The Innocence Project is a non-profit legal clinic that uses DNA testing to free wrongfully convicted prisoners, especially inmates on death row. Attorneys supervise law students, who handle the cases. The project takes only cases in which the DNA testing of sperm, blood, saliva, skin, or hair can provide conclusive proof of the inmate's innocence. In some cases, the DNA used to convict has been lost or destroyed or it is too tainted to be properly tested. The project has been in existence since 1999, and 153 inmates were exonerated by November 2004. Many of these inmates had served decades in prison for crimes they did not commit. All legal services provided by the Innocence Project are without charge or pro bono.

DNA Testing

DNA is genetic material that controls inherited traits such as eye color, hair color, and bone density. DNA testing is used to match a sample of evidence (sperm, blood, saliva, skin, or hair) from the crime scene to a suspect. Current DNA techniques are so sophisticated that one person can be differentiated from all other living persons by analyzing DNA from a single strand of hair. DNA testing is especially helpful in solving rape and murder crimes.

State Innocence Commissions

A few states have created innocent commissions. These commissions have been set up to investigate errors in the criminal justice system that permitted an innocent person to be wrongfully convicted. North Carolina's Supreme Court set up the first state innocence commission in 2002, and Connecticut passed a law in 2003 that created an innocence commission.

Justice for All Act of 2004

Some states do not have laws that allow DNA testing after a conviction. To assure postconviction DNA testing for all federal inmates, the U.S. Congress passed the Justice for All Act of 2004. Under the law, an inmate in federal prison has the right to ask a federal court for DNA testing to prove his/her innocence.

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