Application
Eligibility Criteria
- Innocence Ottawa will only review cases where the applicant claims to be factually innocent of the charge for which they were convicted.
- In most cases, the applications must have exhausted all avenues of appeal (Provincial Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Canada)
- Most significantly, applicants must have fresh evidence about their case in order for us to proceed with conviction review.
Please note that we do not provide legal advice. The work that is done by Innocence Ottawa is purely investigative, we are not legal aid.
Fresh evidence
Fresh evidence is any information that is "new or significant" in a case that would influence the consideration of guilt and would have likely affected the verdict had it been presented at trial. Fresh evidence may consist of:
- Anything that establishes or confirms an alibi
- Another person's confession
- Anything that identifies another person at the scene of the crime
- Scientific evidence that points to innocence or another's guilt
- Proof that important evidence was not disclosed
- Proof that shows a witness gave false testimony or substantially contradicts testimony at trial
It is essential that the "fresh" evidence has not been previously used at the original trial or on an appeal.
Application forms
If you or someone you know has been wrongfully convicted of a crime, please complete the Application and Consent to the Release of Personal Information forms. Once completed, mail them to the address provided.