For those who have been wrongly convicted of a horrible crime, DNA evidence can prove their innocence, even if their conviction occurred before DNA testing became available. Evidence collected at the crime scene and stored carefully might contain DNA evidence that attorneys can use to exonerate their clients. According to the Innocence Project, there have been 238 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the U.S. since the early 1990’s, and 17 of those had served time on death row. DNA evidence, therefore, can be the difference between life and death for the accused.

Attorney Peter Neufeld and fellow attorney Barry Scheck founded the Innocence Project at a New York law school to help those who have been wrongly convicted. The volunteer attorneys and law students of this program and others like it use DNA evidence to overturn wrong convictions. However, there are simply not enough of these innocence programs and their associated attorneys to help everyone who might need it because these appeals can take much time and money.

Post-conviction DNA evidence can also be helpful in finding the person who actually committed the crime. Unfortunately, there is a lack of funding available from government sources for providing post-conviction DNA testing both for exonerating convicted offenders and investigating unsolved crimes. The attorneys of the Innocence Project have been key members of a coalition pushing for federal funding of post-conviction DNA testing. These attorneys would like to see that every person convicted of a crime have the right to have biological evidence, if any, retested in order to challenge the validity of the conviction.