Through DNA testing, the Innocent Project has helped free 150 men wrongly imprisoned around the country. Their stories make headlines for a day or two - success stories that show the justice system works - then they are thrust back into society, often after decades behind bars, to sink or swim on their own.

“After Innocence” provides an intimate look at the struggles of seven men now trying to rebuild their lives, in some cases after decades behind bars. Co-writer Marc Simon’s experiences as a law student working with the Innocent Project were the inspiration for he and Jessica Sanders to undertake the documentary.

Throughout the film, the men struggle with unemployment, strained family ties and a community stigma that can remain long after their release. Some states have established compensation funds for those wrongly convicted. In others, however, the attitude seems to have been to grudgingly accept the DNA evidence if they must and hope those freed will simply vanish. Former police detective Scott Hornoff served almost seven years before a confession from the real killer freed him. Hornoff fought for and won reinstatement to the Providence, R.I., police force - with back pay-but the city has appealed the decision.

The men show little anger as they move on with their lives. Despite 11 years in prison, Dennis Maher of Lowell, Mass., found a job as a mechanic, married and is now a father. Herman Atkins of Los Angeles went back to college and is now working toward a doctorate in psychology. Nick Yarris of West Philadelphia, who spent 23 years in solitude on death row for a murder he did not commit, now spends his days advocating against the death penalty.

Perhaps most remarkable is the friendship that has grown between Ronald Cotton and Jennifer Thompson-Canino, the woman he was wrongly convicted of raping in 1984. The two frequently speak together publicly on the dangers of eyewitness identification.

The film, which opened at select theaters in October, puts a human face on the justice system’s failures. As former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, the pro-death penalty Republican who commuted the sentences of 156 death row inmates before leaving office, said the costs of such mistakes in human lives are too high not to take action.

Visit the official film website.

review by Irene Svete

This entry was posted on Friday, November 4th, 2005 at 10:44 am by Jason Kucsma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.