CONVICTION AND INCIDENT REVIEW UNIT
CIRU Official Policies and Procedures
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the Conviction and Incident Review Unit?
The principal responsibility of a prosecutor is not to convict people — it is to do justice. Doing justice means acknowledging that, on rare occasions, prosecutors bring cases that result in the conviction of people who are actually innocent. Sometimes that happens because a prosecutor or law-enforcement officer is actively and purposefully committing misconduct, but it can also happen through mistake, or because certain evidence of innocence or technology was not available at the time of conviction.
The mission of the Conviction and Incident Review Unit (“CIRU”) is to identify those wrongs and right them. It provides a process through which people who have been wrongfully convicted can petition the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to review their cases to determine whether they were wrongfully convicted. If the CIRU determines that an individual was wrongfully convicted, the CIRU will use available legal remedies to petition to correct those wrongs.
What kinds of cases are eligible for review by CIRU?
The CIRU considers claims of actual innocence. That means that, in order to obtain relief through the CIRU, the applicant must provide evidence that they did not commit the crimes they were convicted of. A case considered by the CIRU must be based on evidence that came to light after an applicant’s trial or plea; its role is not to re-weigh evidence that has already been evaluated by a jury or during a plea hearing before a judge.
Applicants must be still living, and they must have been convicted of felonies. Their conviction must have occurred in the St. Louis County Circuit Court, otherwise known as the 21st Judicial Circuit of Missouri. The CIRU will not consider claims that a sentence was unfairly harsh.
The CIRU may, in extraordinary circumstances, conduct a review of cases where there is not a claim of actual innocence but there is evidence that makes a compelling claim that a conviction was obtained through deliberate wrongdoing by a law-enforcement officer, prosecutor, or other participant in the legal process.
Who can file a claim with CIRU?
A convicted person can file his or her own application, but applications may also be filed by a family member or friend of the convicted person, or by a lawyer acting on behalf of the convicted person. In order for a full investigation to proceed, however, the CIRU will need the cooperation of the convicted person.
How is a claim filed?
The CIRU has prepared an Application Form that can be found on the website of the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney. If you send a letter or leave a voice message or e-mail with the CIRU, you will be asked to fill out the Application Form in order for your claim to be considered.
Click here for CIRU Application Form
Applications must be submitted in writing. They may be submitted by e-mail at ciru@stlouisco.com or by mail at:
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney
Conviction and Incident Review Unit
100 South Central Avenue, Second Floor
Clayton, MO 63105
What if I don’t know all of the information on the Application Form?
That’s OK. Fill out as much of the application as you can. Applications will be considered even if all of the information is not filled in, but the more information you can provide, the more helpful it will be.
However, every application must include a signed release form from the convicted person in order to be considered.
Will CIRU consider a claim where a convicted person pleaded guilty?
Yes, the CIRU will consider the claim of an individual who pleaded guilty.
Do I need to have a lawyer to apply?
No. The CIRU will consider claims whether or not the applicant is represented by counsel.
Do I need to identify the actual guilty person in order to get relief?
No. The CIRU exists to correct convictions of innocent people. An applicant can get relief even if the true offender is never identified or prosecuted for the crime.
When can a claim be filed?
A claim can be filed with CIRU at any time after the conviction and appeal is final. Although an applicant does not need to be in custody, applications from individuals in custody will be prioritized.
How long will it take to process my claim?
There is no set time period for the CIRU to review a claim. We understand and sympathize with the urgency felt by applicants and their families, and we do our best to review applications as quickly as possible. However, investigations take time in order to be conducted correctly.
Who will investigate and evaluate the claim of actual innocence?
Claims brought to the CIRU are reviewed and investigated by prosecutors and investigators assigned to their own unit. Consistent with its mission, the CIRU stands apart as an independent division within the Prosecutor’s Office. It functions outside the traditional prosecutor function, and its recommendations will be brought directly to the Prosecuting Attorney. No prosecutor, police officer, or investigator who was involved in the prosecution of the case under review by CIRU will play any investigative role in evaluating the claims brought to CIRU.
Will the victims of the crime have any role in the CIRU process?
The CIRU recognizes that the reexamination of a case can be difficult for victims, their families, and loved ones. It also recognizes that it benefits no one—including victims—to have the wrong person imprisoned for a crime. As it carries out its mission, the CIRU will honor the perspective of those individuals by contacting them and their families as appropriate to hear their input and inform them of its findings.
How will I know what conclusions have been reached by CIRU?
The CIRU will notify applicants at at least the following stages: when their application is received, if their application is declined, and if the CIRU concludes that it supports their claim of actual innocence.
What happens if the CIRU determines that an applicant is actually innocent?
Only a court—not a prosecutor—can actually set aside a conviction. If the CIRU determines that an individual is factually innocent, it can ask for relief from the court, the governor, or the parole board. While many states have passed laws that allows prosecutors to ask a court to free an innocent man or woman, Missouri is not one of those states. That means that exonerations are less straightforward in St. Louis County than they are in many other parts of the country.
If the CIRU determines that an applicant is factually innocent, the Unit has several legal options. Not all of these options will be right for all cases. In some cases, the CIRU may file petitions with the circuit court or the court of appeals asking for the conviction to be overturned or asking for a new trial. In other cases, the CIRU may support a petition filed by the applicant him- or herself. And in some cases, the CIRU might support a motion to the governor for clemency, or a motion to the parole board.
If I disagree with the conclusions of the CIRU investigation, what rights do I have for further review?
The existence of the Conviction and Incident Review Unit does not create or confer any legal right on those who bring claims of actual innocence. For this reason, there is no right to appeal its determinations. Because the CIRU’s investigation is not part of a court proceeding, the CIRU’s decisions or recommendations do not prevent a claimant from raising the same claims of innocence in another forum, such as a writ of habeas corpus. All individuals who submit an application to the CIRU should be aware, however, that the evidence developed by the CIRU during its investigation may be shared with a court or another prosecutorial entity.