Waverly McIver is a dedicated and passionate advocate for justice, currently serving as an AmeriCorps member with the Montana Innocence Project through the Justice for Montanans program. Over the past 10 months, her unwavering commitment to justice has made a meaningful impact on our organization and the lives of those we serve.
Waverly is originally from Sumter, South Carolina. In her free time, she enjoys watching UNC basketball games, participating in her book club, running, hiking, practicing yoga, and traveling. She recently earned her undergraduate degrees in Journalism and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May of 2024. Throughout college she worked for her school’s student newspaper, the Daily Tar Heel, where she worked on public affairs and city and state reporting, which deepened her interest in the intersection of journalism, justice, and democracy.
Waverly’s passion for innocence work was ignited early in life.
“I’ve been interested in innocence work since I was in the 9th grade because we studied the case of Emmett Till who was wrongfully convicted through false testimony. His story was very compelling to me…” Waverly shared. “I recently dug up a ‘what do you want to be when you grow up’ paper from when I was a freshman in high school, and I said I wanted to be an attorney for the Innocence Project.”
Her dedication to justice has only deepened since then.
During her senior year of college, Waverly authored a compelling thesis titled “Dad’s of Death Row,” which examined the profound impacts of incarceration on families in North Carolina, with a focus of telling the stories of men on death row. Through this project, Waverly was able to work with wrongfully convicted individuals who claimed innocence for their crimes for decades. The project went on to further fuel her passion for advocacy and amplifying the voices of marginalized communities.
After graduating college, Waverly sought a meaningful way to combine her passions while taking a gap year before attending law school. She then discovered the AmeriCorps program through the Justice for Montanans, which allowed her to serve with MTIP, focusing on wrongful and unjust convictions and post-conviction legal work.
In her role, Waverly handles intake coordination, paralegal tasks, and correspondence with incarcerated individuals, while also supporting supervision of volunteers and clinical students. She has actively assisted MTIP’s legal team in the initial testing of innovative AI platforms to streamline administrative and organizational tasks.
“I have really enjoyed meeting with people in the prisons to help reexamine the circumstances of their case. It’s powerful to witness the relief they feel knowing someone is truly committed to reviewing their situation,” Waverly expressed. “It’s cool to be able to give people the satisfaction and hope that we are taking a really hard and long look at their cases, with the help of clinic students and volunteers. I have loved working with our caring volunteers and being exposed to community members who are very passionate about this work.”
Her experience working with MTIP’s clients has continued to reinforce her belief in the power of listening.
“We all have an inherent need to feel heard and understood by others, but my experience here has reinforced just how valuable that need becomes when your most basic freedoms and liberties have been stripped away. Talking to clients and applicants, reading their letters, and having interviews with them has really highlighted the importance of incarcerated individuals being able to tell their own stories and make their own arguments,” Waverly said. “Law and journalism are both essential forms of advocacy, but at their core, they begin with listening and creating space for people to speak for themselves. Even if we ultimately reject an applicant’s case, it remains such a privilege to offer them the opportunity to be heard. As someone who hopes to work in either First Amendment media law or post-conviction advocacy, this placement has been incredibly valuable in giving me exposure to both worlds.”
Waverly’s time with MTIP has enriched her understanding of legal processes while honing skills in case file management, legal writing, and relationship building within the legal community.
“When I first came in I was really rigid in reviewing the checklist in deciding on whether or not people qualified for our services,” Waverly admitted. “I feel like I’ve developed more of a gut and a heart for being able to read a letter from an applicant, and looking at each of them uniquely. I feel like I’ve gotten better at being more creative in coming up with possible ways to mitigate their cases and thinking of other resources to turn them to if we are not able to help them.”
Working with MTIP has also taught her personal growth, such as moving across the country on her own, learning to be more independent, as well as managing professional relationships with confidence.
“When I think back to when I started, I feel like I’ve gained a lot of confidence, independence, and bravery,” Waverly said. “Both moving across the country on my own and managing up at MTIP. These soft skills are invaluable to me entering law school. I believe I have the heart and passion to do this really important work well.”
As Waverly prepares to conclude her service with MTIP next month, she is excited to pursue her legal education at Washington and Lee University School of Law in Virginia this fall.
“My biggest takeaway from this job has been learning to approach each situation with empathy—whether it’s for the clients themselves, their concerned family members, or the unique circumstances surrounding every case,” Waverly shared. “It can be tempting to categorize people into different boxes with the volume of cases we handle, but I’ve come to understand the importance of treating each case with individual care and attention. Whether we’re offering other resources or explaining why we can’t take a case, that thoughtfulness really matters. This work demands a certain toughness and grit, but it also requires a deep sense of care and tenderness to truly do it well.”