Find her state. Get the forms.

Download the forms for any state, or we will mail them to her, free.

Where was she convicted?

Two ways. Both free. Every kind of case, every charge.

Why the forms matter: no court reopens a conviction on its own. She has to file a petition, in the right court, before its deadline, and after her first appeal she usually has no right to a lawyer. These four forms are how she asks. How the process works →

State

Download them yourself.

Choose her state on the map or from the list below. You will see four forms: the state post-conviction petition, the federal habeas corpus petition, sentence review and sentence modification. Each shows the deadline we found, which you should confirm with the court, and, where the state has one, a button to download the official form. You can print them and mail them to her.

We will send them to her.

If you cannot print or mail them, we will. Send us the information below, and we will print the forms for her state and mail them directly to her.

What we need to send the papers.

Please include all of this in one message. If anything is missing, we will write back to ask before we mail anything.

Please do not describe the facts of her case, and do not send original documents. Messages to us are not private or legally privileged, and we cannot return papers.

Fill in the request form →

Her full legal nameAs it appears on her prison records.
Her ID or DOC numberThe number the prison uses for her. It is on her mail and her prison records.
Her facility's name and full mailing addressMost facilities post the mailing address for people in their custody on their website. Use that address exactly.
The state and county where she was convicted, and her case numberIf she was convicted in federal court, tell us that instead. The form for a federal conviction is a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, generally due within one year after the conviction becomes final.
Her key datesThe date she was sentenced; whether she appealed and when the appeal ended; and whether she has filed any post-conviction petition, and when.
Which forms she needsPost-conviction petition and federal habeas corpus petition. We mail sentence review and sentence modification forms only if she is still within the deadline, which is usually a few weeks or months after sentencing.
Your name, your relationship to her, and how to reach youA phone number or email, so we can tell you when the forms are mailed.

Before she files

Five things to know first.

1. Before she files alone. Most states allow one post-conviction petition. A petition filed in a hurry, with weak claims and no proof, can use up her only chance and bar stronger claims later. If her deadline is months away, first write to her state's public defender or appellate defender and to the innocence organizations in her state, and give them time to answer. If her deadline is close, file on time: in the petition, ask the court to appoint a lawyer and ask permission to add to the petition later. Many states allow this. Missing the deadline is worse than filing a petition that is not perfect.

2. Watch the federal clock. The one-year federal deadline starts when her conviction became final: when her direct appeal ended, plus the 90 days she had to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review it, or, if she did not appeal, as after a guilty plea, when the time to appeal ran out. It keeps running until a state post-conviction petition is properly filed, and a late state petition does not stop it. A 5- or 10-year state deadline does not protect her federal rights. See a worked example with dates. Do not file the federal petition until the state courts have ruled on every claim, unless a lawyer advises otherwise.

3. She may get only one chance. Most states allow only one post-conviction petition, and a second federal petition needs permission from a court of appeals first. A claim left out may be lost.

4. Ask for a lawyer. The Constitution does not guarantee her a lawyer after her first appeal. Some states give a lawyer once a post-conviction petition is filed, and federal courts can appoint one in habeas cases. She can ask the court in writing. She can also write to an innocence organization before she files.

5. Sentence review can go both ways. In some states, including Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana and New Hampshire, a sentence review panel can increase the sentence as well as reduce it. In Rhode Island, asking for a sentence reduction allows the Attorney General to ask for an increase.

We send this page with every set of papers we mail.

Choose a state to see her papers.

Every state

Post-conviction forms and deadlines, state by state.

Ask us to mail them

We will mail her state's forms to her, free.

Fill in what you know and send it. We print the forms for her state and mail them to her facility the day we receive a complete request, and we tell you the day they go out. After that, delivery depends on the mail and on her facility. If anything is missing, we will write back before we mail. Our printable guide is written for her to read inside.

Please do not describe the facts of her case. Messages to us are not private or legally privileged, and prison staff may read her mail.

Leave this empty:

About her Her full legal name, as on her prison records Her prison ID or DOC number Her facility's name Her facility's full mailing address for people in custody State where she was convicted County and case number, if you know them Date she was sentenced, if you know it Her appeal: still going, over (and when), or never filed

Which forms State post-conviction petition Federal habeas corpus petition Sentence review (usually due within weeks of sentencing) Sentence modification (usually due within months of sentencing) Our printable guide

About you Your name Your relationship to her Your phone or email, so we can tell you when the forms are mailed

I understand this message is not private, and I have not described the facts of her case.

Prefer email or mail? Send the same details to help@womensinnocenceclinic.com, or write to Women's Innocence Clinic, 4307 Regalwood Terrace, Burtonsville, MD 20866. She can also write to us from prison: print the one-page request form for her.

No official form?

How to write the petition without a form.

Some states, including New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey and North Carolina, have no official statewide form for the post-conviction petition. She can still file. The state's rule lists what the petition must contain, and a petition that covers every item can be typed or neatly handwritten. The state's rule always controls. The steps below are the parts nearly every rule asks for.

Check her state's notes firstSome states add their own requirements. In Arkansas, the rule prints a sworn affidavit that must be filed with the petition, and the petition is limited to 10 pages. Virginia requires its own form, printed in its statute. In Oregon, a woman in prison files in the county where she is imprisoned, not where she was convicted. Kentucky, New Jersey, North Carolina and Ohio have free packets with sample petitions from the public defender or prisoner legal services. Her state's listing above shows these.

Read the rule first
Open the rule from her state's listing above. Print it. Underline every sentence that says "shall" or "must." Each one is a requirement: what the petition must say, whether it must be sworn, where it is filed and who gets a copy. Check each one off as it is done.
The top of the first page
Copy the top of her sentencing order exactly: the name of the court, the county, the case name and the case number. Below that, write the title the rule uses, such as "Petition for Postconviction Relief." Use the rule's exact name.
Who she is and what she is challenging
Her full name, prison number and facility. Then the conviction: the court, the date, each charge, the sentence, and whether there was a trial or a plea.
What has happened since
Her appeal: the court, the case number, the date and the result. Then every earlier petition or motion about this conviction, with dates and results. If there were none, say so.
Her grounds
Number them: Ground One, Ground Two. For each, write one sentence that names the problem, then the facts: what happened, who did it, when, and how she knows. List the proof, such as records, letters or signed statements from witnesses, and attach copies. Many rules require the proof to be attached, or an explanation of why it is missing. Include every ground. Most states allow only one petition.
What she asks the court to do
For example: vacate the conviction, order a new trial, hold a hearing and appoint a lawyer for her. Ask for the lawyer and the hearing here, in writing.
The oath
Many states require the petition to be signed under oath, and some require a notary. The rule says which. Ask the facility how to get a document notarized. What the prison must provide.
A copy to the prosecutor
Many courts require a copy to go to the prosecutor's office, with a short signed statement at the end saying when and how she mailed it. This is called a certificate of service. The rule or the clerk will say whether it is needed.
Copies, mailing and the filing date
Unless the rule says otherwise, use plain white letter-size paper, write on one side, leave margins and number the pages. Ask the clerk how many copies to send, and include a request to file without paying the fee if she cannot pay. Keep a copy of everything. Write down the date she handed it to prison staff for mailing. Some courts count that as the filing date and others count the day the clerk receives it, so ask the clerk and mail it early.

A practical outlineThe federal habeas form walked through below asks nearly the same questions in nearly the same order. Many people use its order as an outline for a state petition: change the court and the title, follow the state's rule wherever it differs, and answer every question in plain words. See the section-by-section walk-through →

Gather these first

Before anyone fills out a form, find these papers.

Every petition asks for facts about her case: numbers, dates, what happened on appeal. Most families don't have them at first. Here is what to find and where to look. Keep copies of everything, and never mail the only copy of anything.

Her case number and the court that convicted her
It is on her sentencing papers. Many states have a free online case search on the state court website. The clerk's office at the courthouse where she was sentenced can also give it to you by phone or letter. Many prison systems list the county and offense in their online inmate search.
The sentencing order
Also called the judgment, the commitment order or the judgment and sentence. It shows the charges, the sentence and the date. Ask the clerk of the court for a copy. There may be a small copying fee.
Her appeal decision
If she appealed, the appeals court wrote a decision, called an opinion or order. Many are free on the court's website or on CourtListener or Google Scholar. Write down the date it was issued, and whether she asked her state's highest court to hear the case, and when it answered.
Her trial lawyer's file
The file belongs to her. Lawyer ethics rules require a lawyer to return a client's papers when the case is over. Have her, or you with her signed permission, write to the lawyer and ask for the complete file. If the lawyer does not answer, the state bar can help.
The trial transcript
The word-for-word record of what was said in court. If she appealed, a transcript was usually prepared, and her appeal lawyer may have a copy. If not, it is ordered from the court reporter, and the cost can be high. Ask the court whether she can get a copy free because she cannot pay.
Anything filed since the appeal
Any petition, motion or letter to the court after the appeal, and the court's answer. The clerk can print the docket, which is the list of everything filed in her case, with dates.
The records behind the case
In a case where no crime happened, these records are often the evidence: the recording or transcript of her police interview, 911 calls, the medical records, the autopsy report and the medical examiner's notes, photographs, and lab reports. Her trial lawyer's file may already have many of them. Others can be requested from the agency that holds them, sometimes through a public records request.
Whether the evidence still exists
Physical evidence, such as clothing, biological samples, slides and the items tested at trial, can be lost or destroyed years after a conviction. When it is gone, new testing and new forensic review may no longer be possible. Write to the court clerk, the police department's evidence or property unit, and the crime lab or medical examiner's office that handled the case. Ask whether the evidence in her case still exists and where it is kept, and ask in writing that it be preserved. Keep a copy of every letter and every answer. Some states have laws requiring evidence to be kept; a lawyer can also ask a court to order it. More on keeping the evidence.
Her prison number and mailing address
Her ID or DOC number and the facility's mailing address for people in custody. Both are on the prison system's website, usually through its inmate locator.

Filling it out

What the petition asks, section by section.

This walks through the federal habeas form, AO 241, because it is the same in every state. State post-conviction forms ask most of the same questions. The form says it plainly: answer every question, and you do not need to cite law. If a question does not fit on the lines, she can attach extra pages.

The top box
The federal district where she was convicted, her name exactly as it was when she was convicted, her case number, the prison's name and her prison number.
Her conviction (questions 1–7)
The court that convicted her, the date, the sentence, each crime, how she pleaded, whether there was a trial by jury or by judge, and whether she testified. This is where the sentencing order from the list above is used.
Her appeal (questions 8–9)
Whether she appealed, to which court, the case number, the result, the date of the decision and the reasons she raised. Then the same questions for her state's highest court and the U.S. Supreme Court, if she asked them.
Other petitions (questions 10–11)
Every post-conviction petition or motion filed in any court since, what it argued, and what happened. Use the docket.
Her grounds (question 12): the heart of the petition

A ground is one reason the conviction is unconstitutional. For each one she writes a short heading and then the supporting facts. The form says: "Do not argue or cite law. Just state the specific facts that support your claim." Write what happened, who did it and when, in plain words.

For each ground, the form asks whether she already raised it in the state courts. A federal court usually will not hear a ground the state courts never had a chance to decide. The form warns that a ground left out now may be barred later, so she must list every one.

Example only · invented factsGround One: My trial lawyer did not investigate the cause of my son's injury.
Supporting facts: The emergency room doctor wrote in his notes that the injury could have come from the fall I described. My lawyer never spoke to him, never asked for his notes and never hired a medical expert. The state's expert was the only doctor the jury heard.
Attached: Exhibit A, the emergency room doctor's notes, from the hospital's records. Exhibit B, a signed statement from the doctor saying my lawyer never contacted him.

Attach the proof. A claim with nothing to back it up is often dismissed without a hearing. Several states, including Illinois, Mississippi, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, require the proof to be attached to the petition, or an explanation of why it is missing.
More history (questions 13–17)
Whether any ground was not raised before and why, any other federal petition, anything still pending in any court, the names of every lawyer who represented her at each stage, and any sentence she still has to serve after this one.
Timeliness (question 18)
If her conviction became final more than a year ago, she must explain why the petition is not late: for example, that a state petition was pending, or that she has new evidence of innocence. The worked example shows how the count goes.
What she asks for, and her signature
She states what she wants the court to do, such as vacate the conviction or order a new trial. She signs under penalty of perjury, which means everything in it must be true. She writes the date she handed it to prison staff for mailing.
The fee page
The filing fee is $5. If she cannot pay, the last page of the form asks to proceed in forma pauperis, with a statement from the prison showing the money in her account.

Words you don't recognize are explained in the glossary. This page explains the form. It is not legal advice about her case.

She can't read a website from prison. The printable guide puts this walk-through, the deadline count, the steps and the key words on a few pages you can print and mail to her.