What’s life like when you’ve missed out on more than a decade of it because of a wrongful conviction?
It’s a sobering subject that Innocence Canada, a non-profit focused on advocating for the wrongfully convicted, is taking on with a new fundraising and awareness campaign.
Led pro-bono by KBS’s Cause Company division, the new campaign involves a partnership with New York City artist Michael Murphy, who has created an art installation in Toronto, called “12 Years Stolen,” inspired by the life of Innocence Canada’s co-president Ron Dalton, who was wrongfully convicted of killing his wife.
Free to the public, the installation focuses on moments lost to Dalton, such as with his children, because he was wrongly put in prison.
A wider campaign includes print and OOH ads running throughout downtown Toronto, social media and earned media, driving to the Innocence Canada website where people can donate.
Previously known as the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, Innocence Canada has struck major funding woes, relying on public support to continue its work, said Win Wahrer, its director of client services.
While it does apply for grant programs, the lack of government funding means it’s not able to continue working on cases involving people who have likely been wrongfully convicted (over the years, Innocence Canada has helped release wrongfully convicted individuals who have collectively spent more than 190 years in prison).
The hope is that this campaign will spark donations by drawing attention to its work and shedding light on a situation that could really happen to anyone, she says.
