“Take It One Day at a Time and Try to Adjust to What's Going on”: Exonerees’ Advice to the Newly Exonerated and Future Exonerees About Life Post-Release

• Author: Rashaan A. DeShay
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/07340168211059127
• Published date: 01 March 2023
• Date: 01 March 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

“Take It One Day at a Time

and Try to Adjust to What’s

Going on”: Exonerees’Advice

to the Newly Exonerated and

Future Exonerees About Life

Post-Release

Rashaan A. DeShay

Abstract

Wrongful convictions have received increased attention from both scholars and the media over the

past several decades. Most of the research on this topic has focused on the factors that contribute to

wrongful convictions and policy changes that may help prevent future miscarriages of justice. Scholars

have also explored the post-release experiences of those who have been exonerated. Less attention

has been paid to the advice exonerees would share withthose who have been recentlyexonerated to

help them navigate their new lives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals who

were wrongfully convicted in the southern United States to explore this issue. While acknowledging

that the post-exoneration transition could be challenging, the participants noted that they would

advise those who are newly exonerated that faith, talking to other exonerees, learning how to be

patient with the process, and f‌inding a way to enjoy their new lives were important to navigating

this process. This study highlights the value of exploring the perspectives of exonerees to increase

our understanding of their experiences, while also using their insight to inform policy that will assist

the wrongfully convicted after being exonerated and released from prison.

Keywords

wrongful conviction, exonerees, advice for exonerees, post-exoneration experiences, reentry

Introduction

To date, there have been 375 DNA exonerations in the United States, with 21 of these individuals

having served time on death row before being exonerated (Innocence Project, n.d.). According to

Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA

Corresponding Author:

Rashaan A. DeShay, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Texas at Arlington, 362 University Hall,

Box 19595, Arlington, TX 76019, USA.

Email: rashaan.deshay@uta.edu

Article

Criminal Justice Review

2023, Vol. 48(1) 69-84

© 2021 Georgia State University

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/07340168211059127

journals.sagepub.com/home/cjr

the National Registry of Exonerations, there have been approximately 2,800 exonerations, with other

sources estimating that more than 180 individuals have been exonerated from death row (Death

Penalty Information Center, n.d.; National Registry of Exonerations, n.d.). Between 1989 and

June 2021, the wrongfully convicted have lost a combined 25,000 years due to these miscarriages

of justice (National Registry of Exonerations, 2021a). Over the last several decades, wrongful con-

victions have received attention from attorneys, scholars, and the media (Huff et al., 1986; Scheck

et al., 2000; Walberg, 2009). In part, this is due to the attention given to nationally recognized orga-

nizations such as the Innocence Project and the Center for Wrongful Convictions. In addition, the

national media’s role has involved informing the general public about exonerations via news

stories, documentaries, and major motion pictures (California Innocence Project, n.d.; Equal

Justice Initiative, 2019; Goldberg, 2019; Hall, 2021; Innocence Project, 2016; Jackman, 2019;

King, 2018; Walberg, 2009). Recently, we have also seen the ability of social media to reach and

inform large audiences about wrongful convictions, sparking an interest in cases and criminal

justice reform (Linna, 2020).

While other scholars have explored the struggles exonerees face post-release, little attention has

been paid to asking exonerees directly to discuss the advice they would give to newly exonerated

and released individuals (see Healing Justice, 2020 for an exception). This research is needed

because there are thousands of people in the United States who have been exonerated, and

recent exoneration trends suggest that we will continue to see wrongfully convicted individuals

released for years to come. According to the National Registry of Exonerations (2021b), the

year 2020 saw 129 exonerations in 27 states, D.C., and the federal system. In addition, currently

36 states, D.C., and the federal government offer compensation packages for those who have been

wrongfully convicted. These statutes, however, are not created equal (e.g., caps on the dollar

amount that can be received, excluding some exonerees from eligibility, offering little or no phys-

ical and mental health benef‌its) (Innocence Project, 2021; National Registry of Exonerations,

2021a). The current study advances the literature on the post-exoneration/release experiences of

exonerees, by asking those who have been wrongfully convicted to provide their thoughts and

advice in their own words. Its f‌indings may also be used to inform policy, help enhance existing

compensation packages, and make a true effort to address the wellbeing of exonerees as they

try to navigate reintegration.

While research has discussed the need to provide adequate compensation in various ways to the

wrongfully convicted (Chunias & Aufgang, 2008; Gutman, 2017; Innocence Project, 2021; Kregg,

2016; Trivelli, 2016), it is also important to help prepare them for what they may encounter post-

release as an exoneree. One way this can be accomplished is by listening to what those who have

already been exonerated have experienced. While the legal system needs to continue to make

progress in preventing wrongful convictions, it also needs to ensure that the exonerated have what

they need, which may include receiving emotional support and advice from other exonerees

(Healing Justice, 2020; Weigand, 2009).

Wrongful Convictions and Their Consequences

Literature on wrongful convi ctions dates back over 85 years to the work of a Yale Law Professor

(Borchard, 1932). A signif‌icant am ount of the research conducted by sch olars has focused on the

factors contributing to wrongf ul convictions (Bedau & Radelet, 19 87; Borchard, 1932; Gould

et al., 2013; Gross & Shaffer , 2012; Huff, 2004; Huff et al., 1986; LaPorte, 2018; Rattn er, 1988;

Scheck et al., 2000; Schehr & Sear s, 2005). Research has also tr ied to estimate the percent of c on-

victions that may be wrongful convict ions, f‌inding that criminal justice prof essionals tend to

estimate that they occur i n their own jurisdictions bet ween approximately .5-1% of felony cases,

and between 1–3% of all felony ca ses in the U.S. (Ramsey & Frank, 2007 ; Zalman et al., 2008).

70 Criminal Justice Review 48(1)