“Injustice anywhere
is a threat to justice
everywhere.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.

Case Studies

Cases such as these drive the Midwestern Innocence Project to work on behalf of the wrongly convicted:

Woman gets life sentence for honesty

On her way to do laundry in 1983, Ellen Reasonover stopped at a gas station to get change. Although she saw three men at the Dellwood, Missouri, station, nobody answered her repeated knocks at the window. Learn more

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Innocent man loses 12 years of his life – and his daughter’s

Dennis Fritz’s nightmare began in 1982 in Ada, Oklahoma.

A respected member of the community, Fritz was a science teacher, football coach and widower raising his 11-year-old daughter. He was a law-abiding citizen with no criminal record. Learn more

Mission

The mission of the The Midwestern Innocence Project (MIP) is to provide pro-bono investigative and legal assistance to prisoners with persuasive actual innocence claims, provable through scientific evidence or otherwise.

We accomplish this by:

• reviewing requests from prisoners in the Midwest,
• selecting cases with substantial innocence claims, and
• working with UMKC law school students, volunteers, and other justice programs to obtain the release of innocent prisoners through judicial proceedings or executive clemency.

Imagine spending time in prison for a crime you did not commit.

What would you do?

Wrongful conviction is a reality, particularly among minority groups and the financially disadvantaged that the Midwestern Innocence Project is working to change.

Since 1992, more than 140 inmates in the United States have been exonerated of serious crimes through post-conviction review of cases.

The Midwestern Innocence Project supports reforms to ensure more citizens do not serve time for wrongful convictions.

You'll find our newsletter and additional events on our news page.

For more information, please contact:

The Midwestern Innocence Project at
office@innocenceprojectmidwest.org

The Midwestern Innocence Project is a 501(c)3 nonprofit agency that fills the Midwest's need for a broad-based Innocence Project. We rely heavily on volunteers and donations from the community.

If you are interested in providing financial or volunteer support for the MIP, please

• print our online brochure and distribute it
• email us to learn how you can become involved, or
• complete our online donation form

We thank you for your interest and support.