The Innocence Project and our classmate Barry Scheck, the Project’s co-founder, are featured in a new movie, Conviction, that opened this month. As described in a media release from Royce Carlton:
Attorney and DNA expert Barry Scheck is co-founder of the Innocence Project, dedicated to exonerating wrongfully imprisoned people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustices.
This month, Mr. Scheck and the Innocence Project are featured in the film, Conviction, based on the true story of Betty Anne Waters (played by Hilary Swank) in her two-decade quest to clear her brother, Kenny (Sam Rockwell), who was convicted of a murder he didn’t commit. After putting herself through college and law school, Waters joined with the Innocence Project (the role of Barry Scheck is played by Peter Gallagher) to seek the DNA testing that would free her brother.
Since its founding in 1992, the Innocence Project has used DNA evidence to exonerate more than 250 people, including 17 who served time on death row. These people served an average of 13 years in prison before exoneration and release.