The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) seeks applications for funding for the Upholding the Rule of Law and Preventing Wrongful Convictions (ROL/WCR) Site-based Program.
Donor Name: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
State: All States
County: All Counties
U.S. Territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Type of the Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/01/2022
Size of the Grant: $500,000
Grant Duration: 2 years
Details:
This program supports efforts by wrongful conviction review entities that represent individuals with post-conviction claims of innocence to review individual cases.
The ROL/WCR Program supports WCR entities by providing high-quality and efficient post-conviction representation for defendants in post-conviction claims of innocence. Where possible, the ROL/WCR Program seeks to identify actual perpetrators of crimes, bring justice to the victim(s), and enact measures to prevent future errors and ensure justice, thereby enhancing public safety. The strategy should be led by a WCR entity that focuses on the review of post-conviction claims of innocence.
Goals
The goal of the ROL/WCR Program is to enhance the capacity of WCR entities and their criminal justice and victims partners to better identify, assess, and manage post-conviction claims of innocence while translating lessons to prevent future errors and bring justice to victims.
Objectives
The objectives of the ROL/WCR Program are to:
- Strategically review cases of post-conviction and appeal claims of innocence with a focus on those at greatest risk for error.
- Establish or enhance partnerships, where appropriate, to apply a strategic review of individual postconviction claims of innocence and appeals, and, where relevant, to use this information to inform efforts to prevent wrongful convictions.
- Enhance the collection and analysis of data to support the prevention of error and enhance efforts to review and manage claims of innocence.
- Identify and apprehend, whenever possible, the actual perpetrator of a crime.
- Evaluate whether or not any systemic issues exist that may compromise the rule of law and recommend practices for mitigating them and preventing wrongful convictions.
Funding Information
- Anticipated Maximum Dollar Amount of Awards – $500,000.
Grant Period
- Period of Performance Duration (Months) – 24.
Eligibility Criteria
- Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Private institutions of higher education
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
- Other:
- County, state, or local public defender offices that have in-house post-conviction representation programs that show demonstrable experience and competence in litigating post-conviction claims of innocence. If the applicant is not a WCR entity, they must be partnered with one.
- For purposes of this solicitation, “state” means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
