downstate illinois innocence project--FAQ
What does the Project do?
We help wrongfully convicted inmates to prove their innocence by providing resources for investigation and research through their attorneys. We need strong evidence that the inmates are, in fact, innocent, but once we have that, we provide our services at no cost.
We help work to prevent wrongful convictions in the future through reforms of the criminal justice system in Illinois and the nation by educating students, citizens, and policy-makers about problems, causes, and necessary changes of a criminal justice system that results in conviction of the innocent.
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How do the Project help people prove their innocence?
Our cases do not usually turn on DNA evidence. Instead we look at factors such as eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, ineffective counsel, unreliable forensic evidence, and/or misconduct by prosecutors or police.
Why do inmates need the Project’s services?
People who are not on death row get no further help from the state once they have lost their first direct appeal. How can they prove their innocence from behind bars? They especially need help on their petition for post-conviction relief since this is their first opportunity to challenge their conviction based on actual innocence.
What has the Project accomplished?
In addition to the Project's other many accomplishments, we have helped two convicted inmates prove their innocence:
- Keith Harris
Keith Harris was wrongly convicted and spent 22 years in prison despite the fact that after his conviction two other people confessed to the crime and ballistics evidence emerged to support his innocence. In 2001, the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project took up his case, and in 2002, Keith received a full pardon from the governor.
- Julie Rea Harper
In 2002, without any direct evidence of her guilt, Julie Rea Harper was wrongfully convicted of brutally killing her son. She was sentenced to 65 years in prison. Bill Clutter, the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project’s director of investigations, initially worked on her case. When serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells confessed to the crime, Clutter worked with students to corroborate Sells’ confession, providing objective evidence of Rea Harper’s innocence. In 2006 Julie was found innocent in a retrial that incorporated much of the evidence generated by Project staff and students.
How do UIS students benefit?
The University of Illinois (UIS) Center for State Policy and Leadership houses the Project. UIS students enroll in a class on wrongful convictions, and then participate in service-learning and internship opportunities for the Project as part of their degree requirements.
Through activities both in the class and as volunteers after their class has ended, students learn about the nature and causes of wrongful convictions. They also learn about
- dealing with clients,
- record keeping
- time management,
- use of different disciplines outside the law,
- application of law to the facts, and
- extensive knowledge about the criminal justice system.
Many are blunt about how much the program has challenged their preconceived notions about the criminal justice system. Some students even change their career goals because of their experiences.
Students also help the Project sponsor educational forums. For example, Ruben “Hurricane” Carter and Innocence Project founder Attorney Peter Neufeld have both recently spoken to members of the Illinois Legislature, Springfield community members, and UIS students, faculty, and staff.
Are there benefits to the legal community?
The work of the innocence project exposes serious problems within our criminal justice process. Advocating for the wrongfully convicted provides direct assistance to the legal community. Working on reforms of the criminal justice system to prevent wrongful conviction helps the entire community, but especially those associated with victims of serious crime and law enforcement.
What is the Project’s national affiliation?
The Project is an active participant in the National Innocence Network founded and developed out of the work of Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld of Cardozo Law School. Established in 1992, The Innocence Project has exposed widespread wrongful convictions of the innocent through the use of DNA testing. This project achieved its 200th exoneration during the week of April 21, 2007.
More questions?
The staff at the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project will be happy to answer your questions.