Join Us
We rely on the support of volunteers, donors, sponsors, partners, and our community to make this important work possible. Some of the ways that you can get involved are posted regularly below. We hope that YOU will be a part of the innocence movement!
Be sure to subscribe to our e-newsletter and be the first to know when have a client coming home, an upcoming event, or other news to share. We send group emails about twice per month, so we won’t flood your inbox!
Show Your Support for Project Clients
Learn more about our campaign to support three wrongfully convicted clients. Fidel Santiago, Hernan "Spel" Cortes, and John Payne have spent more than 120 years wrongly incarcerated. Before the Board of Pardons on July 10, Fidel, Spel, and John were denied full hearings.
Find links to receive campaign updates directly to your inbox and information about a newsletter you can share with your network by clicking the button below.
New! Job Opportunities
We are currently seeking two highly organized and detail-oriented professionals to join our team. A Part-Time Executive Assistant and Benefits Coordinator will provide crucial administrative support to our Executive Director and full staff. A Part-Time Development Coordinator will have responsibility for our donor database, key elements of our event planning and communications, and support for growing and engaging our network. See details and apply online at the links below.
Events: Thank You for Celebrating with Us!
We are grateful to all of the sponsors, supporters, award recipients, and guests who joined us on May 8th at the Water Works in Philadelphia to celebrate the Project’s 16th anniversary. Click through to see a gallery of photos, video highlights, and more about this special evening.
Internship and Volunteer Opportunities
If you are an attorney interested in volunteering with us, please contact us at info@PAinnocence.org. Volunteers interested in other roles with our organization are welcome to contact us as well; however, we are a small staff with limited capacity to manage new volunteers at this time.
Students looking to get involved with the Project should check back to this page for open application periods. Undergraduate and law student volunteers help us with screening cases in the early stages of review, and gain valuable training on post-conviction work. We also host formal externship programs with most Pennsylvania law schools: Temple University, Drexel University, Villanova University, Duquesne University, and the University of Pittsburgh. Applications and interest forms for the Fall semester of 2025 will be shared here when enrollment begins.
Every spring, the Innocence Network hosts an important annual gathering of freed and exonerated people, the professionals working to provide legal and reentry services, and advocates for the prevention of wrongful convictions. Every October we mark Wrongful Conviction Day - a day to raise awareness of the causes and remedies of wrongful convictions and to recognize the tremendous personal, social, and emotional costs of wrongful convictions for innocent people and their families. The coalition effort offers a wealth of resources each year for those looking to learn more about this issue area and to get involved with innocence organizations.
The Innocence Movement
The Pennsylvania Innocence Project is a part of the Innocence Network - a coalition of organizations dedicated to freeing the innocent and preventing wrongful convictions worldwide. The Network was established in 2005 and is now more than 70 members strong. Member organizations have achieved more than 700 exonerations.