In April, the Midwest Innocence Project celebrated its 25-year anniversary. The legal aid nonprofit has helped free or exonerate 18 people in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska and Iowa.
But the future of the organization that fought to free Kevin Strickland and Ricky Kidd is now in question after a loss in grant funding and other financial strains.
The Midwest Innocence Project reduced executive pay and downsized its staff by 25% in February. This month, the organization began a $500,000 fundraising campaign.
“It's to ensure that we're here not just through this year, but that we're here moving forward,” said executive director Tahir Atwater. “It's not just about fundraising, it's about sustainability.”
Atwater said there are over 900 people with innocence claims waiting to have their case analyzed for potential help from the Midwest Innocence Project.
Each accepted case takes years of exhaustive legal and investigative work, and carries a price tag in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The pro bono work is often the last hope for people hoping to overturn a wrongful conviction.
“Kevin Strickland was just telling me . . . that if it weren't for MIP, he had nowhere else to go,” Atwater said. “And this man that spent 43 years in prison could still be there today if it weren't for the work of MIP and our partners.”
- Tahir Atwater, executive director, Midwest Innocence Project
