Welcome
- Who We Are
The Nebraska Innocence Project is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization whose primary purpose is to provide pro bono legal assistance to incarcerated individuals who have been wrongly convicted of crimes in Nebraska and who no longer have a right to court-appointed counsel.
We also educate the public about the problem of wrongful convictions and support reforms in the criminal justice system that will help prevent factually innocent people from being convicted in the future.
What We Do
The Nebraska Innocence Project selects cases from letters of inquiry received from prison inmates. Criteria for acceptance include: 1) persons must allege actual innocence (versus unfair treatment by the justice system) and 2) biological evidence, such as blood or semen, must exist for DNA testing that will prove innocence conclusively. Requests from persons who meet both criteria and are no longer represented by an attorney are referred to our legal team.
We work to inform the public about wrongful convictions and the need for reform of the criminal justice system by giving public presentations, writing letters and articles, collaborating with other justice-oriented groups, and participating in events such as the annual Peace & Justice Expo.
Our Mission
Working to exonerate the innocent, educate the public, and improve the criminal justice system.
Our Vision
The future we want is one in which the incarcerated innocent have been exonerated, the public is aware of the problem and the need to monitor the criminal justice system, and the criminal justice system has been changed in ways that prevent wrongful convictions.
Our Members
As a 501C(3) nonprofit organization, we have a Board consisting of five people, one of whom serves primarily as a liaison with the Iowa Innocence Project. The other four, along with four non-board members who work on tasks as needed, do the work of the organization.
