Our team fights for innocent people, providing free legal and investigative services to those who have been wrongfully convicted. We are the only independent, nonpartisan voice in Washington State advancing key reforms to prevent wrongful convictions and improve our justice system.
In 1997, Professor Jacqueline McMurtrie founded Washington Innocence Project—then called Innocence Project Northwest—as the second Innocence Project in the United States. The organization’s core mission—to free innocent people—remains as critical today as it was then.
Through the work of our dedicated staff, students, and pro bono partners, along with the generous support of our donors, Washington Innocence Project has exonerated 15 men and women—and secured the freedom of an additional four—who collectively served 276 years incarcerated and on conditions of release for crimes they did not commit.
Our efforts to improve the criminal legal system in Washington State and support our Freed Family following release have led to important reforms and new laws for better eyewitness identification procedures, preservation of crime scene evidence, access to post-conviction DNA testing, and a mandate that law enforcement record interrogations. We led advocacy efforts for the law intended to compensate exonerees for every year they lost their lives serving time for a crime they didn’t commit.
Originally a project of the University of Washington School of Law, Washington Innocence Project was fortunate to enjoy the institution’s support as we grew over our first two decades. During that time, more than 200 UW Law students represented innocent Washingtonians and advocated in Olympia for policy and legislative changes to identify, prevent, and rectify cases of wrongful convictions.
Today, we are an independent 501(c)(3) organization. As the requests for help increase every year, this structure gives us greater latitude to raise funds, advocate for policies that prevent wrongful convictions, and grow to serve more innocent people.
Washington Innocence Project is honored to be a leading organization in the worldwide innocence movement. This is a role we could not play without the longtime support of so many.
WashIP is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Federal Tax ID No. 83-3498962
