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jefe357 t1_j18gycq wrote

Reply to comment by Prize_Huckleberry_79 in After decades in prison, exonerated Philadelphia man was fatally shot at a funeral by kittehstrophic

I study this stuff. What's even crazier is that exonerees often get LESS transitional support (e.g., housing assistance, job training) than parolees do, precisely because they didn't commit a crime -- but then society still discriminates against exonerees as if they were offenders. It's a massive catch-22.

It's also crazy how much compensation laws vary between states. Losing years of your life is "worth" much more in some places than others. And in some states, if you're coerced to confess to a crime you didn't commit, you become ineligible for compensation because the state effectively blames you for your own wrongful conviction.

We're working to fix this, one state at a time -- and you'd think it's a common sense reform, but you'd be surprised (or maybe not...).

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UponMidnightDreary t1_j1ib09p wrote

Terrible disgraceful thing. So glad you and others are devoting your attention and energy here!

It’s one of those things that people tend to disbelieve initially because it is so mind blowingly insane. Once people are aware of the scope, I’ve found most people support changing laws and (where there are payouts but they are capped) increasing compensation. It’s such a scary thing to imagine that it’s easy for people to project themselves into the situation and see how unfair it is.

Major major kudos to you for studying this and working in this area!!!

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