Practical Limitations

Whilst innocence projects help to meet the unmet legal needs of alleged victims of wrongful conviction whose cases have exhausted the appeals process and fall outside the scope of legal aid, innocence projects are continually grappling with a whole host of problems which limit the casework assistance that they can provide to those they seek to help.

Although the number of member innocence projects has continually grown over the last five years, at the time of writing there remain almost 100 eligible cases on the INUK database that are still awaiting allocation to a member innocence project for full investigation. As such, there is no guarantee that all cases which are deemed to be eligible will be able to have their claims of innocence investigated by an INUK innocence project in the near future.

Another major limitation of innocence projects is that they do not have the powers of investigation that statutory bodies such as the CCRC possess. As a result, innocence projects are often unable to access and/or obtain confidential or sensitive information such as medical records, police log books and diaries and information contained in the police’s HOLMES database.

At present, neither INUK not its member innocence Projects have the financial resources to commission forensic testing or analysis, although the INUK does have forensic scientists who can offer preliminary review and advice on cases worked on by its member innocence projects on a pro bono basis. As such, whilst innocence projects are able to assist with identifying and conducting research on the forms of forensic science technology that can help to establish a claim of innocence, the actual tests and analyses can usually only be carried out if the CCRC commissions it. In such circumstances, INUK member innocence projects will make an application to the CCRC requesting for the required tests to be commissioned.

Finally, as a relatively new venture, innocence projects might lack the skills and knowledge required to assist their ‘clients’.

INUK supports the casework undertaken by its member innocence projects by sharing its contacts with lawyers, forensic experts, professional investigators, and so on, who can provide advice and assistance on areas of casework that innocence projects do not have the expertise to deal with.

The INUK also provides conferences and training events for students and staff and facilitates a forum where members can share their experiences and expertise.

It is hoped that as the innocence projects movement continues to grow and develop so, too, will their expertise and capacity to provide more effective assistance to alleged victims of wrongful conviction.