$500K federal grant to help restart MU Innocence Clinic

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The University of Missouri has received a $500,000 grant that will help it restart a law clinic dedicated to investigating possible cases of wrongful conviction.

KMIZ reported the grant from the Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice will fund the MU Innocence Clinic. The money will pay for DNA tests on evidence involved in cases where eyewitnesses may have misidentified a suspect.

Law professor Rodney Uphoff said the school will partner with the Midwest Innocence Project, a law firm specializing in exonerating inmates who may actually be innocent. Students in the clinic will review cases of the firm's clients to interview witnesses in the case and identify possible pieces of evidence for testing.

Eight students will work in the clinic during the 2020 spring semester.