A group of Wisconsin lawyers have received federal dollars in their fight for those who are wrongfully convicted. The Wisconsin Innocence Project takes cases by request and co-director Keith Findley says this grant money will proactively find instances in which DNA evidence can exonerate convictions.
Keith Findley (:14)
Wisconsin’s grant is just over $647,000, with part of the money going to the Wisconsin Department of Justice for the crime laboratories for DNA testing and part going to the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance as the state administering agency. The bulk, $588,000, is going to the Wisconsin Innocence Project at UW Law School, for the case work.
The group has freed 12 people since its inception in 1998. It claims nationwide, hundreds of inmates have been freed by post-conviction DNA testing proving innocence.