Innocence and Justice Project

The Innocence and Justice Project (IJP), housed within University at Buffalo School of Law’s Advocacy Institute, combines strategic litigation, client service, and policy advocacy to address the problems of over-incarceration and racial injustice in the criminal legal system. Central to our mission is the idea that justice means that people, including those who commit violent crimes, ought not be condemned to life in prison.

IJP was originally launched in late 2015 by adjunct professor John Nuchereno, but went on hiatus following his untimely death. It was revitalized in 2020, when Professor Alexandra Harrington became Director of the Project.

Partnering with the law school’s Criminal Justice Advocacy Clinic, IJP litigates second-look cases including resentencing applications under New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA), parole appeals, and clemency petitions. Students in the Clinic also implement the mission of the IJP through advocacy for statewide parole and resentencing reforms to increase and make more meaningful the few existing mechanisms for release

For more information, contact

Alexandra Harrington
Associate Professor of Law; Director, Innocence and Justice Project; Director, Criminal Justice Advocacy Clinic
aharr@buffalo.edu

Student attorneys, Professor Ali Harrington, and Staff Attorney Annabel Mannion, after a Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA) film screening and discussion panel. (Fall 2025) 

Student attorneys, Staff Attorney Annabel Mannion, Parole Reform Consultant Jerome Wright, and guest speakers at a parole advocacy event. (Spring 2025)

Student attorneys and Professor Ali Harrington in a clinic seminar.

Student attorneys lead a discussion panel about parole reform. (Spring 2024)