The Kentucky Innocence Project (KIP) is an initiative by the Department of Public Advocacy that provides incarcerated men and women who have legitimate claims of innocence with a resource through which their claims may be investigated and presented to the courts of the Commonwealth for relief. KIP also provides quality investigative and legal assistance to incarcerated people in Kentucky with provable claims of actual innocence. The Program combines the resources of the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy (the Commonwealth’s Public Defender Agency) with several of the Commonwealth’s finest educational institutions to extensively investigate and litigate claims of innocence by those convicted in the state of Kentucky. KIP seeks to introduce innovative social policies, create progressive legislative and constitutional reforms, and establish itself as a conduit for progress. The Case criteria in order to qualify for the services, prospective clients should meet the following criteria - a Kentucky conviction & incarceration; a minimum ten-year sentence; a minimum of three years until eligible to go before the parole board or if parole has been deferred, a minimum of three years to the next appearance before the Board; new evidence of innocence discovered since the conviction which can be investigated; and a claim of actual innocence.