YOUTH FOR INNOCENCE WELCOMES YOU

Hope Is Where the Heart Is

Jofama Coleman, helped by Youth for Innocence members, now advises and interns for Youth for Innocence.

ABOUT

Empowering Youth for Justice

Youth for Innocence is a 501(c)3 nonprofit empowering youth to help overturn wrongful convictions through non-lawyer advocacy. We intake, summarize, investigate, and advocate for innocence cases, presenting them to attorneys and taking the first steps towards exoneration. Through our work, we transform complex cases with a question of innocence into simple, winnable cases with a clear path forward.
Volunteers work hands-on with real-life cases, preparing cases through creating timelines, tracking down witnesses, filing public records requests, and so much more. Our organization is youth-led and youth-driven, giving students (as well as lifelong learners) the opportunity to gain experience in law and tangibly impact the lives of the innocent. Volunteers from around the world work hands-on to prepare cases through creating timelines, tracking down witnesses, filing public records requests, and so much more.

Disclaimer: we are not lawyers and therefore not able to give legal advice.

WHAT WE DO

Giving Innocence Hope

ONLINE CASEWORK

Connecting Lawyers and the Wrongfully Convicted

Based entirely online, Youth for Innocence gathers youth volunteers from around the globe to examine wrongful conviction cases and find new pathways to prove their innocence.

Summarizing/Supplementing

Youth for Innocence summarizes transcripts and other documents and creates supplementary documents such as timelines, maps, and subject-specific memos. Requiring no special degree or advanced knowledge, they are the perfect way for beginners to get involved.

Investigating/Advocating

By locating witnesses, talking to experts, and presenting our findings to lawyers, we streamline the process for innocence attorneys to investigate and exonerate cases of innocence. Our preliminary investigation and non-legal advocacy informs attorneys of both factual innocence and a way to overturn the wrongful conviction.

IN-PERSON CHAPTERS

International Organization, Local Impact

Through fostering local chapters across the nation, we empower high schools and colleges to directly impact surrounding communities, working on local wrongful convictions and building in-person relationships. If you are interested in joining a chapter or starting your own, click here.

DONATE

A tax-deductible donation will help us pay for the many expenses, both small and large, in the advocacy world, including:

Purchasing transcripts, appellate briefs, and other public documents from courts
Transporting/scanning case files (which can contain thousands of pages)
Stamps, envelopes, messaging platform fees, and other expenses that enable us to communicate with incarcerated communities
Fees for expert opinions, private investigators, legal motions, and other services in the pursuit of justice

With your help, we can continue to recruit more volunteers to work on more wrongful conviction cases with more efficient tools, helping more innocent individuals reclaim their freedom.

If you want to pay through Apple Pay or Google Pay, click on the link here.