Just twelve days ago Raymond Towler, a wrongfully-convicted Ohio man, departed prison. Imprisoned more than 28 years ago, Towler, finally had his innocence proven with the help of The Innocence Project. The Innocence Project aims at releasing wrongfully-imprisoned inmates through the use of DNA.
Raymond Towler walked away from prison as only one of more than 250 people helped by the The Innocence Project. However, the fight for those falsely imprisoned only starts when he or she walks away from prison. For example, many of the released prisoners never have the charges removed from her or his record. Additionally, a majority don't receive compensation, monetary or otherwise, (with 23 states having no laws to help those that have been in prison for committing no crime) for spending years behind bars while not having been involved in the crime for which they have been convicted.
Just imagine losing thirteen years, often thirteen prime years, of your life (the average time spent behind bars for those exonerated) to the desolation, loneliness, and horror of prison life. Then, imagine you were actually napping, driving somewhere, or playing a card game when the crime you've been convicted of took place. So you've been sitting behind bars for a crime you didn't commit. Finally, imagine that when you get out you have: no house, no job, no family, no savings, no resume, no job history, no friends, no network, no social skills, no computer skills (think where computers were thirteen years ago), then remember that I'm not in this situation and these are likely the least of the recently released citizen's worries. Not to be forgotten, usually those released after being wrongfully-imprisoned maintain the marks on their criminal records.
http://www.innocenceproject.org/
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