The Center oversees Innocence Projects® at North Carolina law schools and provides legal services to indigent, unrepresented North Carolina inmates claiming factual innocence. Each year, the Center receives innocence claims from over 500 inmates, two-thirds of whom are racial or ethnic minorities. Although wrongful conviction affects the impoverished and/or people of color more frequently, no one
is exempt. The Center staff screens inmate questionnaires without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. Exonerating an innocent person does not negate the injustice of his or her incarceration. Indeed, the Center would rather ensure the reliability of convictions to prevent wrongful ones from happening at all. To that end, Center staff members participate in speaking and training opportunities throughout the year. These activities educate others about the Center’s work and about North Carolina’s leadership role in criminal justice reform.
