TIN objectives

The Texas Innocence Network (TIN) at the University of Houston Law Center is a program that focuses exclusively on investigating claims of actual innocence raised by inmates in Texas or elsewhere. The TIN relies principally on law students to pursue factual investigation; the students work under the supervision of Professor David R. Dow, clinical professors Cassandra Jeu or Jeff Newberry, or Pete Walker. The twin aims of the TIN are pedagogical and service-oriented. From a pedagogic standpoint, the TIN gives students the opportunity to conduct non-scripted factual investigations. Students who enroll in the TIN class receive classroom instruction in conducting field investigations, interviewing witnesses, reviewing police and crime-scene records, crime-scene reconstruction, scientific evidence, and the like. From a service standpoint, the TIN provides a resource for inmates who did not commit the crime for which they were sentenced. The TIN accepts cases involving DNA evidence as well as cases that do not. In death penalty cases, the TIN becomes involved once habeas counsel is appointed. In non-death penalty cases, the TIN does not become involved prior to the case's becoming final. Thus, except for death penalty cases, it is not until the direct appeal has concluded that the case is ripe for the TIN. For further information, contact TIN or the University of Houston Innocence Project (UHIP) in any of the following manners: by phone, 713 743 7552; by email: innocence@central.uh.edu; by mail: UH Innocence Project, University of Houston Law Center, 100 Law Center, Houston, Texas 77204-6060. to make a financial contribution, please visit our website: www.texasinnocencenetwork.org