Christmas is the hardest time of the year to be away from those you love.

So imagine spending it alone, locked in a prison cell for a crime you didn't commit.

That is how the innocent people we represent will be spending Christmas this year.

Help us free them. 

The Innocence Initiative fights to prove their innocence in the courts and win them back their freedom.

They and their families are the victims of legal aid cuts, flawed forensic science and police failings.

Overturning a wrongful conviction isn’t quick or easy. But with your support we can carry out vital investigation and forensic testing, to bring them one step closer to justice.  

Who does the Innocence Initiative help?

Innocent prisoners in England and Wales who we've carefully identified as victims of miscarriages of justice and who desperately need a legal team to help them clear their name. 

What does your support for the Innocence Initiative allow us to do?

• Track down every scrap of important documentation on a case, including trying to force disclosure of police files that were not originally handed to the defence.
• Conduct proactive, boots-on-the-ground investigation including interviewing witnesses and visiting crime scenes.
• Arrange for experts to examine or re-examine key evidence, including fresh forensic testing.

Cases

Among the prisoners the Innocence Initiative currently represents are:

David Pinto

"I’m a dad. I’m always with my children. It is hard. They’re suffering as well. It isn’t just me in here." - David

The Freshwater Five

"The powerful evidence we've uncovered shows these men have been condemned to a total of 104 years in prison for something they simply did not do." - Emily Bolton, the Freshwater Five's lawyer

Lizzi Donoghue

"My freedom relies on investigation & expert advice, all of which the Centre for Criminal Appeals are tirelessly working on." - Lizzi

Roger Khan

"The trial I had was so uneven... I don't want sympathy, I just want a chance to present the evidence." - Roger

Who will be responsible for using your money to deliver justice?

Suzanne Gower 

• Suzanne is a experienced criminal defence lawyer who knows how to hold police and prosecutors to account for their mistakes. 
• Most recently, she represented 22 families of the Hillsborough disaster at the historic inquests.

Emily Bolton

• Before setting up the Centre Emily founded Innocence Project New Orleans, which to date has freed 29 innocent prisoners in the US Deep South. 
• After qualifying as a solicitor in England, she successfully overturned the conviction of a man who spent 4 years in prison for a crime he did not commit in the Centre's test case.
  
  

On behalf of them and their families, thank you for your support and Merry Christmas!