The Indiana Innocence Project has joined an international network of groups that provide pro bono legal and investigative services to wrongfully convicted people, and support them once they’re free.
“The (project) is proud to join the best organizations in the world leading the fight for justice,” the organization’s board president, Fran Watson, said in a Monday news release. “Becoming the 74th member of the Innocence Network is a milestone for the Indiana Innocence Project.”
The project was founded in August last year, “out of the legacy” of the Wrongful Conviction Clinic at the Indiana University McKinney School of Law, according to the release.
It began operations with three pending cases and has since accepted two more, with four of the five clients serving life sentences for murder. The group has seven board members — including Hoosier exonerees Kristine Bunch and Roosevelt Glenn — and three staff members.
“We are thrilled to announce the INIP as the newest member of the Network,” said Meredith Kennedy, director of the Innocence Network’s Support Unit. “Since its founding in 2024, the INIP has rapidly mobilized to secure justice for Hoosiers who have been wrongfully imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. We look forward to working together to champion policies and legislative reforms aimed at preventing and rectifying wrongful convictions in Indiana.”
As a new member, the project will collaborate with other member organizations, get capacity-building assistance, and contribute to the network’s collective efforts and strategic direction. It’s the second group from Indiana to join, after the Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic.
Since 2005, Innocence Network members have collectively exonerated more than 850 people, according to the release. They operate across the nation and in a dozen other countries.
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