Inspired by the stories of prisoners who have been exonerated by post-conviction DNA evidence, Philadelphia attorneys David Rudovsky and David Richman have teamed up to form the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, an initiative housed at Temple's Beasley School of Law.

Using DNA testing or other irrefutable evidence, the project will work to identify and exonerate Pennsylvania inmates who have been wrongfully convicted. It will also advocate for reforms of the criminal justice system.

Through Temple Law's "Innocence Project Clinic" course, specially-trained students will screen, investigate and pursue in the courts claims of actual innocence under the supervision of the project's legal director, Temple Law alumna Marissa Boyers Bluestine, and volunteer lawyers.

"Temple Law has always been a leader in public service, so our association with this legal innocence project is a natural fit," said JoAnne A. Epps, dean of Temple Law. "It provides exciting opportunities not only for Temple and the faculty, but most of all for the students who will learn valuable legal skills as participants in this vital endeavor that seeks to strengthen the quality of justice."

According to Temple Law alumnus Richard C. Glazer, the project's executive director, more than 400 exonerees nationwide — including nine in Pennsylvania — were imprisoned for an average of 12 years before DNA or other evidence convinced a court that the wrong person had been convicted.

To learn more about the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, visit www.innocenceprojectpa.org.