The organisation deconstructs claims of innocence from convicted individuals who are maintaining their innocence and have exhausted the criminal appeals process, with the aim of supporting clients to make an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).
About the Innocence Project London (IPL)
The Innocence Project London was established in 2010, becoming a registered charity in 2020. The Director, Dr Louise Hewitt, is a senior lecturer in the School of Law and Criminology.
Students from across the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences (FLAS) can apply to work in small groups to review and investigate claims of innocence. The IPL was the first English innocence organisation to become a member of the global Innocence Network, which is an affiliation of 71 innocence organisations from around the world.
Applicants that apply to the IPL will already have appealed their conviction, so the aim of our work is to submit an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) on behalf of our clients. The CCRC is an independent body which reviews possible miscarriages of justice in the United Kingdom. They have the ability to decide whether a conviction or sentence should be referred back to the Court of Appeal. The CCRC will only refer a case back to the Court of Appeal if they find a new piece of evidence or a new legal argument that was not put forward at the time of the trial, which would render the conviction unsafe in the context that it would have changed the decision of the jury had they had been aware of it.
Students working on the IPL learn through the ‘innocence project model’ of clinical legal education supported by the Director and working alongside lawyers that give their time pro bono to support our work. The student groups analyse the evidence that led to conviction, develop legal theories that could reopen the case and search for factual evidence of innocence.
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How can I apply to work for the IPL?
The IPL currently only accepts student volunteers studying at the University of Greenwich. The IPL places a call for volunteers on 25 March each year. Students in year 1 and year 2 of their degrees and are able to apply. Postgraduate students are
also able to work for the IPL and should contact the Director when the commence their studies.
There is a two-part application process. The first part consists of the submission of a CV and investigative report. There is a shortlisting process and the successful candidates from part one will proceed to part two when they will be invited to a short interview. More details are provided when the call for volunteers is announced on 25 March each year.
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