DATE: 16th - 18th April 2010

LOCATION: Atlanta, Georgia

For information, including registration and a range of local hotels, see: http://www.innocencenetwork.org/conference.html.

We are delighted that Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is supporting the INUK by hosting this event.

For Maps & Directions, click here.

Download the Timetable and Programme here.

Download a podcast of Mark Newby's Keynote Speech here.

Reflection by J Kenyon, Winchester Student here.

The Innocence Projects Day coincides, annually, with National Pro Bono Week. It invites staff and students from the 20+ member university innocence projects to undertake a pro bono activity sich as reach out to their local communities between the 9-13 November 2009 to educate the public about the wrongful conviction and imprisonment of the innocent, which led to the establishment of the Innocence Network UK (INUK) and its member innocence projects.

DATE: 30th - 31st October 2009

VENUE: We are delighted that Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, London is supporting the INUK by hosting this event.

Enquiries welcome. Contact Pat Hammond: Pat.Hammond@bristol.ac.uk.

Download the INUK National Training Programme 2009 Timetable here.

Download the INUK National Training Booking Form 2009 here.

Reflection by J Kenyon, Winchester Student here.

Local Accommodation here.

Two high-profile victims of wrongful imprisonment, including a man who narrowly avoided execution, will be speaking about their experiences and the difficulties they faced in putting their lives back together after their release, at a free public talk next week. The event, hosted by the University of Bristol’s Innocence Project, will take place on Monday 12 October.

John Thompson spent 14 years on death row at Louisiana State Penitentiary, USA, for a crime he did not commit. During that time he survived seven execution dates before finally being exonerated of murder in 2003 after a disclosure from the lead prosecutor, who confessed he had concealed blood evidence which could prove John’s innocence. John left the penitentiary with a small bag of possessions and $10, given to exiting inmates by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections for bus fare.

John is also the founder and director of the fledgling non-profit, Resurrection After Exoneration (RAE). When he was exonerated in 2003, John quickly saw that fellow exonerees coming home from prison were struggling and that they needed a support network if they were to succeed and be real advocates for change in the criminal justice system. In response to this, he founded RAE, the first exoneree-run re-entry initiative in the country. Echoing Green, a non-profit organisation dedicated to early-stage social sector investing, awarded John a two-year fellowship and seed money to start RAE.

Paul Blackburn spent 25 years in British prisons maintaining his innocence from the age of 15, before finally his conviction of attempted murder was overturned in 2005.

Each will be providing their own account of the effects of wrongful imprisonment on their families and wider community. They will also be joined by Emily Maw, Director of the Innocence Project New Orleans (IPNO), who will talk about the work of the IPNO, the battle to prove Thompson’s innocence, and the many other cases that she and her team have overturned and are currently involved with.

Dr Michael Naughton, Director of the University of Bristol Innocence Project, said: “This is a great opportunity for people to hear about the damage that is caused by wrongful convictions, and to learn about the importance of the Innocence Project at Bristol in trying to help free innocent people who are languishing in our prisons.

“It also highlights the growing role that the University is playing in linking together with international innocence project members, to raise awareness of this global problem and share ideas about how to overturn wrongful convictions.”

The event, hosted by the University of Bristol’s Innocence Project, based within the University’s School of Law, was the first innocence project in the UK. The project involves students working on real cases concerning long-term prisoners who maintain their innocence, have exhausted the criminal appeals system and have no legal aid. 

The talk will take place on Monday 12 October from 6 pm at the University in the Powell Lecture Theatre, HH Wills Physics Building, Tyndall Avenue, Clifton, Bristol.

DATE: 8th June 2009

LOCATION: Arundel House, London

Dr. Hampikian, Professor of Biology in Biose State University in Idaho, is one of the foremost DNA experts in the United States. He has played an instrumental role in several DNA exonerations, including Robert Clark who spent 24 years in prison for a rape he had not committed; and Clarence Harrison who spent 17 years serving a life-sentence for rape until DNA evidence proved his innocence. He currently serves as the Director of the Idaho Innocence Project and DNA expert for the Georgia Innocence Project. He is also a frequent keynote speaker at national conferences and has been interviewed by leading news organisations such Good Morning America, Fox News, CNN, and the Wall Street Journal. (For full biography of Dr. Hampikian, see http://biology.boisestate.edu/hampikian/).

In this event, Dr. Hampikian will be speaking about his experiences as a forensic scientist working on alleged innocence cases, shedding light on the importance and need of an 'innocence approach' to investigate alleged wrongful convictions in the UK. By drawing from his extensive experience in successfully exonerating innocent prisoners through DNA, his presentation focuses on how to work on alleged innocence cases that have exhausted the criminal appeals system and the need for creativity and to look beyond the confines of the existing criminal justice process in such cases.

Click here for the Flyer of the Event.

Click here for a Video of the Event.

We are delighted to announce that Freshfields have offered to host our INUK Spring Meeting/Student Conference on Friday 24th April. It will take place at their Fleet Street offices in London. Registration is from 1-1.30pm and Mark Ellison QC, QEB Hollis Whiteman, is our guest speaker.

If you are interested in setting up an innocence project and would like to attend, please email Gabe Tan at: Gabe.Tan@bristol.ac.uk, by Friday 3rd April.

Click here for the Event Agenda.

Click here for the Event Report by Gabe Tan.

DATE: 20th - 22th March 2009

LOCATION: Houston, Texas

For information on how to book and a range of local hotels, see: http://www.innocencenetwork.org/conference.html.

The Innocence Projects Day coincides, annually, with National Pro Bono Week. It invites staff and students from the 20+ member university innocence projects to reach out to their local communities between the 10-14 November 2008 to educate the public about the wrongful conviction and imprisonment of the innocent, which led to the establishment of the Innocence Network UK (INUK) and its member innocence projects. This link opens Fact Sheet 1

DATE: 24th - 26th October 2008

VENUE: Cardiff Law School, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX

Enquiries welcome. Contact Julie Price: Priceja1@cf.ac.uk.

Download the INUK National Training Booking Form 2008 here.

Download the INUK National Training Programme 2008 Timetable here.

Local Accommodation here.

Click here for the minutes.

We are pleased to report an exciting new development for the INUK, and to celebrate this we'd like to invite our staff member contacts and key students from all member universities to London to mark this.

The Attorney General, Baroness Scotland, has agreed to attend a Reception at our INUK Spring Meeting on 15 April 2008 for INUK's formal Protocol signing.

Click here for the Event Booklet.

Click here for the Minutes.

Prisoners Maintaining Innocence

School of Law, University of Bristol

18 March 2008

The second INUK Symposium will bring together representatives from all sides of the prisoners maintaining innocence conundrum to discuss, critically, what might be done to help them make progress through their sentences and achieve release.

The 2006 CLEO Conference Institute of Advanced Legal Studies
London 14th July 2006