NC Center on Actual Innocence

North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence is a Durham, North Carolina-based nonprofit organization dedicated to providing legal assistance and advocating for individuals wrongly convicted of crimes. Founded in 2000, we identify, investigate, and litigate credible claims of innocence, working to ensure justice for those imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.

Our primary mission centers on representing indigent, unrepresented inmates in North and South Carolina who assert factual innocence. We collaborate with law school innocence organizations, empowering law student volunteers to gain practical legal experience while contributing to critical justice reform.

The Center’s work extends beyond individual cases, encompassing education and advocacy to improve the reliability of convictions and increase public confidence in the criminal justice system. We also support exonerees with reentry services.

We’ve helped over 500 inmates and exonerated individuals like Joseph Abbitt and Dwayne Dail, demonstrating our commitment to achieving justice and preventing wrongful convictions.

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to providing pro bono legal services and promoting systematic changes to our criminal justice system.