Who We Are
Edward Wright (fourth from right), his wife, and his legal team in front of the Hampden County Superior Court following Eddie’s release in July 2025 after 41 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
About Us
The New England Innocence Project (NEIP) frees innocent people from prison, supports individuals and families impacted by long-term incarceration, and fights to end the systemic harms of the criminal legal system in the six New England states.
By providing free forensic testing, investigation, experts, and an experienced legal team, we can exonerate the innocent and bring them home to their loved ones. Through the Exoneree Network, we provide comprehensive support — from housing and seasonal stipends to mental health care and job training — so our community can heal and rebuild in freedom. We also use our expertise on wrongful convictions to educate and advocate for reforms to put an end to wrongful convictions and support community-based solutions for public safety.
Founded in 2000 and officially becoming a nonprofit in 2004, we are a small staff of attorneys, paralegals, and development and communications professionals who work along with a dedicated network of criminal defense attorneys, experts, scholars, and exonorees to help free the innocent. Originally, NEIP only took cases with testable biological evidence, but it has since expanded its reach to non-DNA claims of innocence as well.
NEIP is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit and receives no funding from the “Innocence Project,” a separate organization based in NYC, or from any other innocence organizations.
Why Do We Need Your Support?
Our clients do not have the resources to prove their innocence. The New England Innocence Project provides pro bono services and pays all of the investigation and litigation costs for all of our cases—receiving an average of 250 requests for assistance each year. As an independent organization we must raise funds to continue our valuable work. We cannot free the innocent without help from the public.
Our History
There are many people who have contributed to the New England Innocence Project and its work over the years, but perhaps no one more so than Joseph F. Savage, Jr., now a partner at Goodwin. Joe began to think about an organized response to wrongful convictions in 1997 after hearing Peter Neufeld speak at the annual dinner of the Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL). In his words: "We saw a problem that ultimately only lawyers could solve, and knew that we could be part of the solution if we could organize and get resources to support the lawyers and law students who wanted to address the issue. So we gathered people together and let it be known we were available to review wrongful convictions. After that the boxes began arriving..."