Oregon Innocence Project
The Hidden "O" Logo: The columns and bars represent the DNA testing form grid and the “O” letter form is constructed with the negative space between the "I" and "P": the "I" and "P" also represent prison bars and the hidden "O" represents those Oregonians wrongfully incarcerated in our prisons and whose voices have been unheard until now.
We launched the Oregon Innocence Project (OIP) in 2014 with a mission to exonerate the wrongfully convicted, train law students, and promote legal reforms aimed at preventing wrongful convictions.
The extraordinary number — not to overlook the shocking stories — of exonerations throughout the United States have proven that our criminal justice system is systemically flawed and that reform is needed to help prevent future wrongful convictions.
Oregon is not exempt from error. Oregon, like every other state, is susceptible to the same causes of wrongful convictions, such as mistaken eyewitness identification, false confessions, and invalidated or improper forensic science. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, there have been 22 exonerations in Oregon. Without a program in Oregon that focuses solely on wrongful convictions, there would be no certain way to know whether any of the people currently incarcerated here should in fact be freed.
Our client Josh Horner from Redmond, Oregon, had his wrongful conviction and 50-year prison sentence overturned in 2018. Click here to read Josh’s story on the Oregon Innocence Project website.
OIP is the only project of its kind in Oregon whose sole mission is to actively track claims of innocence, investigate those claims, test DNA and other scientific evidence, and litigate where appropriate. As well as securing the release of people who have been wrongfully convicted, we provide an outstanding educational experience for students who work with us.
We collaborate with all stakeholders (district attorneys, the defense bar, policymakers, police, victims' rights groups, forensic scientists, laboratory managers, and other practitioners working in the criminal justice system). Our goal is to build support for comprehensive criminal justice reform to improve eyewitness identification, interrogation practices, discovery practices, and other policies that do not serve to protect the innocent.
OIP is administered by Oregon Justice Resource Center, a 501(c)(3) organization. To support our work, donate now.
Visit the OIP website. Connect with OIP on social media: Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. Download a printable brochure (PDF) here.
How to get help
We provide pro bono (free of charge) legal assistance to people who assert factual innocence and where there is the possibility of proving innocence.
Our office only takes cases from Oregon. If you or your loved one are in another state please visit the Innocence Network website to find a list of other organizations that may be able to help you.
In order to submit a case for our consideration, you must complete and sign the case screening questionnaire. The questionnaire requests specific documents that must also be signed and submitted before the review process can begin. Do not submit any transcripts or additional documents unless specifically requested by us.
Completed questionnaires and supporting documents can be mailed to us at:
Oregon Innocence Project
PO Box 5248
Portland, Oregon 97208.
Please understand that we receive many requests every week and it will take some time for us to respond to the application or inquiry. The applicant will be notified when we have received the questionnaire and also when it is determined whether or not the case is one we can take. Otherwise, OIP does not correspond with applicants about their case unless we decide we need additional information to screen the case. If OIP does begin work on a case, project staff or volunteers will contact the applicant directly. If OIP decides to represent an individual, it will provide them with a written representation agreement to be signed by that person.
Please do not call our office to inquire about the status of an application.
Wrongful Conviction Review Program
We have been asked to assist the Office of Public Defense Services in reviewing criminal cases from two Oregon counties in which questions have arisen about the effectiveness of trial counsel. This review will include both the potential that a better outcome could have been achieved and the possibility that the person was wrongfully convicted. Program attorneys will contact individuals to determine whether their cases are eligible for review at this time, and, if so, whether they would like their case(s) reviewed for re-opening. Program attorneys will then determine what action, if any, is appropriate. This may include, for example, renegotiating pleas, trying cases, or engaging in post-conviction litigation.
For more information, contact Staff Attorney Claire Powers at cpowers@oregoninnocence.info.
Staff
Legal Director
Steve Wax
swax@oregoninnocence.info
Managing Attorney
Kenneth Kreuscher
kkreuscher@oregoninnocence.info
Staff Attorney
Kassidy Hetland
khetland@oregoninnocence.info
Staff Attorney, Wrongful Conviction Review Program
Claire Powers
cpowers@oregoninnocence.info
PRO BONO STAFF
Lisa Christon
Attorney
Phil Lewis
Attorney
Elora Cosper
Investigator