An Illinois institute that helps people convicted of crimes they didn't commit has won a federal grant to help cover the cost of tackling cases that cannot be resolved through DNA testing.
The Downstate Innocence Project got more than $249,000 from the Justice Department.
Project director Larry Golden says more than 90 percent of wrongful convictions cannot be resolved with DNA testing. He says that without DNA, figuring out whether someone has been unfairly sent to prison can require years of investigation.
The Downstate Innocence Project is based at the University of Illinois at Springfield. It collaborates with law schools at Southern Illinois University and the University of Illinois.
The grant was featured in an September 22, 2011, report by the Associated Press.
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