Correcting the Wrong: The Use of Non-Profit Organizations in Assisting Exonerees

• In Event: Poster Session II

Abstract

According to the Innocence Project, it is estimated that between two to five percent of those incarcerated in the United States are wrongfully convicted. While the criminological literature has begun to increase its attention to the problems surrounding wrongful convictions and the exoneration process, little is known about the challenges and obstacles confronted among those who have been wrongfully convicted. Exonerees experienced significant obstacles upon being released from correctional supervision such as obtaining employment and securing housing. To that end, the criminological literature is also limited in terms of understanding the role of non-profit community organizations in providing transition assistance to exonerees. This paper fills this void by interviewing non-profit organization leaders who provide assistance to exonerees to answer the research question, “to what extent, if any, do these organizations assist in providing a successful transition to the community for exonerees.” The findings from this paper could provide policy implications for exonerees.

Author

• Sabrina Forte, Arcadia University