ABOUT THE INNOCENCE PROJECT

The Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Our work is guided by science and grounded in anti-racism. Since our inception, the Innocence Project has used DNA and other scientific advancements to prove wrongful conviction. To date, we have helped to free or exonerate more than 250 people who, collectively, spent more than 3,600 years behind bars. Our efforts have led to the passage of more than 200 transformative state laws and federal reforms. Today, the Innocence Project continues to fight for freedom, drive structural change, and advance the innocence movement. To learn more, please visitwww.innocenceproject.org.

ABOUT THE CENTER ON RACE, INEQUALITY, AND THE LAW AT NYU SCHOOL OF LAW

The Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at NYU School of Law (The Center) engages in research, public education, advocacy, and litigation to advance its mission of shaping how people understand, diagnose, and address issues of race and inequality. The Centers priorities include: shaping the public discourse and consciousness around race and inequality; addressing the influence of race and inequality in the criminal legal system; confronting the racial justice implications of technology and algorithmic decision-making tools in the criminal legal system and other systems that govern peoples lives; challenging the forces that drive racial segregation and economic disadvantage in communities of color; and infusing legal education with a racial justice lens.

ABOUT THE POSITION

Throughout the history of this country, racial bias and discrimination has played an arbitrary and pernicious role in the administration of the criminal legal system and has contributed to the problem of wrongful conviction. Two-thirds of the 254 people freed or exonerated by the IP are people of color and 58% are Black. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, Black people comprise 47% of all known exonerations since 1989, even though they make up just 13% of the U.S. population. Furthermore, Black people are seven times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder than white people; a Black person convicted of sexual assault is 3.5 times more likely to be innocent than a white person convicted of such a crime; and innocent Black people are 12 times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of drug possession than innocent white people. The work of the IP has uncovered racial (and other) bias in prosecution, policing, indigent defense, and forensic science.

To further advance the mission of the IP, the(Special) Advisor on Race and Wrongful Convictionwill serve as an advisor, thought leader, expert and in-house resource on racial justice, equity, bias and discrimination and its impact on the functioning of the criminal legal system and, particularly, wrongful conviction. The(Special) Advisor on Race and Wrongful Convictionwill set the vision for this work and will collaborate with the IP staff to ensure that the substantive work of the organization is consistently guided, informed, and supported by rigorous historical, academic, forensic and social science research and scholarship, legal decisions, and policies/practices that explain, expose, ameliorate and ultimately eliminate racial bias as a factor in criminal legal system decision making. Thus, for example, the (Special) Advisor on Race and Wrongful Conviction will advise on methods to help ensure that the IP’s intake procedures surface cases where racism may have contributed to the wrongful conviction of an innocent person, that litigation strategies take into account the latest law and science on racial bias and discrimination, that our social work policies and practices are informed by the unique challenges posed by discrimination and unconscious bias and that our policy work and education campaigns contribute to dismantling systemic racism.

The(Special) Advisor on Race and Wrongful Convictionwill support and advise all Departments of the IP, including the program teams, but will not play an active role in litigation or policy advocacy campaigns. The(Special) Advisor on Race and Wrongful Convictionis not responsible for the development of internal diversity, equity and inclusion policies, practices or procedures.

The(Special) Advisor on Race and Wrongful Convictionwill report to the Executive Director of the IP, and will be a member of the IPs Executive Department. The(Special) Advisor on Race and Wrongful Convictionwill also collaborate with the NYU Center Executive Director and Faculty Director to produce scholarly writing regarding the role of race in wrongful convictions.

We are interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States. However, we are not able to sponsor visas and we a…