A new Conviction Integrity Unit through the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office will begin to review petitions from the public, the office announced April 9.
Petitioners can file for a review by completing a form online.
Those who don’t have internet access can request a review through the mail:
Marion County Prosecutorās Office
Attn: Conviction Integrity Unit
251 East Ohio Street, Suite 160
Indianapolis, IN 46204
The Conviction Integrity Unit, announced in 2020, will identify and review cases that may have resulted in a wrongful conviction. The unit consists of an attorney, investigator and paralegal.
āIf thereās something out there, we want to know about it,ā Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears told the Recorder in January.
Almost half of known exonerations since 1989 have been for African Americans, according to the National Registry of Exonerations at the University of Michigan law school. Thatās partly because African Americans are seven times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder if the victim was white.
Mears estimated the unit will be able to investigate 15 to 20 cases per year.
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.