The University of Nebraska College of Law received a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to open an Innocence Clinic — it’s 10th clinical program. Set to open this fall, Nebraska Law will partner with the Midwest Innocence Project to begin operating its clinic to help those serving sentences for crimes they did not commit.
Nebraska has the highest incarceration rate in the nation according to data from the Prison Policy Initiative and the U.S. Department of Justice.
The state’s 10 prisons hold more than 5,500 people with another 1,000 in custody at private prisons and local jails.
Under the supervision of the clinic director, third-year students will review and investigate cases for potential claims of innocence for individuals whose cases originated in Nebraska and who have applied for assistance from the Midwest Innocence Project. The grant funding provided by the Department of Justice will assist in moving more than 41 cases from the existing waitlist forward.
“Our clinical programs help students develop skills that they will rely on in practice,” said Richard Moberly, dean of Nebraska Law. “The Innocence Clinic will contribute to training the next generation of Nebraska lawyers as they learn about the causes of wrongful conviction and experience case identification and litigation of actual innocence claims.”
Kala Mueller, director of public interest programs and member of the Midwest Innocence Project board of directors, said the partnership is important to the success of Nebraska’s Innocence Clinic.
There have been 10 exonerations in Nebraska history, six of which stemmed from a single case.
