OXFORD, Miss. – A $75,000 grant from the Mississippi Bar Foundation
will expand programs for the Mississippi Innocence Project at the
University of Mississippi School of Law.
The grant is to be used to expand many already existing programs at the
Mississippi Innocence Project’s offices, said Tucker Carrington, the
project’s director.
Primarily the funding will augment case screening and investigation, as
well as help support a broad and labor-intensive investigation into
occurrences of forensic fraud.
“We have had some tremendous successes in this our first year,”
Carrington said. “In order to keep up the momentum though, we had to
increase our staff and our ability to take advantage of the
opportunities for reform. The support provided by this grant will be
applied directly to these needs. We are deeply appreciative to the
Mississippi Supreme Court and Bar for their support in our efforts.”
The grant is part of $3 million awarded this year by the Mississippi
Interest on Lawyers Trust Account program, which was established by the
state Supreme Court to provide legal aid to the poor and law-related
public education programs, as well as to improve the administration of
justice. Since its inception in 1984, the IOLTA program has awarded
more than $10 million in grants.
For more information on the Mississippi Innocence Project, its mission
and programs, visit http://www.mississippiinnocence.org. For more
information on the UM School of Law, visit http://www.law.olemiss.edu .