Reentry and Remedy After Wrongful Conviction: A Qualitative Study of Innocence and Compensation in Illinois

This dissertation is a case study of innocence organizations that provide legal and support services to freed and exonerated people in Illinois. Drawing on over three years of participant observation as a reentry caseworker and in-depth semi-structured interviews with 50 people, including innocence lawyers, organization staff, and freed and exonerated people, this research offers a relational and processual perspective on how innocence shapes life after wrongful conviction. I argue that freed and exonerated people experience a distinct post-incarceration trajectory through which access to justice via the relations, processes, and mechanisms available to them hinges on innocence and makes innocence legible. While pursuing remedies like compensation may lead to actualized freedom and justice in both tangible and intangible ways, the pathways to achieve them also compound the burdens of adjusting to post-incarceration life and building foundations for a future outside the confines of one’s case. Ultimately, I find that the structure of the wrongful conviction process in Illinois, mirrored by organizational structures and processes, informs if and when freed and exonerated people imagine and pursue the restorative remedies they can access at local, state, and federal levels.