About the Innocence Project of Florida
The Innocence Project of Florida (IPF) is an IRS-certified 501(c)(3), non-profit organization founded in January 2003 to help innocent prisoners in Florida obtain their freedom and rebuild their lives. Our mission is to:
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Screen and investigate cases in which meritorious innocence claims are identified;
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Secure DNA testing when biological evidence exists;
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Advocate for the release and/or exoneration of individuals whose cases present meritorious innocence claims based on evidence of actual innocence;
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Provide transitional and aftercare services to exonerees; and
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Advocate for necessary criminal justice reform to avoid wrongful incarcerations in the future.
Read more about IPF's key successes in criminal justice reform here.
Our History
IPF was founded in response to a filing deadline for post-conviction DNA motions. Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte served as the board of directors’ founding chair. Beginning with two advocates (Jennifer Greenberg and Sheila Meehan) IPF’s first office was in a hallway in the Florida State University College of Law.
For its first three years, IPF staff members worked with interns, volunteers and pro bono attorneys throughout Florida. The second half of 2006 began a time of growth and development when:
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Systems for review and acceptance of new cases were defined;
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Two full-time staff attorneys were hired to begin tackling thousands of backlogged cases, as well as improve the litigation process; and
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A social worker was employed to help IPF clients with their transition back into society.
IPF has continued to expand its staff to include an intake coordinator to facilitate the screening of requests for assistance and procurement of vital case materials, and a development coordinator to spearhead IPF’s critical fundraising, educational, and outreach efforts. Today, the IPF staff consists of nine individuals and routinely hosts six to eight student interns each semester. IPF was the first innocence organization in the nation to have a full-time social worker on staff.
IPF is a member of the Innocence Network, an affiliation of organizations dedicated to providing pro bono legal and investigative services to individuals seeking to prove innocence of crimes for which they have been convicted and working to redress the causes of wrongful conviction. Several members of the IPF staff have been invited speakers at the annual Innocence Network conferences, and IPF’s executive director also serves on the Innocence Network Advisory Board.
OUR TEAM
Seth Miller, Esq.
Executive Director
litigates post-conviction innocence cases, supervises the IPF’s internship program, and regularly lectures to students, lawyers, and community groups on issues related to wrongful convictions. He also teaches Post-conviction Remedies as an adjunct professor at the Florida State University College of Law. Mr. Miller was President of the Innocence Network, a consortium of more than 65 innocence organizations in the United States and abroad, from 2014-2020, and has served on its Executive Board since 2012. Mr. Miller also served as Chair of the Steering Committee for the American Bar Association Death Penalty Due Process Review Project. Before joining IPF in 2006, Mr. Miller served as a project attorney with the ABA Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project in Washington, D.C., and as a staff attorney with the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee, Florida. He graduated from Florida State University College of Law and received his undergraduate degree from Penn State University.
Adina M. Thompson, PhD
Intake Coordinator
graduated from the University of Florida in 2014 with a doctorate in criminology, law and society. Dr. Thompson received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Florida as well. Her research interests include exoneree reentry stigma and reentry prejudice, and she has presented research findings to the American Society of Criminology and the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS). Dr. Thompson is the recipient of two AP-LS grants-in-aid, and her work has been published in the Albany Law Review. In addition to her position at IPF, Dr. Thompson is an adjunct professor at Arkansas State University.
Anthony Scott, LCSW
Director of Transition Services
joined IPF in 2006 to direct our social services section. He has expertise working with both prisoners and ex-offenders, having provided psychotherapy at House of Hope and Broward Outreach Center. Mr. Scott is also a founding member of the national Exoneree Support Committee, networking with and training innocence project workers throughout the United States.
Brandon Scheck
Staff Attorney
joined IPF in May 2021. Brandon went to law school to become an advocate for the wrongfully convicted and to fight against systemic injustice. Prior to joining IPF as a staff attorney, he worked at three Innocence Network organizations: as a legal fellow at the New England Innocence Project, and as a legal intern at IPF and the Georgia Innocence Project. During law school, Brandon received several awards for his commitment to public service and pro bono, including an award for the student most committed to public interest law in his graduating class.
Emily Thourson
Finance & Human Resources Manager
joined IPF in August 2020. Prior to IPF, Emily held a variety of finance roles within both not-for-profit healthcare and the consumer products industry, including experience with financial planning, budgeting, and accounting. She graduated from New York University with a BA in Economics in 2012.
Amy K. Carr, MA
Staff Investigator
returned to IPF in Sept 2021. Amy was IPF’s first Intake Coordinator from 2008 – 2012. She spent the last 9 years at Capital Collateral Regional Counsel – South as an investigator and mitigation specialist, assisting in the defense of Florida’s death row inmates. Prior to finding her passion fighting for social justice and the rights of criminal defendants, Amy served as a member of AmeriCorps in both Massachusetts and Florida. She received her Master’s degree in International Affairs with a concentration in Human Rights from Florida State University in 2009, and graduated from Penn State University in 2005 with a BA in International Politics.
Della Rose Campbell, BA
Intake Analyst & Internship Coordinator
joined the IPF team in August 2017. She graduated from Florida State University in 2017 with a degree in Editing, Writing and Media. Prior to her graduation, she worked as the intake intern at IPF.
Jessica Bivens
Development Officer
joined IPF in May 2022. Prior to IPF, Jessica worked as a fundraiser in both higher education and politics and has experience in major and annual giving. She received her master’s degree in Political Science and undergraduate degree in Humanities with a concentration in Human Rights from Florida State University.