For Advocates of the Innocent

You can play a part in the investigation of your loved one's case.

Most people are at a total loss following the conviction of a loved one. They waste money on attorneys or PI’s who promise they can help. Yet, the years go by and their person remains incarcerated.

NWOIC cannot promise to open the cell door but we can commit to helping you gain some control over things that seem so foreign to you.

You learn by doing.

Post Conviction Investigation is NOT something any of us learned in school.  You learn when it happens to you.  For this author, it was when a friend was given a life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit.  That was in 1984.  In spite of all that was uncovered in his case he is still behind bars.  His journey has been my education.  I share it now with you.  ka

Essential Skills

Organization is key; computer skills a must.  Many old case files arrive as hard copies that need to be sorted and digitized (scanned). If you are working with someone else, the scanned files need to be uploaded to a shared drive.

As you investigate the case you need the ability to add digital ‘sticky notes’ to these files.  (PDF annotations).  If you are not proficient in PDF editing, you can find online training.

Skills you can learn on your own:

  • Scan (digitize) a hard copy
  • Name and/or re-name a file
  • Perform searches on your hard drive to quickly locate files
  • Drive sharing of scanned files
  • Edit/annotate a pdf file using a PDF file editor (like Adobe Acrobat or a comparable free PDF editor like PDF Gear).

Skills you'll be taught

  • Making a public records request
  • Remedies if denied public records
  • Navigating a court’s online criminal dockets
  • Retrieving trial transcripts
  • Using the library’s free databases to research news stories
  • Data management and tracking
  • Accessing free online databases for skip tracing and general investigation.
  • Comparing a trial transcript to a police report (looking for inconsistencies)

To enroll

The online course will hopefully be available by the end of the year.  All modules are being created at this time.

An online sign-up form will be posted here so keep checking the website. 

In the meantime, get up to speed on your computer skills. (See above list).  Read up on the Sunshine Law (Ohio Public Records Act) and enroll in the free training at the Attorney General’s website.  Or, if you plan to enroll from another state, find the public records or FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) laws that govern your state’s public records.

If you don’t have one, get a library card for the library in the county where the conviction took place.  Become familiar with the library’s online search tools and begin learning how to research every news story written about your case.  Log the names of key people, places, and dates that are mentioned in those news stories.

The price for this online course is still being considered.  However, the plan is to offer it at a considerable discount to immediate family members of any currently incarcerated person.

Proceeds from course material will go toward supporting NWOIC’s mission.

Youth for Innocence

To start your training immediately, check out Youth for Innocence (YFI), a non profit out of California that offers free online training in the area of wrongful convictions.

Even though state laws differ, the general issues one should focus on are the same from state to state.  One of the most important post conviction areas concerns how to summarize a trial transcript and create a summary sheet that identifies key pieces of testimony.  The finished summary sheet then becomes a tool for the attorney filing for post conviction relief.    Youth for Innocence