Life after Wrongful Conviction and Imprisonment: Justice Delayed and Denied

Background and Purpose

Wrongfully convicted individuals experience loss of liberty and autonomy, disrupted lives, damaged relationships, and psychological, emotional, and physical harms. If they are able to regain their freedom, they face reentry challenges experienced by all formerly incarcerated individuals, as well as additional burdens related to coming to terms with their wrongful conviction and imprisonment. Despite the urgent need for money and services when reentering society after wrongful imprisonment, neither statutory compensation nor compensation via litigation is guaranteed. Furthering the challenge of successful reintegration is the reality that the wrongfully convicted are typically ineligible to receive services from reentry programs, as services are reserved for parolees. This study explored the postrelease experiences of the wrongfully convicted and imprisoned, including efforts to obtain compensation.

Methods

Maximum variation sampling was used to recruit 12 participants from eight states, some with wrongful conviction compensation statutes and some without. For states with compensation statutes, variation in terms of the level of compensation offered financially and/or service-wise was achieved. Multiple semi-structured interviews were conducted with 3 women and 9 men, resulting in total interview times ranging from 70 minutes to 4.5 hours per participant. An analysis of narratives (Polkinghorne, 1995) was conducted, guided by Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña’s (2014) analytic methodologies.

Results

This study warranted three themes: (1) Reentry Realities, which refers to post release challenges concerning relational issues; psychological, psychosocial, and emotional states; and practical matters such as housing and employment. (2) Round 2: The Fight Continues, which refers to participants’ fight to prove their innocence, even after release from prison, and to receive compensation. (3) Indelible Impressions, which refers to beliefs that permeated the lives of participants as a result of their wrongful conviction experience, such as “it [wrongful conviction] can happen to anyone.” Among the key findings: (1) Stressors related to wrongful conviction and imprisonment appeared to be distinct from the stressors of incarceration. (2) The State acted to protect itself, even when State agents intentionally inflicted harm on participants. (3) Litigation appeared to be a viable route to compensation, particularly in states without a compensation statute or where statutes have prohibitive eligibility criteria.

Conclusions and Implications

The wrongfully convicted contend with a host of postrelease challenges. Although the number of exonerations has steadily increased over the past three decades, services designed for this population are rare, and policies addressing their needs are insufficient. Social workers are suited to provide a range of services to this population, addressing their practical, psychological, psychosocial, emotional, and relational issues as they reintegrate and pursue justice and compensation. Social workers can also advocate for states to enact or amend existing legislation so that compensation statutes provide a substantial amount of money and effective services and supports to aid individuals reintegrating after wrongful incarceration.

Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.

Polkinghorne, D. E. (1995). Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 8(1), 5–23