Exonerees struggle to rebuild their lives and gain lasting employment, even if elected to office

HOUSTON — Richard Miles set out to find work after his release from a Texas prison in 2009, and his resume included newspaper clippings about his wrongful murder conviction. No one, including warehouses and fast-food restaurants, would hire him.

It was a painful period of rejection familiar to exonerees. Some think their own struggles are reflected in Calvin Duncan, who won elected office in New Orleans after clearing his name but likely won’t serve. Louisiana lawmakers sent a bill to the governor’s desk Wednesday that would repeal his job.

“We’re still viewed as a prisoner who committed a particular crime. This further exacerbates our ability to believe that the system can heal itself,” said Miles, who eventually found employment through a pastor at his church. “When cases like the one in Louisiana occur, it tells us that the system is not healing itself.”

The fight in Louisiana touched a nerve among exonerees in the United States, who saw Duncan’s plight as a reflection of the prejudices and stigmas they had to face as they tried to rebuild their lives.

Duncan spent nearly 30 years in prison until his murder conviction was overturned in 2021 after evidence emerged that police officers lied in court. He was elected as Orleans Parish criminal court clerk in November and has vowed to fix the system that failed him. He was scheduled to take office on May 4.

Louisiana Republicans who want to abolish the office say it’s not about Duncan’s past but a necessary step toward government efficiency.

“Even if they are viewed as someone who has been exonerated, there is still a stigma as someone who has been in prison,” said Jon Eldan, founder and executive director of After Innocence, a California-based nonprofit organization.

On Wednesday, Duncan filed a lawsuit accusing Gov. Jeff Landry and other state officials of conspiring to prevent a “Black exonerator and supporter of racial justice” from holding office. Duncan asked the federal judge to allow him to be inaugurated on May 4 as planned.

Landry’s spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lester Duhe, a spokesman for Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, declined to comment on the case, saying Murrill “had nothing to do with the bill.”

According to the National Registry of Exonerations, more than 3,800 people have been exonerated in the United States since 1989.

But unlike those released on probation or parole, those exonerated do not have access to employment or government-provided services such as housing assistance and mental health services.

“A lot of prisoner reentry organizations turned me down because they said, ‘Look, you’re not on parole, you’re not on parole,'” said Jeffrey Deskovic, who was wrongfully convicted of rape and murder in Peekskill, New York, and spent 16 years in prison before being released in 2006.

Although this process can take years, 38 states pay compensation to wrongfully convicted people.

After Innocence works directly one-on-one with exonerees across the country, helping them obtain health and dental services, providing them with financial counseling, job counseling and resume preparation. Eldan said he is also trying to clear his records to accurately represent what happened in the criminal cases.

Miles, who spent more than 14 years in prison, now runs Miles of Freedom, a nonprofit organization in Dallas that helps formerly incarcerated people, including those who have been exonerated, rebuild their lives.

The challenges Miles faces as an exonerated job seeker—including a lack of work history, applicable skills, and education—are not uncommon, but it seems some employers don’t want someone behind bars in their workforce.

There are no government statistics tracking the employment rate of exonerees. Numerous studies have shown that the unemployment rate among incarcerated people is much higher than the national rate. 2018 to work A study from the Prison Policy Initiative found that over 27% of formerly incarcerated people are unemployed. 2021 Bureau of Justice Statistics to work It found that 33% of federal prisoners released in 2010 were unable to find work for four years. The unemployment rate across the country in March was 4.3%.

Five years after his release from prison in 2006, Deskovic used the compensation he received to found the Deskovic Foundation, a New York-based nonprofit that helps release wrongfully convicted people. He later earned a law degree so he could represent them in court.

Exonerees says little has changed for Deskovic in the years since his release, when he applied for jobs including donut shop clerk and weekly newspaper reporter, but he has never been able to find consistent work.

Supporters of the exonerees note that Duncan is someone who has rebuilt his life and won elected office but still faces backlash for his innocence and post-incarceration accomplishments.

“If he hadn’t been exonerated, would they have done this to him? I’m sure they wouldn’t,” Deskovic said.

Eldan’s organization worked with a state senator to help write and pass legislation in Delaware that would provide compensation for wrongful imprisonment, as well as stipends and benefits for housing, food stamps, and health and dental insurance. Those exonerated are also given a government certificate stating that they were wrongfully imprisoned and found innocent.

Eldan said his group is working with lawmakers in several other states, including California and New Mexico, where lawmakers are focused on passing bills to provide similar certificates of innocence and update criminal records of those exonerated.

Eldan and Miles said more states should fund programs to help evacuees post-release.

“But it is difficult to enact something that will actually benefit these people,” Eldan said. “This is not because the government is bad, it is because the government is not fit to provide these services.”

Ben Spencer was exonerated and released in 2021 after serving 34 years in prison for a murder he did not commit in Dallas. He applied for jobs at an Amazon warehouse and as an airport baggage handler but was unable to secure a position.

Eventually, someone who cared about his situation helped him find a job as a plant engineer doing repairs at a company. He worked there for five years.

“I think I’m getting a little more used to it now. I’m still trying to figure out cell phones and computers,” Spencer said. “When I got out of prison, it was like I woke up from a coma or a bad dream. And of course, I still had to try to get financial stability. I guess I won’t say I’m there now, but I’m closer to where I want to be than I was right now.”

Associated Press writer Jack Brook contributed from New Orleans.

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