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Abstract
This study examines how those wrongfully convicted and punished experience life after exoneration. Using data from intensive individual, in-person interviews with 55 exonerees, we measure both the short- and long-term psychological effects associated with wrongful conviction. The results of this research demonstrate that a substantial portion of the study participants were suffering from clinical anxiety, depression, PTSD or a combination of the three disorders at the time of the interviews. Finally, we call for more integrated approaches for addressing a wide range of often interrelated social, psychological and mental health issues experienced by those who were wrongfully convicted.
Notes
Exoneration pertains to “The removal of a burden, charge, responsibility, duty, or blame imposed by law” (West's Encyclopedia of American Law, Citation2011).
See The Innocence Project (www.innocenceproject.org) for current DNA exoneration information, and the Center on Wrongful Convictions (Citation2002) for both DNA and non-DNA exonerations.
The authors acknowledge that there are clear similarities between those who have been rightfully convicted of a crime and the wrongfully convicted with regard to the effects of incarceration and the prisonization process. Moreover, we understand that the psychosocial experience for all inmates is contextualized by a number of factors such as prison demographics, degree of overcrowding, facility type, and inmate classification status. Space limitations prevent us from exploring these in any detail in this article. By their omission, we are in no way suggesting that these are unimportant factors; however, in this study we are unable to control for these potentially confounding effects. We are also, however, convinced, that empirical evidence supports differences between the effects of incarceration for exonerees and those who have been rightfully convicted of a crime. These differences are documented throughout this article.
Kirk Bloodsworth was exonerated after being incarcerated wrongfully for 8 years. In a phone conversation with Shaun Armbrust (Citation2003), Bloodsworth stated that those who have recently been released from incarceration spend large sums of money because they feel they owe something to other people and because they strive to be accepted.
David Shepard was exonerated and released from prison in 1995 after DNA evidence provided conclusive evidence that he was innocent (Scheck et al., Citation2003).
Michael Ray Graham Jr. was convicted largely because of “snitch” testimony (Lopez, Citation2002, p. 666). After several witnesses recanted and prosecutorial misconduct was uncovered, Graham's attorneys requested a new trial. The appellate judge ordered another trial, but the case against Graham was dismissed before the second trial was held.
For more examples see Simon (Citation1993) and Grounds (Citation2004).
Charges against Gauger were dropped in 1996 after the Second District Illinois Appellate Court found that his confession should not have been admissible in court. Without his confession, the prosecution had no evidence linking Gauger to the crime. In 1997, two Wisconsin motorcyclists were indicted for the murders (Green, 2000; Center On Wrongful Convictions, Citation2002).
Conlon and three others were acquitted in 1989 when authorities concluded that their confessions had been coerced and exculpatory evidence had been suppressed (Johnson, Citation2005).
For example, Kirk Bloodsworth was forced to quit a job with a funeral home due to complaints the owner received regarding the fact that Bloodsworth was a former prisoner (Armbrust, Citation2003, p. 176).
While our analysis and interpretation of this data set is original, the authors of the current study were not involved in the data collection at any point.
The interviews were not tape-recorded in an attempt to ensure that respondents would feel more at ease and forthcoming about their experiences.
All of the exonerees interviewed for the current study were males. This is not surprising as to date almost all exonerees are male.
For a good review of these studies, see Boothby and Durham (Citation1999).
As one reviewer noted, identifying what worked for those exonerees that were better adjusted would certainly be helpful here. However, the survey was designed with the express purpose of identifying the social, psychological, and physical needs of exonerees in an effort to help exonerees adjust to life outside of prison. Therefore, questions were not designed to solicit insights about what was working. This is, of course, unfortunate and something future research must rectify.