The Wrongly Imprisoned Are Often Left Without their Dignity Restored
Co-Editor Brian Howe, staff attorney with the Ohio Innocence Project, writes about the difficulties faced upon release by the wrongfully convicted who are often left without funds, without housing and without work. Most damaging of all may be that they leave without either the state’s apology and compensation.
By Brian Howe:
Thank you to Martha Davis and Margaret Drew for inviting me to be a co-editor of this blog. I am honored to participate.
The New York Times recently published an in-depth article exploring at the aftermath of exonerations. In post-conviction work, it is tempting to see an inmate’s exoneration and release as the end of the story. To the public, the release is a comforting conclusion to (and maybe distraction from) otherwise uncomfortable narratives about our legal system. Even for exonerees , the moment of vindication and release may have been the sole focus of much of their adult life. Everyone wants a Hollywood ending, and you couldn’t script it better than the hero fighting injustice and winning, against the odds. Reuniting with family and loved ones, ready to live a long and happy life. Roll credits.
As the Times reports, “A sprawling literature exists describing the challenges of re-entering society after serving time in prison, an experience that is marked by depression and disorientation, and is hard enough for those who have been rightfully punished for their crimes. But what about those who are wrongly sent away as the victims of mistaken identity or prosecutorial error? The justly incarcerated are likely to have access to a battery of post-release services like health care, housing aid and social-work assistance, but those who should not have been locked up in the first place are rarely given treatment to address their special needs, and are often left to fend for themselves, finding the cure for their “disease” in one another’s company.”
Credit the Times for looking at this neglected aftermath of an exoneration, for exploring and exposing what happens to many exonerees after the cameras and reporters have left. Some exonerees are fortunate enough to have family support, including housing. Few have any marketable job skills. The services provided by local innocence projects, along with larger programs like the article’s Jeffrey Deskovic’s, are commendable and necessary, particularly in providing the opportunity for the exonerees to meet and support each other. But in the long term, it’s not enough. The Times exposes a critical problem:
”It is widely assumed that exonerated inmates can simply make a claim against their jailers and walk away, like Mr. Deskovic, financially set for life. But only 29 states have laws that permit the wrongfully imprisoned to sue for compensation, and even in those states, the cases often languish in court for years.”
“In New York, for example, only prisoners who contested the charges against them can sue for damages, although the state attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, recently proposed allowing people who had confessed or pleaded guilty to sue.”
While it is good to see an agent of the state creating a path for remedy, a fundamental question is why is an exoneree required to sue in order to have a means to support himself with dignity. From a human rights perspective, the state has an obligation to ensure that a wrongfully convicted inmate is provided with adequate financial, mental health and employment resources. Simply opening the cell door is insufficient. The state’s acknowledgment of its role in the wrongful conviction would serve as a solid foundation for restoring the exoneree to the maximum extent possible, The state cannot do justice to these men and women while disowning or disregarding the damage done and then placing the burden on the exoneree to sue for compensation, where compensation is permitted. A real Hollywood ending for exonerees requires that all of them have a fair and universal path for just compensation.