Founded in 1992 by Peter Nuffield and Barry Sheck, the Innocence Project confronts wrongful convictions in the Criminal Justice System by using forensic DNA. According to the Innocence Project, about 1 percent of people who are convicted are innocent, which means around 20,000 people are currently wrongfully convicted.
Before their case is to be looked at, convicts must reach out to the organization. Those who believe that they were wrongfully convicted cannot send an email to this organization, they must send a letter by the traditional mail system.
The first client the Innocence Project took was Glen Woodall in 1992. Woodall was wrongfully convicted of several sexual assaults. His conviction was based on eyewitness misidentification, government misconduct and flawed hair analysis. The person who did the hair analysis was Fred Zain, who was unqualified to be a forensic analyst.
When Woodall was in court, Zain testified, saying “[t]he assailant’s blood types… were identical to Mr. Woodall’s.” It is believed that this led the jury to overestimate the strength of the result.
However, after a court DNA test on Woodall in 1992, Zain’s reputation was questioned. An investigation was opened into his work a year later, and it was found that Zain had fabricated or manipulated evidence to win 36 cases. Zain died of cancer in 2002 while waiting retrial on charges of obtaining money from the State of West Virginia under false pretenses.
Woodwall was free from prison thanks to The Innocence Project.
The Innocence Project has also helped a former Marine named Kirk Bloodsworth escape death row. He was 22 years old when he was convicted in 1984 of the murder and sexual assault of a nine-year-old girl.
Bloodsworth was arrested based on an anonymous tip, telling the police that he had seen the victim that day with a man. The caller reported the man to be six feet and five inches, a tall and skinny white man with curly blonde hair. Bloodsworth was six feet, had red hair, and was over 200lbs.
Though there was no physical evidence connecting him to the crime, Bloodsworth was sentenced to death row for the rape and murder of Dawn Hamilton.
In the early 1990s, Bloodsworth learned about DNA testing and the opportunities it could provide. Bloodsworth reached out to the Innocence Project, and that was how he was part of the orgainztion.As part of his case, the Innocence Project asked the prosecution for DNA testing.
The DNA testing on Hamilton´s underwear excluded Bloodsworth. In 1993, Bloodworth was a free man. He spent nine years in prison.
After his time, Bloodsworth published a book called “Bloodsworth.” It was about his experience being wrongfully convicted. He is now an avid speaker for those wrongfully convicted.
In July of this year, the Innocence Project freed Brian Boles. On February 8, 1984, the body of 83-year-old James Reid was found dead in his apartment. He had been beaten, gagged, and strangled to death. Boles was 17 at the time and was living in the same apartment complex.
On March 10, 1984, Boles was arrested for an unrelated robbery of an 80-year-old man. Police interrogated the 17-year-old for the murder of Reid. It was reported by the Innocence Project that detectives lied to Boles, threatened him, and abused him physically as well as mentally.
Sleep-deprived, scared, and just wanting to go home, Boles gave a statement saying that he and his father murdered Reid. Police gave the teenager details about the crime, which he repeated back. All these factors lead to a coerced confession.
Boles went to the New York County Supreme Court for his trial. Detectives testified about their interrogations and denied the threats and mistreatment of Boles. They also said that a bloody boot print was found in Reid’s living room, which was a match to the boots that were on Boles’s father’s feet.
When Boles testified, he denied any involvement in the crime. He confessed that his guilty statement was false and told about the abuse by the police. “I was scared,” he testified. “And the abuse that I was getting, I was never in that kind of abuse by an officer before. And I just wanted to go home.”
On March 25, 1994, Boles and his father were charged with first-degree murder and first and second-degree robbery. Boles faced 25 years to life in prison.
It was not until March 2022 that an attorney with the Innocence Project asked to reinvestigate the case. Jane Puncher and her lawyers fought for the father and son. They presented evidence that cast doubt on the confessions. She also showed the directive tactics that were used to produce a false confession.
On July 10, 2025, Boles and his father were freed after both serving 25 years behind bars.
The Innocence Project has helped many convicted individuals and counties to do so. This organization receives donations, and those who help are helping many others, not only the organization but also the 20,000 Americans who are wrongfully convicted.