It’s clear that the current COVID-19 crisis has affected everyone. For us, it has meant completely re-envisioning how we do our work.
Our legal team hasn’t been able to travel to meet with clients in prison or with witnesses who are key to supporting claims of innocence. Exonerees who were already facing tough challenges find themselves particularly vulnerable, so our social workers are supporting them virtually. The staff who read hundreds of letters a day from incarcerated people seeking help are finding creative ways to read and respond to mail safely. And our policy work continues while many statehouses across the country are closed.
But despite all of the adjustments we’ve had to make, our work continues. After serving a combined 50 years in prison for crimes they did not commit, Paul Hildwin and Darrill Henry were finally released. Maryland passed a groundbreaking new law protecting against unreliable jailhouse witnesses. Yes, we’ve had to change the way we do things, but it’s because of our monthly supporters that we’ve been able to adjust during this crisis and continue to fight on behalf of innocent people.
Thank you so much for your continued support. We really appreciate it.
—The Innocence Project Team
P.S. If you sign up to donate $10 or more per month before the end of May, you’ll get a free (and very comfortable we might add) Innocence Project T-shirt — become a monthly donor and get yours now.
The Innocence Project exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. www.innocenceproject.org