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The Innocence Project London provides case reviews for our Law and Criminology students

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It sits at the end of the criminal justice process. Our students work to understand the evidence that convicted the individual, and this year included Criminology students for the first time.

The Innocence Project London was established in 2010 and is based at our Greenwich campus.  It brings together students from law and criminology to work in small groups on a case, alongside a practicing lawyer and academics.

In nearly all cases an applicant will have already appealed their conviction or sentence, therefore the work of the project centres on submitting an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). The CCRC is an independent body which reviews possible miscarriages of justice in the UK.

 Innnocence project London 

In 2018/19 Criminology students were able to join the Innocence Project for the first time. Alongside their peers in Law, and supported by their professional mentors, the following students are working on these cases:

  • Ashlie Snelling and Serpil Tas (both Law) - historic murder of women and her two children
  • Collins Amos-Oke (Law), Tiaylor Thorpe (Criminology), Bethany Howell (Law), Marcus Fenton (Law)- joint enterprise murder
  • Zahra Dehbi, Emma Wakerley, Holly Wright, Courtney-Leigh Dearing (all Law) - Joint enterprise murder
  • Meg Royal (Criminology and Forensic Science), Javier Caguenas (Criminology and Forensic Science), Courtney Parry Lansdowne (Law), Lidia Stocia (Criminology)- rape case
  • Paige Copeland and Trudie Armah (level 7 both Masters in Law)- rape case

Students who work on the project review all of the evidence and available case files in an attempt to satisfy these requirements. The cases we work on should have the prospect of fresh evidence or new legal argument so as to have the best possible chance for us to make an application to the CCRC.

Speaking about the work of the IPL, Director Louise Hewitt said:

The IPL is part of a truly global movement. As members of the Innocence Network and the recently constituted European Innocence Network we strive to create awareness of wrongful convictions and how they can happen.

Every wrongful conviction damages the legal system in which is takes place. Every wrongful conviction damages society, especially the friends and family of the person convicted.  It is unrealistic to change entire legal systems in one go, but collectively we can create awareness of their flaws and look at how to improve them.

You can keep up-to-date with the Innocence Project London through their blog.

About the Innocence Project London

The Innocence Project London is a licensed innocence organisation. Its pro bono work is to undertake thorough and objective investigations into alleged wrongful convictions of convicted individuals who have maintained their innocence and exhausted the criminal appeals process.  The project was established in 2010 and is based at the University of Greenwich. School of Law and Centre for Criminology.  In January 2016, the Innocence Project London became a member of the Innocence Network, which is based in the United States. The Project is currently the only one in the United Kingdom that is part of the Network.

About the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).

The CCRC is an independent body which reviews possible miscarriages of justice in the UK.

They have the ability to refer a conviction back to the Court of Appeal on the basis that there is a real possibility the Court will find the conviction unsafe, in the context that it would have changed the decision of the jury had they had been aware of it. The requirements for the CCRC to do this are fresh evidence or a new legal argument, neither of which were adduced at trial or appeal.