BJA FY 10 Wrongful Conviction Review Program

The summary for the BJA FY 10 Wrongful Conviction Review Program grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Bureau of Justice Assistance, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

BJA FY 10 Wrongful Conviction Review Program: The purpose of the Wrongful Conviction Review Program is to provide high quality and efficient representation for defendants in post-conviction claims of innocence. Post-conviction innocence claims are likely to include complex challenges to the reliability or accuracy of evidence presented at trial which fall mainly into three categories: 1) eyewitness identification evidence; 2) confession evidence; and 3) forensic evidence. In some cases, post-conviction DNA testing alone can establish innocence, but the majority of cases will rely on other forms of evidence, and many will involve DNA testing together with additional sources of proof and/or expert testimony, which may be extremely costly. The goals of this initiative are to: 1) provide quality representation to those who may have been wrongfully convicted; 2) alleviate burdens placed on the criminal justice system through costly and prolonged post-conviction litigation; and 3) identify, whenever possible, the actual perpetrator of the crime.