ARE YOU ALL IN FOR THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INNOCENCE PROJECT? YOU can help build momentum for the causes you care most about by clicking the social media icons on this page (to share the badge below) and show your Bronco pride! 
NCIP works to get innocent people out of prison, to reform the system to prevent innocent people from being convicted, and to help exonerees reclaim and rebuild their lives. To date, NCIP has directly exonerated 18 innocent men and women in California who, combined, served more than 230 years in prison and helped countless more.
Today, your gift will help clients like Domingo. For 15 years, Domingo Bustos Anaya wrote letters asking for help in righting his wrongful conviction – believing that when his message got in the hands of the right person he would be freed. Domingo, a gentle and soft-spoken man, was just 23 years old in April 1996 when he was arrested for murder in Modesto, California. He was on his way home when police arrested him following a traffic stop. Domingo has been in prison ever since, wrongfully convicted.
No physical evidence tied Domingo to the crime.
His first trial ended in a hung jury. He was convicted at a second trial on the testimony of a serial jailhouse informant, whose “third strike” charges were dismissed after testifying for the prosecution. The informant went home; Domingo was sentenced to life in prison.
After years of asking for help, Domingo wrote one more letter – a letter to us at the Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP). We answered his letter, as we do with the nearly 2,000 letters received each year. After painstaking investigation, we had a breakthrough when the actual murderer confessed to the crime in a sworn statement.
With this new evidence, we petitioned the court to reconsider Domingo’s case. Recently, the court issued an order asking the state to show why Domingo’s conviction should not be reversed. I wish you could have seen Domingo’s smile when we gave him the good news that his case was moving forward.
Domingo is now 43 years old and has spent half of his life in prison. Innocence cases can take years to resolve, but we stick with our clients until the end. We are grateful that you will too.
Today, you can stand on the side of justice. Your gift will help us see Domingo’s case, and all of our current cases, through to the end.
Please help support NCIP and our important work to free the innocent. Every dollar counts and can make a huge difference.
How much would you give for freedom?
To learn more about NCIP, please visit our website at www.ncip.scu.edu.
