The Kentucky Innocence Project (KIP) was developed by the Department of Public Advocacy to provide 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 serves the entire state by not only addressing each case of wrongful conviction but also addressing much broader concerns in the criminal justice system. KIP seeks to introduce innovative social policies, to create progressive legislative and constitutional reforms, and to establish itself as a conduit for progress.
Founded in 2001, the Kentucky Innocence Project provides quality investigative and legal assistance to Kentucky prisoners 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. The Northern Kentucky University’s Salmon P. Chase School of Law, the University of Kentucky College of Law, the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law offer students the opportunity to participate in the Kentucky Innocence Project Externship. These students receive the opportunity to sharpen professional skills while performing a valuable service to the wrongfully incarcerated men and women of the Commonwealth. Unlike many other innocence projects across the country, KIP does not limit cases only to those where DNA evidence exists. Instead, the Kentucky Innocence Project strives to release all wrongfully convicted Kentuckians.
More About KIP
Aaron Riggs | Kentucky Innocence Project Attorney Supervisor
Aaron Riggs is the Directing Attorney for the Kentucky Innocence Project. A life-long Kentuckian, he attended the University of Louisville for both his undergraduate and law degrees, graduating from the Brandeis School of Law in 2016. While in law school, he was an intern with DPA’s LaGrange Trial and Post-Conviction offices, as well as the Kentucky Innocence Project. Following graduation, he moved to Owensboro, where he clerked for U.S. District Judge Joseph McKinley for two years. In 2018, he joined DPA as a staff attorney in the LaGrange Trial Office. He began working in the Post-Conviction Branch in 2021, first as a staff attorney in the LaGrange Post-Conviction Office and later working as a supervising attorney in the Frankfort Post-Conviction Office. In August 2025, he began serving as the Directing Attorney of the Kentucky Innocence Project.
Whitney Allen | KIP Staff Attorney
Whitney Allen graduated from the University of Kentucky’s J.D. Rosenburg College of Law in 2018. She joined DPA’s Post-Conviction Branch in 2018 and moved into her role as a staff attorney with the Kentucky Innocence Project in 2019. She currently litigates post-conviction innocence claims, focusing on claims of newly discovered evidence including police misconduct and shifting forensic science. Recently, Whitney has focused her litigation efforts on alleged shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma cases.