ABSTRACT
Despite a notable increase in scholarship on the causes and consequences of wrongful convictions, there remains considerable room for growth in research on the carceral experiences of the wrongfully convicted. In addition to enduring the “pains of imprisonment” that all incarcerated persons experience, wrongfully convicted persons encounter distinctive prison-related traumas, they face additional social difficulties that stem from being innocent in carceral spaces, and they encounter unique reentry challenges. In this chapter, we review and synthesize existing literature on wrongfully convicted persons’ experiences of imprisonment and reentry, and we identify gaps in the current body of literature on these experiences. We conclude with a discussion of policies and programs that may assist exonerees in their recovery following their wrongful conviction and imprisonment.
