The Kentucky Innocence
Project
Graduate Externship
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The Kentucky Innocence Project is a joint effort between the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy and the College of Justice & Safety’s Department of Criminal Justice and Police Studies.
The mission of the Project is to identify, investigate, and secure the release of inmates who have been wrongfully convicted while providing graduate students with an outstanding learning opportunity.
The two-semester externship is designed to teach participating students the components of comprehensive criminal investigation methods and case analysis.
Students participating in the Kentucky Innocence Project will have the opportunity to apply the investigation and analysis techniques they learn to actual cases, which may result in the discovery of previously overlooked evidence. The discovery of this evidence could lead to the exoneration of a wrongfully convicted individual.
This is the only project in the nation where a Criminal Justice program is affiliated with a state defender agency in such an endeavor.
The highly qualified graduate students selected for the Project will work closely with faculty and Public Advocacy staff. Students earn six hours of graduate credit for completion of the program.
Students will participate in a concentrated study of:
- Criminal Evidence
- Forensics
- Evidence Collection
- Case Evaluation Techniques
Also, students will interview police officers, attorneys, judges, witnesses, and others involved in the original prosecution.
Under supervision, students will collect legal documents and records, apply screening devices, establish personal and case histories, and perform comprehensive case evaluations.
