Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth

The purpose of the Wrongful Conviction Review Program is to provide high quality and efficient representation for potentially wrongfully convicted defendants in post-conviction claims of innocence. This program is funded under the FY16 (BJA - Wrongful Conviction Review) Pub. L. No.114-113, 129 Stat 2242, 2307. Post-conviction innocence claims are likely to include complex challenges to the reliability or accuracy of evidence presented at trial which fall mainly into three categories: eyewitness identification evidence; confession evidence; and forensic evidence. The goals of this initiative are to provide quality representation to those who may have been wrongfully convicted; alleviate burdens placed on the criminal justice system through costly and prolonged post-conviction litigation; and identify, whenever possible, the actual perpetrator of the crime.

Northwestern University, with its Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth, will use the grant award to assist youth who may have been convicted of crimes they did not commit. The funds will support one full-time attorney with specific experience and expertise in post-conviction representation and issues that uniquely impact children in the criminal justice system.

CA/NCF