Narratives of Freedom: An Analysis of Exoneree Descriptions of Their First Week Out of Prison

• In Event: Posters II

Abstract

Organizations such as The Innocence Project (www.innocenceproject.org) stand as a reminder of the startling number of individuals who have been convicted of crimes that they did not commit, and the critical need to protect innocent individuals from wrongful conviction. These crimes include sexual offenses, homicide, robbery, and others, with many of the exonerees having spent significant years of their lives imprisoned for offenses for which they were not responsible. A recent article (Yuan, 2015) presented the narratives of eight male exonerees who described their first few days out of prison after an incarceration that ranged from 16 to 29 years. Their stories serve as the main focus of the current project which, using a narrative analysis approach, is designed to look in particular at the key values that can be seen in the exoneree descriptions of their release from imprisonment and their return to freedom. The relationships, challenges, and other complexities associated with the transition back to family, friends, and society, and what this entails, will be highlighted. This project is designed to offer a glimpse into the stories of the exonerees while shedding light on the profound meaning associated with even day-to-day activities in those first moments of freedom.

Author

• Teresa Curmi, CUNY Graduate Center / John Jay College