, then it could also prove wrongfully convicted people innocent. Since then, the Innocence Project has evolved into something bigger than we ever could have imagined.

Over the past 31 years, we’ve helped free or exonerate more than 245 people who collectively have spent over 3,800 years wrongly incarcerated; we’ve passed more than 200 transformative state laws and federal reforms to make the criminal legal system more just; and we’ve worked with 71 Innocence Network member organizations around the world to advance the innocence movement. 

We’re so very proud of everything the team here has accomplished — but we’ve got to keep it going. So if you can, please make a birthday donation to help us keep the fight going for years to come.

It’s been incredible to continue this work for more than 30 years and see how the organization has grown. In celebration of the Innocence Project’s 31st birthday, over the next week, we’ll be revisiting three standout moments from each decade our team has spent fighting for the innocent.

We’re reflecting on the lessons learned in the past as we prepare for what’s to come in the future — because we know the work to transform our criminal legal system is far from over. 

And that’s where your support comes in. In honor of our birthday, will you make a donation to help us continue this important work for decades to come? Every single donation goes toward helping free the innocent and creating a more just legal system.

Barry Scheck
Co-Founder and Special Counsel
Innocence Project

Peter Neufeld
Co-Founder and Special Counsel
Innocence Project