Investigating Innocence

Investigating Innocence^[1] is a nonprofit wrongful conviction advocacy organization that provides criminal defense investigations for inmates in the United States.^[2] Investigating Innocence was founded in 2013 by private investigator Bill Clutter to assist nationwide Innocence Project groups in investigating innocence claims. "Once we have a case that meets our criteria, we'll put private investigators to work on it. A lot of these cases need investigators," said Kelly Thompson, executive director of Investigating Innocence.^[3] Prior to his work on Investigating Innocence, Clutter was one of the founders of the Illinois Innocence Project.^[4] Investigating Innocence also has a board composed of exonerees that reviews incoming cases.^[3]

Clutter is also advocating for the creation of a statewide conviction integrity unit for the state of Illinois, where Investigating Innocence is based. Conviction integrity units, which investigate innocence claims, have popped up in recent years in major metropolitan areas such as Dallas, New York, and Chicago. As government organizations, these groups have a greater ability to access evidence and assist defendants than independent innocence organizations. Illinois has a conviction integrity unit, which has seen over 70 convictions overturned since 2017, but it serves only the Chicago area and smaller counties lack funding for such units. "It would be a financial burden for this office to have a truly independent staff of at least one investigator and one attorney to review the claims, and there are not enough claims like this in a county like Sangamon to warrant those resources," Clutter said. "But on a state level, it makes sense to have it housed in the attorney general's office."^[5]