The Innocence Project (BBC TV Series)

The Innocence Project is a television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

drama

Drama

Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

series created by BBC Northern Ireland

BBC Northern Ireland

BBC Northern Ireland is the main public service broadcaster in Northern Ireland.The organisation is one of the three national regions of the BBC, together with BBC Scotland and BBC Wales. Based at Broadcasting House, Belfast, it provides television, radio, online and interactive television content...

and originally broadcast on BBC One

BBC One

BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...

in 2006–07.

Synopsis

"Champion of the underdog and a brilliant teacher, Professor Jon Ford sets up The Innocence Project, peopled entirely by a hand-picked group of law students. His passion for his subject ignites something new and exciting in his students. They take on cases pro bono that nobody else wants to know about, cases that people have forgotten, cases that others have given up on. They take on 'clients' with no hope – who have possibly been wrongly convicted. Fact – sometimes the English justice system fails. Smart and with an infectious enthusiasm,

Background

The series is based on a UK version of the Innocence Project

Innocence Project

An Innocence Project is one of a number of non-profit legal organizations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand dedicated to proving the innocence of wrongly convicted people through the use of DNA testing, and to reforming the criminal justice systems to...

, which refers to a number of non-profit legal clinics in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

The most well known is based at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the law school of Yeshiva University, located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The school is named for Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo. Cardozo's success as a young school has been remarkable, leading some to characterize Cardozo as a...

of Yeshiva University

Yeshiva University

Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...

. It directly serves defendant

Defendant

A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...

s who can conclusively be proven innocent by DNA testing of evidence done after their convictions.

Foundation

The clinic was founded in 1992 by Barry Scheck

Barry Scheck

Barry C. Scheck is an American lawyer. He received national media attention while serving on O.J. Simpson's defense team, winning an acquittal in the highly publicized murder case. Scheck is the director of the Innocence Project and a professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York...

and Peter Neufeld

Peter Neufeld

Peter Neufeld is an American lawyer and is most famous as a cofounder, with Barry Scheck, of the Innocence Project, located at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law...

. In addition to working on behalf of those who may have been wrongfully convicted of crimes throughout the United States, the Innocence Project performs research and advocacy related to the causes of wrongful convictions. The Innocence Project is a member of the recently formed Innocence Network

Innocence Network

The Innocence Network is an affiliation of organizations dedicated to providing pro bono legal and investigative services to individuals seeking to prove innocence of crimes for which they have been convicted and working to redress the causes of wrongful convictions.Most organizations involved are...

, which brings together a number of innocence organizations from across the United States.

As of 23 August 2008, 218 defendants previously convicted of serious crimes in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

had been exonerated by DNA testing. Almost all of these convictions involved some form of sexual assault

Sexual assault

Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....

and approximately 25% involved murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

Innocence Projects in the UK

Dr Michael Naughton, Founder and Director of the Innocence Network UK (INUK), set up the first innocence project in the UK at the University of Bristol in January 2005. It provided the domestic context for The Innocence Project drama. Additionally, INUK has actively assisted in setting up over 30 innocence projects in UK universities and referred approximately 90 cases to member innocence projects for further investigation.

Cast

Character	Played by	Notes
Professor Jon Ford	Lloyd Owen Lloyd Owen Lloyd Owen is a British actor of Welsh descent. Trained at the National Youth Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, he is probably best known for his portrayal of Indiana Jones's father Professor Dr. Henry Jones, Sr...
Sarah Shawcross	Christine Bottomley Christine Bottomley Christine Bottomley is a British actress.She is best known for her regular roles as Melanie in the BBC comedy series Early Doors and Susie Ward in Heartbeat.-Life and career:...
Beth McNair	Ruth Bradley Ruth Bradley -Career:Bradley's first screen appearance were in 2002 in Ultimate Force and Sinners .Since then she has had recurring roles in The Clinic , Love Is the Drug , Legend , The Innocence Project , Plus One and Love/Hate .She...
Andrew Lucas	Stephen Graham Stephen Graham (actor) Stephen Graham is an English actor from Kirkby, Liverpool. He is best known for his roles as Tommy in the movie Snatch, Combo in This Is England and its four-part television sequel This Is England '86, Danny Ferguson in Occupation, Billy Bremner in The Damned United, notorious bank robber Baby...	A mature student, a policeman on sabbatical
Nick Benitz	Oliver James Oliver James (entertainer) Oliver James is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his roles in the American films What a Girl Wants and Raise Your Voice.-Acting career:...
Adam Solomons	Luke Treadaway Luke Treadaway Luke Antony N. Treadaway is an English actor, whose career includes roles in the films Brothers of the Head and Attack the Block.- Personal life :...
Dr Eve Walker	Shelley Conn Shelley Conn -Early life and education:Conn was born in Barnet, Greater London of British and Sri Lankan descent. The great niece of actress Merle Oberon , Conn trained at Bretton Hall...	Criminology lecturer
Mary Jarvis	Ruta Gedmintas Ruta Gedmintas Ruta Gedmintas is an English actress known for her work on British television, primarily in Spooks: Code 9, The Tudors and Lip Service.-Biography:...
Lizzie Ford	Charlotte Emmerson	Ford's ex-wife

Episodes

Ep No	Original Air Date	Episode Synopsis
1x01	9 November 2006	A convicted killer, Luke Talbot has always proclaimed his innocence and the team start to review the case against him, which appears uncertain. While still going through the serious business of growing up at university, the students search for new evidence which could set him free. Nick also finds himself on the wrong side of the criminal justice system – which could mean the end of his legal career before it's even started
1x02	16 November 2006	Beth tries to convince an apparently unenthusiastic Ford about the merits of a case in which the infallibility of fingerprint evidence comes under scrutiny. Vulnerable Martin Toal retracted a confession of murder, even though his fingerprints were found at the crime scene. He's now serving life. Beth believes the system has let Toal down. Adam is mentoring a young boy, Dizzy – but trying to overturn his ASBO is loaded with difficulty. With her mother putting extra pressure on her, Beth finds herself with more on her plate than she can handle
1x03	23 November 2006	Adam tries to understand how a murder conviction can be beyond reasonable doubt – when there is no body. John McKenna may have been convicted of murdering his common-law wife, but her body has never been found. Meanwhile, Ford makes Nick struggle with a case that is over 300 years old – an attempt to prove the innocence of a woman who was executed as a witch. Sarah is caught off-guard when her boyfriend from home, Craig, turns up with an unexpected proposal
1x04	30 November 2006	The students tackle the complex ramifications of a joint trial: co-defendants who were tried together and both convicted of murder. But they hit a wall when they attempt to analyse upon what evidence the jury ultimately based their guilty verdict. Beth is appalled by the injustice and wants to approach the jury. But Ford lays down the law – such an approach would be illegal. Meanwhile, Sarah and Nick get sidetracked by a case involving an adult website and the question of just what obscenity means in this day and age
1x05	7 December 2006	An old face appears from Ford's past, asking for help, but Ford's not so sure he wants to get involved. The students attempt to help a convicted drug dealer get her sentence reduced. Rhiannon Hayes was convicted of selling drugs to an undercover policeman – but were the police more than just a willing buyer? Adam is forced to question his idealistic viewpoint when he fears Dizzy may have betrayed him
1x06	24 January 2007	A convicted murderer claims that, rather than killing the victim, all he actually did was try to help. The students put expert evidence under the microscope. When Sarah and Beth get involved in a case the Crown Prosecution Service passed over, Beth finds herself working for the other side with PC Todd, with unexpected rewards. Ford can't seem to shift the piles of work on his desk but has a good reason for taking so much on
1x07	31 January 2007	The students are put to the test by the different claims and counter-claims in a rape case. Rape is a notoriously difficult offence to get a conviction for and they wonder if it's something they should even be looking at. Ford is stumped when Sarah and Andrew want to discuss how to prove a retired police dog was an unreliable witness. Supporting cast includes Sarah Jayne Dunn Sarah Jayne Dunn Sarah Jayne Dunn is an English actress best known for playing Mandy Richardson in Hollyoaks.-Biography:Dunn was born in Leigh, Lancashire and educated at Lowton High School, excelling in drama and performing arts, and a part time career as a model...
1x08	7 February 2007	The team struggles to prove that a murder case was, in fact, a suicide. Adam gets involved in the mechanics, while the others investigate the victim's state of mind. Ford may know more about the drugs which might have contributed to the victim's death than he's letting on. So he finds himself with several difficult decisions to make – both personally and professionally.

Cancellation

The Innocence Project fared particularly poorly for a BBC primetime drama, and received a number of negative reviews. In an unusual move for a BBC programme, it was pulled from the schedules mid-run. The BBC has confirmed that there will not be a second series.

External links

The Innocence Project at the Internet Move Database
The Innocence Project TightropePictures.com
The Innocence Project BBC.co.uk

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