Full Breakdown
Exonerees Face Ongoing Employment Barriers
5/1/2026, 5:11:10 PM
Core Challenge
Individuals whose convictions have been vacated after wrongful imprisonment face employment barriers. Unlike parolees, exonerees receive no job placement, housing, or mental-health assistance. The National Registry of Exonerations lists 3,800 exonerations since 1989; 38 states have compensation statutes, but payouts often take years and do not address reintegration.
Key Figures
Richard Miles, founder of Miles of Freedom, spent 14 years incarcerated before his 2009 exoneration and found work via a church minister. Jon Eldan leads After Innocence, aiding exonerees. Calvin Duncan, cleared after 30 years, won elected office before Louisiana legislators abolished his clerk position. Jeffrey Deskovic, freed after 16 years, was denied reentry assistance because he was not on parole. Ben Spencer, freed after 34 years in 2021, secured a facilities-engineer job after Amazon rejected him.
Data & Gaps
Studies show former prisoners have higher joblessness than the general population. The Prison Policy Initiative reported a 27 % unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated people in 2018, and a 2021 Bureau of Justice Statistics analysis found 33 % of 2010 federal releases remained unemployed for four years, versus a 4.3 % national rate in March. No federal or state agency publishes exoneree employment data, leaving scope uncertain.
Official Positions
Louisiana Republican legislators say dissolving the Orleans Parish clerk office is a matter of efficiency, not a reaction to Calvin Duncan’s exoneration. Delaware’s recent statute provides exonerees with a compensation package, monthly stipend, housing, food, health and dental benefits, and an official innocence certificate. Advocacy groups argue stigma, not efficiency, drives employment discrimination and that the lack of service hampers reintegration.
Verbatim Quotes
- “We’re still kind of like looked at as an inmate that did a particular crime. It further deteriorates our ability to believe that the system can heal itself,” — Richard Miles, Founder and CEO, Miles of Freedom
- “Even if they are seen as somebody who is exonerated, there is still a stigma as somebody who has been in prison,” — Jon Eldan, Founder and Executive Director, After Innocence
- “I was turned down by many prisoner reentry organizations because they said, ‘Look, you’re not on parole, you’re not on probation,'” — Jeffrey Deskovic, Wrongfully Convicted Advocate
- “When I walked out of the jail, it was like waking up out of a coma or a bad dream. And of course, I still had to try to get some financial stability. I guess I won’t say I’m there now, but I’m closer to where I wanna be now than I was.” — Ben Spencer, Exoneree and Facilities Engineer
What's Next
Advocacy organizations are pressing for adoption of innocence-certificate legislation and a database to track exoneree employment outcomes. Legislative efforts in California and New Mexico aim to expand compensation, housing assistance, and job-training. Exonerees Calvin Duncan and Richard Miles call for reforms to reduce stigma and improve long-term reintegration.
