Northern California Innocence Project
Most of us have been accused or blamed for something we did not do at one point or another - which can both be upsetting and traumatic. But imagine being wrongly convicted of a crime in the eyes of the law. What feelings and thoughts come to mind?
Helplessness, alienation, fear...Now think about the fact that even if the criminal justice system was correct 99% of the time (which it's not), that means there are still over 20,000 people wrongfully incarcerated in this country. That staggering number means we should all be concerned with how to stop this from happening in the future and how to right the wrongs that have already been done.
The team at the Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP) is doing just that. NCIP’s mission is to promote a fair, effective, and compassionate criminal justice system and protect the rights of the innocent. They challenge wrongful convictions on every front by exonerating the innocent, educating future attorneys, and reforming criminal justice policy. To date, NCIP has won justice for 23 innocent individuals who collectively have spent nearly 300 years in prison.
For this 'Local Lens' series we had the opportunity to visit the NCIP team in their Santa Clara office and hear about what they've been doing to fight for innocence since being founded in 2001. After watching the stories above we hope you will feel inspired to share and support the work NCIP is doing for us all.
