About The National Center
for Reason and Justice
An innocence project for people wrongly accused or convicted
of crimes against children
Like so many other Americans, we are concerned about
the failings of our criminal-justice system. The recent exonerations of
convicted people via DNA evidence demonstrate beyond all reasonable doubt
that many innocent people have been unjustly imprisoned or executed, especially
those without the financial means to defend themselves against the state,
the media, and other powerful institutions. Most of the innocent have been
convicted because of faulty eyewitness testimony, coerced
confessions, or the acceptance of junk science in the courtroom.
Especially vulnerable have been those accused of sex
offenses -- especially sex offenses against children and adolescents. While
none of us deny that these crimes occur, those accused nevertheless have
the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty and to receive fair
trials. But too often, hysteria reigns and the accused are tried
and convicted by the media.
Many innocents, for example, were tried and convicted
during the daycare sex-panic that began in the early 80s. Since
rational observers now concede that terrible mistakes were made, few realize
that a great many of those convicted still languish in prison. Most have
no money to fund appeals, and have given up all hope of ever regaining freedom. DNA
cannot help them, because no actual crimes were ever committed.
We hope to educate the public about current injustices and also to facilitate financial and legal assistance for the falsely accused and wrongfully convicted. Currently, we do not have the resources to provide
this assistance directly. But we will act as a fiscal sponsor of
community groups striving to free the innocent. Our Board has approved
sponsorship of several of the wrongfully convicted, and will be sponsoring
more in the future.
