Laura Caldwell (JD ’92), LAI founder and director, is pictured with LAI clients Jarret Adams (2L) and Antoine Day. Adams and Day are launching Life After Justice, a house that provides temporary dwelling for exonerees in Chicago.
LAI advocates for expungement, passes legislation in Illinois
Last spring, Illinois unanimously passed legislation allowing expungement for exonerees who have successfully proven their innocence. Although a conviction may be overturned, it remains on an exoneree’s record unless expunged, making jobs and access to housing all but impossible. The passage of our proposed legislation validated over a year’s worth of research, drafting, conference calls, legislator outreach, testifying, and general advocating on the part of numerous individuals and organizations. Read more…
OTHER NEWS
Journalist and LAI supporter, Alison Flowers, launches Exoneree Diaries on public radio, WBEZ
Many are fascinated by wrongful convictions. Few know the whole story. Helping to bridge that gap between interest and education is journalist Alison Flowers. Flowers is the creator and host of Exoneree Diaries on WBEZ. The show “follow(s) the stories of three Illinois exonerees through their wrongful convictions, releases and struggles to put their lives back together as free men.” Read more…
Law student and exoneree Jarrett Adams on returning from Rome
This past summer, law student and exoneree, Jarrett Adams, studied at the John Felice Rome Center. Read more…
Loyola announces LAI’s partnership with Narrative 4
LAI recently partnered with Narrative 4 in an effort to increase awareness of wrongful convictions and create radical empathy. Narrative 4 is an organization whose purpose is to help people tell their stories in a new and unique way. Narrative 4 identifies groups whose stories may not have not been heard—for example, Palestinian and Israeli teens, youth from Dublin, Ireland or the south side of Chicago—and allows them to share their story with someone who then re-tells it as their own. This method of storytelling creates compassion on a level that is unlikely to be achieved through typical conversation. Read more…
The state of exoneree compensation in the U.S.
Although wrongful convictions occur across the country, only 25 states, the federal government, and The District of Columbia have enacted statutes to compensate the wrongfully convicted. According to the Innocence Project, only half of exonerees receive compensation for the time they spent in prison. The statutes vary from state to state, and some require the exoneree to file a claim in court while others require a personal legislative bill. Read more…
LAI alums form board, host event
On Thursday November 14, the newly formed Life After Innocence Alumni Board threw the First Annual Life After Innocence Turkey Toss Bags Tournament. The event drew a large number of current and former Loyola students, young professionals, exonerees and supporters of innocence. Read more…
Loyola Law magazine
Read more about Life After Justice in the Fall 2013 issue of Loyola Law.
Please visit the Life After Innocence website for further information.