John —

As we enter the new year, and the Innocence Project marks its 30th anniversary, I want to reflect on the moment in which we find ourselves today and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead of us.

When this organization was created three decades ago by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, there was no meaningful understanding of the scope of the problem of wrongful conviction in this country.

So, when DNA technology emerged in the late 1980s and Barry and Peter began using it to scientifically prove innocence, they exposed the devastating and surprisingly common injustices of the criminal legal system and illustrated the need for wholesale transformation. As a result, the landscape of the criminal legal system began to shift.

Now fast-forward 30 years, and we can see that the cry for racial justice and equity — amplified by the international protests seen in 2020 — shows that the American public is acutely aware that the criminal legal system is in dire need of overhaul. And the cases and policy changes that we’ve worked on have helped bring us to this point.

Cases like those of Rodney Reed, Pervis Payne, and Julius Jones have helped fuel influential movements for change. And, in the last two years alone, we — in partnership with our allies in the Innocence Network — were able to pass more than 30 new laws advancing the fight for justice.

As much as DNA testing exposed how unreliable our criminal legal systems can be, it’s clear that for the last 30 years, our work has put a magnifying lens on many additional shortcomings in the system and helped us to develop a transformational plan for reform.

So what’s next for the Innocence Project in its 30th year? I shared our thoughts in my latest essay on our website — take a moment to read it and share it with your networks on social media.

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With gratitude,

Christina Swarns
Executive Director
Innocence Project

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The Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, the organization is now an independent nonprofit. Our work is guided by science and grounded in antiracism.

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