Help for Prisoners

1. Cases the Institute Accepts
   The Institute assists prisoners with post-conviction relief. For the Institute to consider taking your case, you must fulfill the following requirements:
   
   
   • Convicted of a Felony in the Commonwealth of Virginia
   • Currently Incarcerated in the Commonwealth of Virginia
   • Have at least 10 years remaining on your sentence
   • Have a valid claim of innocence
   
   
2. Cases we CANNOT Accept
   Due to the nature of our program, we can not assist everyone who contacts us claiming innocence. Some examples of cases we cannot accept are:
   
   
   • Persons convicted of criminal cases in a state other than Virginia
   • Civil Cases
   • Cases in the appeal process
     

If the Institute of Actual Innocence cannot assist you and you are interested in finding about an organization in your area that can help you, please check our Resources section of this website.

Submitting a Case for Consideration

If you or a prisoner you know claims innocence and the case meets the criteria listed above, please fill out the Client Intake Form available on this page. If you do not have the ability to print this form directly from this website, please write to the Institute and we will supply the form to you. Only prisoners with completed Client Intake Forms will be considered by the Institute.

While the Institute will thoroughly review all claims submitted through the Client Intake Form, we are unable to pursue all of the cases due to limited staff and resources. For the Institute to consider your claim, a Client Intake Form must be submitted. Once we receive your completed Client Intake Form, the Institute will evaluate your claim to see if we may be able to help. If an incomplete form is received, we will not process the request.

Send all correspondence with the Institute to the following address: