The University of Illinois in Springfield gets a quarter of a million dollars for a special project.
The money comes from the U.S. Department of Justice in the form of a grant, and will help fund the Illinois Innocence Project based at UIS. The group investigates credible claims of innocence and works to remedy wrongful convictions.
They receive over 300 requests a year for assistance. The grant will allow legal and student staff to continue working on potential cases.
"We are dependent upon grants and private contributions and whatever to help the university can provide for us in order to fund the project. So this is going to help in terms of funding legal staff to take the cases," said Larry Golden, founding director of Illinois Innocence Project.
The story was reported by WICS-TV 20 on September 17, 2014.
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