The Innocence Project is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals through DNA testing and other scientific advancements, and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. It was founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. The organization uses DNA and other scientific advancements to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. The Innocence Project is still affiliated with Cardozo School of Law, and each year, law students from the school participate in the Innocence Clinic, providing critical help in the organizations efforts to exonerate the wrongly convicted.

The Innocence Project is a founding member of the Innocence Network, an affiliation of independent organizations working to overturn wrongful convictions and improve the criminal justice system. The organization has been at the forefront of criminal justice reform, and much of its work has been done in conjunction with Innocence Network organizations, lawyers, exonerees, and/or other key partners. The Innocence Project forms a Social Work team to provide exonerees and freed people with holistic support, including housing, connection to necessary medical care, and other services.

The Innocence Projects mission is "to free the staggering number of innocent people who remain incarcerated, and to bring reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment". Since the organizations founding, 329 people have been exonerated through DNA testing in the United States, including 20 who were at one time sentenced to death. The organization is committed to improvements such as adopting core procedural reforms to improve the accuracy of eyewitness identification, electronically recording all interrogations in felony cases in their entirety, removing all restrictions to post-conviction DNA testing, and promoting forensic science research and scientifically developed standards. The Innocence Project and the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) are committed to working together to move the nation toward a fairer and unfailing criminal justice process.