Yet the justice system isnât set up for helping
exonerees get back on their feet and reenter
society. A number of innocence projects work to
release people who are in prison for crimes they
didnât commitâbut there are very few resources for
individuals once theyâre exonerated.
Loyolaâs Life After Innocence (LAI) program,
founded and directed by Laura Caldwell (JD â92),
fills a vital need by offering guidance, pro bono
legal services, and additional support on all levels to
exonerees. âOur exonerees have served an average
of 20 years in prison,â says Caldwell, who notes
that wrongful convictions in Illinois have resulted
in more than 1,000 years in jail and $3 million to
taxpayers. And, contrary to a general belief that
those wrongfully convicted regularly receive
remuneration, less than a third of exonerees receive
any kind of financial judgment.
LAI is designed as a clinical program that
gives șÚÁÏĂĆlaw students practical, skill-building
experience while addressing the unmet needs
of exonerees. LAI students and professors help
exonerees expunge their records, find housing,
search for employment, obtain counseling,
procure identification, obtain computer and
cell phone skills, secure medical treatment, gain
Certificates of Innocence, and work with money
managers to deal with any state funds or civil
verdicts received after release.
âI tell my students that small actions make big
changes,â Caldwell says, âespecially in the lives of
people starting over from scratch.â
Launching pad
for a new life
A significant spinoff of LAI is Life After
Justice, a project spearheaded by exonerees
Jarrett Adams and Antoine Day. Adams, who
served nearly 10 years for a rape he didnât commit,
earned his undergraduate degree in criminal
justice after his release and is now a second-year
law student at șÚÁÏĂĆand a full-time investigator
with the Federal Defender Program. Though he
was offered a place at several other prestigious law
schools, Adams says he chose șÚÁÏĂĆâspecifically
for its social justice emphasis.â He plans a career in
criminal defense, an area he says is woefully short of
dedicated attorneys who can reduce the number
of wrongful convictions.
âMy family couldnât afford an attorney, and my
public defender decided not to investigateânot
even talking to witnesses,â Adams says. âIâm not
bitter, but Iâve got a goal, a destination to reach.
The trajectory of my life has all gone around my
wrongful conviction, and thatâs not all bad. Now
I have an opportunity to keep other people from
experiencing what Iâve experienced.
âI donât expect to change the world, but I do
expect to further the trend of helping people the
way I was helped.â
Day, wrongly convicted of murder and
attempted murder, spent 13 years in the criminal
justice system. Putting his own experience to the
service of others, heâs now outreach coordinator
of prison reentry at the Howard Area Community
Center Employment Resource Center. In this
position, Day mentors at-risk teens and parolees,
implements job training and placement programs,
and runs neighborhood stabilization and anti-
violence programs.
Safe, stable housing is a critical unmet need
of exonerees, many of whom leave prison with
no place to stay. Life After Justice, a 501(c)(3)
organization, aims to provide a base of housing
plus an overlay of training and counseling services
to help exonerees find jobs, address their emotional
issues, and otherwise adjust to their new freedom.
Located at 5130 West Quincy Avenue on Chicagoâs
West Side, the Life After Justice building originally
belonged to Dayâs aunt. Renovations to the
property are set to begin soon.
âA lot of guys are getting exonerated and have
nowhere to go,â says Day. âTheyâre put in situations
that are really dangerous for them. People in
prison are in a violent environment; rape and
mistreatment happen all the time. When they come
out, they need someone to trust, someone they can
build a relationship with.
âBecause weâve been through the system
and know what the barriers are,âDay adds, âJarrett
and I can address the problems better than some
professionals can.â
Adds Adams, âThis will be not just a house
but also a launching pad, with an emphasis on
mentoring and therapy. Weâre taking broken men
and helping them put their lives back together.â
Forward, step by step
In addition to Life after Justice, LAI has made
a number of other recent strides. Supported
by șÚÁÏĂĆalums John Cullerton (JD â74), Illinois
State Senate president, and Michael Madigan
(JD â67), speaker of the Illinois House, LAI pushed
for legislation that automatically expungesâ
rather than seals or leaves intactâthe records
of exonerees when they obtain Certificates of
Innocence. Previously, exonerees had to go
through a separate, arduous process to obtain
expungement. LAI also led successful efforts to
encourage the Illinois General Assembly to pass
legislation that adds certain mental-health benefits
for exonerees.
LAI also became the first âaftercareâ
organization to be admitted to the Innocence
Conference, an international conference at
which exonerees and supporting organizations
gather annually. âExonerees come away from
this conference feeling like theyâre not the only
ones whoâve been through this,â says Caldwell.
âThey get support that lasts them down the line,â
while participating organizations trade tips and
best practices.
Last fall, LAI sponsored the first annual Rock
for Innocence fundraiser. The event featured the
Exoneree Band, a diverse mix of musicians who
served a combined 87 years for crimes they did
not commit. Day, a drummer and singer, is an
active part of the band, which has performed at
venues across the country.
LAIâs reach is fueled by school support and
pro bono and financial contributions of alumni
and other supporters. These benefactors help
fund exonereesâ participation in the Innocence
Conference, as well as welcome bags for new
exonerees that contain a laptop, prepaid cell
phone, T-shirts and underwear, gift certificates
to restaurants and pharmacies, and more. This
year, LAI hopes to raise enough money to take 10
exonerees and five students to the conference.
As LAI approaches its fifth anniversary this
coming January, Caldwell, LAI students and
supporters, and their clients are celebrating
exponential progress and looking to go to the
next level. âWhen we started, I had a few students
and three clients. At our first meeting, we sat in
a side room of the Law Library wondering what
we should do,â Caldwell recalls. âNow, I look down
the table in our dedicated clinical space and see
an adjunct professor, 10 to 12 students enrolled
in an established, effective programâand an
exoneree whoâs now a law student.
âItâs beyond my wildest expectations, and we
see how much more we can still do.â
Adams is structuring his career plans
toward all the work that still has to be done.
âNo one wants to say the system can be so
flawed, but if you look, youâll find,â he says.
Although people are becoming more aware of
the problem of wrongful convictions, thereâs
still a long way to go to educate the public
about the lives of people whose convictions are
overturned, he says.
âWhen you type the word âexonereeâ in a
Word document, the squiggly red underline still
shows up,â Adams says. âThat says it all.â
â
F O R MO R E I N F O R MAT I O N O N T H E L I F E A F T E R I N N O C E N C E P R O J E C T, V I S I T
LU C . E D U / L AW / E X P E R I E N T I A L / L I F E A F T E R I N NO C E N C E .
âA lot of guys
are getting
exonerated
and have
nowhere to go.
Theyâre put
in situations
that are really
dangerous for
łÙłó±đłŸ.â
âExoneree Antoine Day
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16)
COMING BACK AFTERWRONGFUL CONVICTION
Jarrett Adams (2L, left) and șÚÁÏĂĆclassmates visit the Life After Justice building on Chicagoâs West Side.
FALL 2013
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LOYOLA LAW
