Center receives $1 million for Innocence Project

CINCINNATI (AP) -- A center that sponsors the Ohio Innocence Project has received a $1 million endowment that will help its work to free wrongly convicted inmates.
The Center for Law and Justice at the University of Cincinnati will be renamed for Lois and Richard Rosenthal, who are giving the $1 million gift. The center opened in 2002 and is best known for its work on the Innocence Project, which has branches across the country.
"The Innocence Project is truly a passion we have," Lois Rosenthal said. "When you are of [financial] means, you can hire careful representation. But when you are poor or not knowledgeable about the law, you are not represented as well."
The center, which will be known as the Lois and Richard Rosenthal Institute for Justice, also works on social welfare projects in Cincinnati.
Law students apply to join the institute and sign up for different projects. They work for a small stipend and course credits.
The Innocence Projects uses DNA evidence and other technology to exonerate inmates who were convicted of crimes they did not commit. More than 140 inmates across the country have been freed through the project's efforts.
XVisit www.innocenceproject.org on the Web for more information.