Innocence Project New Orleans provides legal and investigative assistance to wrongfully convicted prisoners whose convictions were obtained in Orleans or Jefferson Parishes, and promotes the development of an Innocence Project network among law schools and practitioners throughout the state of Louisiana.

Case criteria

■ Provable claim of wrongful conviction

■ Sentenced to die in prison (an actual or effective life sentence)

■ Claim involves “new facts” pertaining to issues of DNA analysis, eyewitness misidentification, jailhouse informants, or prosecutorial or police misconduct

■ Prisoner is indigent

Extent of representation ■ The focus of the Project’s work is case investigation, petition drafting and in- court representation. The Project will conduct a full factual investigation, including public records work, witness interviews and re-visitation of crime scenes and physical evidence, draft post conviction and clemency petitions, and make an effective presentation of the evidence in court.

■ The Project will work in conjunction with the Public Law Center to draft and promote legislation on innocence issues such as DNA evidence preservation and access, reparations to the wrongfully convicted, state constitutional protections for the innocent and the inauguration of a state Innocence Commission to investigate and remedy the causes of wrongful convictions in Louisiana.

Project resources

■ The Project has one full time attorney funded for 2 years by the National Association for Public Interest Law (NAPIL).

■ Project Counsel will divide the cases accepted between herself, law school clinics and pro bono counsel.

■ The Project is hosted by the non- profit Louisiana Crisis Assistance Center, which specializes in indigent capital defense work.