Prison and Post-Release Experiences of Innocent Inmates

Abstract

ABSTRACT Over the past thirty years, research on wrongful convictions has mainly spotlighted the causes of wrongful conviction including eyewitness misidentification, false confession, misused forensic evidence, government misconduct, and unreliable incentivized witnesses. More recently, researchers have also investigated post-release effects of wrongful convictions on exonerees. One area of research which has largely been ignored is the exoneree’s prison experience. This exploratory study examined the prison experience through the lens of an “innocent inmate.” Twenty-three exonerees were recruited through the use of snowball sampling and interviewed over the phone about their experiences in prison as well as their lives post-release. The majority of exonerees stated that their prison experience was unique from guilty inmates. Exonerees reported that guilty inmates were well-versed on the criminal justice system while innocent inmates struggled to learn the system. Innocent inmates expressed their daily prison lives as mirroring guilty inmates though, unlike their guilty counterparts, they dealt with additional challenges such as attempting to understand why they were incarcerated. They also carried an extra burden of fighting to prove their innocence and their stories never wavered. Given the challenges faced by exonerees post-release, it is clear that greater support is required for them on release. The results of this study reveal the need for education and training programs for criminal justice practitioners to better understand the unique needs of this ignored population.