Reentry Services

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Being in prison for a crime you committed is difficult.  Being in prison for a crime you didn’t commit is a tragedy that words cannot describe.  Each day is filled with feelings of abandonment, confusion, hopelessness, and endless questions of “why?”  Why did this happen to me?  Why do I have to wear these clothes, follow these rules, and eat this food? Why don’t people see the truth?  Some of the people who ask those questions every day have been sentenced to life in prison for something they didn’t do, and some will die in prison. For the few we can bring home to freedom, the life they’ve dreamed of is far from the reality they face. Life for their families and friends has moved on without them. And they face doubt from the skeptics who cannot believe the justice system would get it so wrong.

Upon reentry, exonerated wrongfully convicted individuals face significant challenges that are unique to the experience.  They also do not have access to reentry services others have as they leave prison on a scheduled timeline.  This gap leaves them vulnerable to homelessness, unemployment, and continued psychological trauma, despite their proven innocence. The State’s compensation system rarely offers financial redress and when it does it is slow and insufficient to cover the years of lost opportunities and physical, psychological, and emotional harm.

Remedies

North Carolina has made efforts to improve reentry services for people released from prison through initiatives like Reentry 2030, which aims to enhance support and reduce recidivism for all formerly incarcerated individuals. Governor Roy Cooper has pushed for a more coordinated approach to reentry, but reforms focus on those with convictions, not those wrongfully convicted. Exonerees in North Carolina often rely on nonprofit organizations or case-by-case aid, rather than having guaranteed access to structured state support​.

The Center has been aware of this problem for years as it painfully witnessed firsthand its own exonerees struggle in the transition to freedom. NCCAI exonerees become part of our family, and we are committed to providing support and guidance to them and their families. We help with the immediate needs of getting a driver’s license and having a place to live to the longer-term needs of emotional and psychological support.

Several events occurred to allow the Center to expand its reentry efforts for exonerees in North Carolina, including receiving a bequest from Joseph Sledge, an exoneree and Center client who spend 37 years in prison for a double murder he did not commit. The Center partnered with Mandy Locke, a former reporter for the News & Observer who reported on cases of the wrongly convicted, and her husband, Alex Granados, to help with its expansion efforts. The Center is fundraising and using a portion of the Sledge bequest to build two tiny houses on six acres of Locke’s farm, Second Act Farms, located in Alamance County. One house will host an exoneree and the other house will accommodate the exoneree’s support system, such as family members or counselors. At Second Act Farms, exonerees will be able to watch the sun rise over a pond, feel the breeze through wooded peacefulness, visit with the animals, work in the garden, or just sit and breathe in freedom. They will be surrounded by a community of people who can help them with a plan for their future. 

Resources

1.  Our Journey
2.  After Innocence
3.  Healing Justice