About the charity

The IPL was established in 2010 and became a registered charity in 2020. Students from the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Greenwich work in small groups alongside practising lawyers to investigate claims of innocence from convicted individuals who have exhausted the criminal appeals process with a view to making applications to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). The CCRC is currently the only body in England and Wales that can return a case back to the Court of Appeal.

Students learn through the innocence project model of clinical legal education, which was developed in the USA where the first innocence project was founded in 1992. Their work looks for new evidence or a new legal argument that could form the basis of a successful application to the CCRC.

The IPL receives on average five applications a week and at any time between four to five cases are under assessment. Beyond making and managing applications, the IPL develops sustainable learning for the next generation of criminal justice system employees and advocates and works to develop policies that support improvements in the criminal justice system.

In January 2016, the IPL became a member of the Global Innocence Network (IN) based in the US. The IN is an affiliation of 97 innocence organisations from several countries, all of which offer pro-bono legal and investigative services to convicted individuals who are maintaining their innocence.

 

About the partnership

Here at Inventive Productions we are working hard on driving forward the immersive experience market in the UK. Our experiences set out to entertain our audiences by bringing to life fictional worlds that place our guests at the centre of the story. Beyond the fictional worlds that we draw inspiration from we recognise there are harsh realities faced in the real world. For instance, Alcotraz brings to life fictional story of a bootlegger sentenced behind bars, similar to that of classic American film and TV, which aims to entertain our audience. However,  the harsh reality faced by people in UK prisons today is very different. Our team recognise the difficulties beyond our fictional world and we are proud to support a charity that aims to make a positive difference within the criminal justice system.

Inventive Productions partnered with the IPL at the start of 2024, with the ambition to broaden the reach of the charity’s initiatives and provide critical funding to support its work.

Fundraising is key to the sustainability of IPL’s operations. Inventive Productions is proud to donate a percentage of its Alcotraz turnover and provide a way for our visitors to donate to the charity.

Inventive Productions’ help and support will ensure the charity can scale, which includes taking on more cases, recruiting staff, and making sure wrongfully convicted individuals can access their services. The partnership will help further the IPL’s mission to challenge miscarriages of justice and amplify the voices of those who have been wrongfully convicted.

Together, our aim is to change the public perception of how wrongful convictions happen, through education, policy reform, and access to justice.