The Innocence Project at Thurgood Marshall School of Law was created in June of 2007. In March of 2009, the Innocence Project began operating under the Earl Carl Institute for Legal & Social Policy, Inc.

The Project employs a full time staff attorney as well as numerous law student investigators who review claims of actual innocence made by incarcerated inmates who have been wrongfully convicted. The Project's dual mission is to first identify inmates who have been wrongfully convicted, provide legal assistance to them and secure their release and secondly to provide its law students with a fulfilling educational experience. In addition to the missions set forth above, the project also worked diligently to educate judges, lawmakers, students and the general public on the causes and prevention of wrongful convictions.

Each term the project accepts ten to twelve especially qualified students to work with a staff attorney experienced in criminal and post-conviction law to review and evaluate post-conviction cases for strong evidence of actual innocence and prepare appropriate cases for court action. Thurgood Marshall law students, under faculty supervision, work directly on the project and are intricately involved in various operations of the project such as creating screening procedures, obtaining and reviewing case histories, applying screening devices, investigating facts, interviewing involved persons, writing case time lines and summaries, performing case analyses, preparing written case evaluations and pleadings.

Inmates or friends and relatives of inmates who have been wrongfully convicted may contact our office to discuss how we might be able to assist the inmate, by calling 713.313.1139. and asking for the Center for Criminal Justice Associate Director. You may also make a formal request for assistance by completing a TPIQ (Texas Prisoner Innocence Questionnaire) and mailing it to the Thurgood Marshall School of Law Innocence Project, Earl Carl Institute for Legal and Social Policy, Inc., Texas Southern University, 3100 Cleburne St., Houston, Texas 77004.

Please keep in mind that we do not handle direct appeals of criminal convictions. We do not challenge problems with the original trial but rather we look for new evidence to prove that the incarcerated person actually did not commit the crime. We only handle claims of actual innocence typically involving DNA evidence testing, mistaken identification, or that a crime never actually occurred.