Phoenix nonprofit hopes grant will set certain inmates free

PHOENIX — A nonprofit group hopes to take its $31,000 grant from the Arizona Cardinals to set free wrongfully convicted inmates.

The Arizona Justice Project looks for DNA evidence, but also challenges older forensic evidence.

“Stuff like shoeprints examination, or hair microscopy really weren’t as reliable as we previously thought,” said executive director Lindsay Herf.

She says her volunteer staff of five, plus law students, review 400 requests a year. The project has had some success.

“If you look at the National Registry (of Exonerations), there are 20 individuals listed, and the project was involved in about 14 of those cases,” Herf said.

Inmates that the Arizona Justice Project helps no longer have legal representation, which death row inmates do have.

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