At a time when we are physically isolated from each other, I wanted to reach out to you personally to thank you for being part of our community, for caring about those who are wrongfully convicted, and for supporting our work to fight injustice. I also want you to know that, at a time when it feels like everything has come to a halt, we know that we must continue our work to free innocent people in prison.

In fact, our work is more important now than it ever has been. We have all begun to understand that social distancing and careful hygiene are keys to holding this virus at bay, so it is hard to imagine a worse place to fight this virus than our overcrowded jails and prisons. Since detention conditions do not allow for social distancing, proper sanitation, or adequate medical attention, they are ideal incubators for COVID-19. Those who come in and out can bring the virus inside with them undetected or carry it out into the community.

For that reason, we have made the very difficult decision to cease all in-person prison visits for the time being. We do not want to put any of our clients at risk. This is one of the hardest aspects of the pandemic for our entire team: being more distant from our innocent clients who sit behind prison walls.

However, we have assured them, and we want to assure you, that we are still forging ahead with our cases and strategizing on the best approaches to free our clients. We are still conducting investigations, working with experts, drafting legal motions, and communicating with everyone as best we can. Even a pandemic cannot diminish our commitment to bringing our clients home.

At the same time, we continue to advocate for broader changes in the criminal legal system, including supporting emergency legislation to decarcerate, and drastically reduce jail and prison populations, to promote the safety and health of our communities. [If you want to take action with us, please contact your legislator to seek their support of the Decarceration and COVID-19 bill.]

We know that each and every one of you have been impacted by this pandemic. We consider you an essential part of our “innocence family,” and we truly hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy during this difficult time. We are so grateful for this community and we will continue to serve it, throughout this crisis and beyond.

Sincerely,

Radha Natarajan
Executive Director, New England Innocence Project

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