“It Never, Ever Ends”: The Psychological Impact of Wrongful Conviction (original) (raw)

The Psychological Impact of Wrongful Conviction i. exoneree mentAl heAlth: PersonAl AccoUnts "N o matter what happens to you, you are constantly put under this eye of distrust that you can never shake. I walked into a supermarket in town, and a lady picked up her child. The little girl said, 'That's the man who was on TV, Mommy.' She rushed over and grabbed her child and said, 'Don't go near him.' I just left my stuff and walked out. It never, ever ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never will be ended." 1 These are the words of Kirk Noble Bloodsworth, wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl. 2 Bloodsworth spent nine years in prison, two of which were spent on death row. 3 Although exonerees suffer different types of mental illness, and to varying degrees, after spending time in prison for crimes they did not commit, one thing is certain-they all suffer. According to a Michigan study, many exonerated individuals grapple with emotional problems after they have been released, many are angry, and some resort to crime. 4 Exonerees are pulled out of their communities for crimes they did not commit, an injustice that most people could not imagine. Exonerees do not have to imagine this, however, because this is their reality. Upon release, exonerees experience a range of difficulties that exacerbate the mental health problems that they can expect to grapple with. They come as a result of being wrongfully ripped from their homes and families, some for many years. Exonerees struggle to reintegrate into society, reclaim normality, and carve out a stable existence. 5 They return to society only to face poverty, employment discrimination, societal discrimination, and broken relationships. 6 A survey conducted by the "Life After Exoneration Program" of nearly sixty exonerees found that one-third of them were financially dependent on family and friends upon release from prison. 7 Most exonerees claim that employment is their most dire need upon re-entry to society. 8 A majority of exonerees are men who, hardened by prison, would rather find employment immediately than go into counseling. 9 Exonerees have no legal right to get their former jobs back and when applying for new ones, must still answer "yes" when asked if they have an arrest or conviction record, even if the conviction has been thrown out. 10 This greatly diminishes their prospects of being hired, further exacerbating any existing psychological problems. 11 Another obstacle that many exonerees face is non-automatic record expungement. 12 Thus, an employer may do a background check and decide not to even interview an exoneree because of his remaining arrest record. 13 Unemployment and trouble with record expungement are just two of the many factors that contribute to exoneree mental illness. Ronald Keith Williamson was exonerated from death row in Oklahoma after serving nine years in prison for a rape and murder that he did not commit. 14 After his release, he has endured mental health problems, has been unable to hold down a job, and now lives in a group home in Oklahoma. 15 The state has made no effort, in his case, to ease the burden of his circumstances. 16 He received nothing more than the standard $50 check that all inmates in Oklahoma receive upon release. 17 While in prison, Williamson was so depressed he tried to hang himself, and now reports that he sometimes has flashbacks. 18 Although he is not currently suicidal, he is not sure that he wants to live. 19 When he was merely sixteen years old, Michael Anthony Williams was wrongfully incarcerated for the rape of his tutor. 20 He served twenty-four years-more than half of his life-before he was exonerated, and upon release, he said that he faced