Green Gown Awards 2020 - University of Greenwich - Finalist

Innocence Project London  

The Innocence Project London (IPL) provides students with the opportunity to review and investigate cases of convicted individuals who have maintained their innocence but have exhausted the criminal appeals process.   

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. In order for the CCRC to refer a case back to the Court of Appeal they need to identify new evidence or a new legal argument not identified at the time of the trial, that might have changed the whole outcome of the trial if the jury had been given a chance to consider it.  

The IPL supports convicted individuals to make these applications pro bono, filling a gap in the criminal legal system where there is limited funding for lawyers to undertake this work. 

Top 3 learnings:

1. Our work positively impacts convicted individuals who have exhausted the appeals process to provide a mechanism to access justice.  
2. Our work provides strong social sustainability outcomes in an area of the criminal justice system where convicted individuals who maintain their innocence are denied access to justice if they cannot pay for it. 
3. Our work shapes students’ perception of the criminal justice system, readying them for a legal career and empowering them to believe they can take positive action to change it. 

Videos

• Video #1 (click to hide)