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UK College of Law and The Kentucky Innocence Project

The UK College of Law and other universities in the Commonwealth participate in the Kentucky Innocence Project (KIP), administered by the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy – the state’s provider of criminal defense services for the indigent. Second and third year UK law students can enroll in the Innocence Project Externship. Students receive four (4) graded credit hours for this academic year (fall and spring semesters) long course. At UK, you can make a difference!

KIP combines resources from the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy with those from educational institutions to provide quality investigative and legal assistance to Kentucky prisoners with provable claims of actual innocence. KIP does not limit cases to those where DNA evidence exists.

Cases for KIP are accepted on an annual basis. Once accepted, a case is matched with a student in the externship program. Each student and the KIP staff then investigate the student’s case throughout the academic year.

Although prospective clients should meet the following criteria, KIP reviews all applications for assistance on a case by case basis and may accept a case outside the criteria below.

• A Kentucky state conviction and incarceration;

• A minimum ten-year sentence;

• A minimum of three years until eligible to go before the parole board or if parole has been deferred, a minimum of three years to the next appearance before the Board;

• New evidence of innocence discovered since the conviction which can be investigated; and

• A claim of actual factual innocence.

All requests for assistance must begin by contacting Gordon Rahn, the Program Coordinator of the Kentucky Innocence Project, Department of Public Advocacy, 100 Fair Oaks Lane, Suite 301, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601.

For more information on the Kentucky Innocence Project, please visit http://www.kyinnocenceproject.org/home.html.

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