The Hawaii Innocence Project (HIP) is a member of the Innocence Network, a group of organizations from across the United States that are united in their mission to seek justice and freedom. Through outreach activities, seminars, and presentations, HIP works to educate legislators, law enforcement, and the public about the causes of wrongful convictions in order to prevent innocent people from being wrongfully convicted in the future. The organization is affiliated with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University.
HIP offers a variety of specialized projects, such as applications for pro bono projects that are not yet included in the Pro Bono Manual, an Adhoc Immigration Project to Promote Health Care Naturalization Project, a Know Your Rights Online Lawyer, an Adolescent Court Prison Letters project, a Voluntary Tax Assistance (VITA) program, workshops, a Domestic Violence Awareness Coalition (DVAC), LGBTQ Legal Services Clinics sponsored by OutLaw and Health Care Advocacy Girl Scout, and mock trial sponsored by Women in Law. The organization also works to exonerate those who have been wrongfully convicted. For example, two brothers were charged again on May 20, 1999 despite the lack of DNA evidence according to the Hawaii Innocence Project. HIP also works to prevent future injustices in the state of Hawaii.
The Wesleyan Innocence Project is a student group that supports the national initiative of The Innocence Project and investigates prisoners' allegations of real innocence. The Student Editorial Board for Access to Justice is an initiative with student staff that aims to research and support projects related to access to justice, including the A2J Author project and other projects related to the Internet. VOLS for Vets is a project that allows students to participate in projects related to serving military service personnel and their families. The Syria Accountability Project (SAP) is a cooperative effort between activists, NGOs, students, and other stakeholders to document war crimes and crimes against humanity in the context of the Syrian crisis.
The Lone Star Legal Aid Public Benefits Project (BPILS) developed the Lone Star Legal Aid public benefits project. The Immigrant Assistance Project allows students to participate in the process of processing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and U visa applications. Kenneth Lawson of HIP said that exoneration cases take an average of 10 to 15 years before an innocent person is finally released. Through its various initiatives and projects, HIP works hard to ensure that innocent people are not wrongfully convicted and that justice is served.
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