We challenge wrongful convictions on every front by exonerating the innocent, educating future attorneys, and reforming criminal justice policy. Read our Summer 2023 update to see how we continue to exonerate, educate, and reform.
LATEST NCIP NEWS
A Message From NCIP Co-Founder Linda Starr
Earlier this summer, NCIP Co-Founder Linda Starr announced she would start a phased retirement on August 1. Below is an excerpt from Linda's message to NCIP's many friends andsupporters:
"When Cookie Ridolfi and I founded NCIP in 2001, we could never have imagined what NCIP would achieve and what the innocent movement would become. NCIP has obtained the freedom of 35 wrongfully convicted people, sponsored many significant pieces of legislation, published influential research reports, and educated hundreds of students. Our staff are leaders in the innocence movement. And we could not have done any of it without your generous support."
Read the entirety of Linda's message here.
Help us celebrate her legacy at NCIP by making a donation in her honor.
Joaquin Ciria Featured in Recent News Article and Podcast
NCIP client Joaquin Ciria was recently featured in a San Francisco Chronicle article, in addition to being interviewed (along with NCIP Legal Director and Supervising Attorney Paige Kaneb) on the Wrongful Conviction podcast, guest hosted by Earlonne Woods.
Speaking Engagement Kicks Off New Partnership with Alcatraz
In late June, NCIP Staff Attorney Sarah Pace spoke to an international audience of more than 150 people at Alcatraz as part of a newly formed partnership of the former federal penitentiary and NCIP.
EXONERATE
Updates on NCIP Cases Currently in Litigation
Innocence cases take an incredibly long and arduous path through the court system. With 80+ current cases in various stages of investigation and litigation, NCIP continues to work tirelessly to free people wrongfully incarcerated.
NCIP currently has six cases in various stages of active litigation -- including cases set for evidentiary hearings, cases in which we're waiting to hear from the courts, and one that we are preparing to file imminently. One such case, in which the court has asked the District Attorney to respond by the end of the month, involves a murder conviction based on false testimony and violations of the client's constitutional rights. Additionally, new evidence was recently uncovered that identifies the two people who actually committed the crime and shows our client was not involved in any way.
To learn more about how NCIP works to exonerate the innocent, click here.
EDUCATE
Emma Jensen: Reflection from NCIP's 2023 Stevens Fellow
Emma Jensen, a Seattle University School of Law student and a 2023 Stevens Fellow, spent the summer working at NCIP.
"My summer with the Northern California Innocence Project provided an invaluable experience and validated my theoretical interest in post-conviction work as I enjoyed the actual experience of doing the work. This opportunity has provided me with concrete practical experience and helped me focus on what I am interested in doing in my legal career!
"Another part of what made my experience with NCIP so rewarding was that everyone made me feel confident and supported in the work I was doing. It is so easy as an intern to feel as if you have no idea what you are doing, so having the NCIP team encourage me gave me confidence that I was on the right track. "
Click here to read Emma's full reflection on spending her summer as a Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellow at NCIP.
NCIP Welcomes New Clinical Students for 2023-24 Academic Year
The new clinic is off to a great start for the 2023-24 academic year, with Co-Legal Directors Melissa O'Connell and Paige Kaneb and 15 new clinical students! In addition to the new faces, NCIP also welcomed back three Santa Clara Law students as advanced clinical students for the academic year.
REFORM
CIC Co-Sponsored Bills Continue Through Legislature
This legislative cycle, the California Innocence Coalition (CIC) is co-sponsoring two important pieces of legislation: Senate Bill (SB) 97 and SB 78.
SB 97, in addition to CIC-supported SB 94, both made it out of the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee on September 1. Additionally, SB 78 is off the Assembly floor.
We have the authors of these incredibly important pieces of legislation -- Senators Scott Wiener, Steve Glazer, Josh Becker, and Dave Cortese -- to thank for championing these bills through the California State Legislature.
For more information on SB 97 and 78, in addition to a list of six other bills CIC is supporting, click here.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Join us at our Justice for All (JFA) Gala —NCIP’s largest fundraising event of the year! The night of celebration will be on October 5, 2023, at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco. We will thank and honor key supporters, and celebrate the accomplishments of the people they have helped to free.
This year, we are honoring NCIP client Jeremy Puckett who, throughout his 18-year journey to freedom, showed incredible resilience, courageousness and perseverance in challenging his wrongful conviction.
We are also honoring private investigator and longtime NCIP collaborator Grant Fine, who has worked on more than 20 NCIP cases and whose critical investigations have contributed to the exonerations of eight NCIP clients.
Thank you to the twenty-seven individuals and organizations that have sponsored our 2023 Justice For All (JFA) Gala at the Advocate level or higher, including: Catherine & Rich Boyle; Champion Charities; Cooley; Orrick; Keker Van Nest & Peters, LLP; McLane, Bednarski & Litt, LLP; Barmak Meftah; MOPIX Creative; Norton Law Firm; Storyng Change; Elijah's Truth Journey; Hart Family Foundation; Nancy Heinen & Dennis DeBroeck; Latham & Watkins LLP; Santa Clara University School of Law; Simpson Thacher; Copy Craft; Farella Braun & Martel, LLP; Fenwick & West LLP; Uber Technologies, Inc.; Amer Haider & Munira Shamim; Peace.Love.Justice; Seyfarth Shaw
For questions about gala sponsorships or tickets, contact NCIP External Relations Director Carla Spain at cspain@scu.edu or (408) 551-3250. Unable to attend? You can make a tax-deductible donation in Jeremy or Grant's honor here.
SUPPORT OUR WORK
NCIP is made possible in large part through private donations from people like you. With your help, we can continue to exonerate, educate and reform. Thank you for your support as we work together to make a difference in the lives of the wrongfully convicted.
