Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Exoneration and wrongful conviction present complex challenges to criminology and the criminal justice system. While much research focuses on systemic failures like false confessions or misconduct, fewer studies examine the social and psychological impact on exonerees and their loved ones. To address this gap, we conducted 36 semi-structured interviews with 19 exonerees and 17 loved ones. Our analysis explores how wrongful convictions influence perceptions of innocence and guilt—both internally and externally—and how these perceptions shape personal relationships. Findings reveal that loved ones consistently maintained belief in the exonerees’ innocence, despite skepticism from outsiders. This study deepens understanding of wrongful convictions’ broader effects and offers recommendations for improving how the criminal justice system responds to such miscarriages of justice.

Keywords

wrongful conviction exoneration loved ones perceptions of innocence us versus them paradigm criminal justice system

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Becker

H. S.

(1963). Outsiders. The Free Press.

Campbell

Denov

(2004). The burden of innocence: Coping with a wrongful imprisonment. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 46(2), 139–164. https://utpjournals.press/doi/10.3138/cjccj.46.2.139

Chancellor

(2019). Public contempt and compassion: Media biases and their effect on juror impartiality and wrongful convictions. Manitoba Law Journal, 42(3), 427–444. https://doi.org/10.29173/mlj1121

Clow

K. A.

Leach

A. M.

(2015). Stigma and wrongful conviction: All exonerees are not perceived equal. Psychology, Crime & Law, 21(2), 172–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2014.951645

Covey

(2012). Police misconduct as a cause of wrongful convictions. Washington University Law Review, 90, 1133. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview/vol90/iss4/2

Davis

N. J.

(1972). Labeling theory in deviance research: A critique and reconsideration. Sociological Quarterly, 13(4), 447–474. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1972.tb00828.x

de Keijser

J. W.

de Lange

E. G.

van Wilsem

J. A

. (2014). Wrongful convictions and the Blackstone ratio: An empirical analysis of public attitudes. Punishment & Society, 16(1), 32–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/1462474513504800

Denov

M. S.

Campbell

K. M.

(2005). Criminal injustice: Understanding the causes, effects, and responses to wrongful conviction in Canada. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 21(3), 224–249. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986205278627

DeShay

R. A.

(2016). “A lot of people go insane behind that”: Coping with the trauma of being wrongfully convicted. Criminal Justice Studies, 29(3), 199–213. https://doi.org/10.1080/1478601X.2016.1146140

10.

DeShay

R. A.

(2023). “Take it one day at a time and try to adjust to what's going on”: Exonerees’ advice to the newly exonerated and future exonerees about life post-release. Criminal Justice Review, 48(1), 69–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/07340168211059127

11.

Dioso-Villa

(2015). A repository of wrongful convictions in Australia: First steps toward estimating prevalence and causal contributing factors. Flinders Law Journal, 17(2), 163–202. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3009055

12.

Doğan

Karataş

(2022). Coping strategies of the family members of convicted people. Toplum ve Sosyal Hizmet. https://doi.org/10.33417/tsh.1033046

13.

Duce

Beltrán

(2024). Wrongful convictions and prosecutions in Latin America: A systematic literature review (2010-2023). The Wrongful Conviction Law Review, 5(2), 160–184. https://doi.org/10.29173/wclawr120

14.

European Registry of Exonerations. (2025). All exonerations. Registry of Exonerations. https://www.registryofexonerations.eu/cases/

15.

Faison

Smalarz

Madon

Clow

K. A.

(2023). The stigma of wrongful conviction differs for White and Black exonerees. Law and Human Behavior, 47(1), 137. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000522

16.

Gilbert

D. T.

Malone

P. S.

(1995). The correspondence bias. Psychological Bulletin, 117(1), 21–38. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.1.21

17.

Goffman

(1986). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity (1st Touchstone ed.). Simon & Schuster.

18.

Goldberg

Guillen

Hernandez

Levett

L. M.

(2020). Obstacles and barriers after exoneration. Albany Law Review, 83, 829. https://www.albanylawreview.org/article/70149-obstacles-and-barriers-after-exoneration

19.

Grounds

(2004). Psychological consequences of wrongful conviction and imprisonment. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 46(2), 165–182. http://doi.org/10.3138/cjccj.46.2.165

20.

Hamovitch

Pejic

Zannella

Deska

J. C.

(2023). Examining the effect of prison time on landlords’ willingness to rent to exonerees: A test of the stigma-by-association framework. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 41(2–3), 78–95. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2608

21.

Heaton

(2004). Reworking qualitative data (1st ed.). SAGE. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781849209878

22.

Hernandez

R. I.

(2024). Wrongfully convicted and in lock-up: Understanding innocence and the development of legal consciousness behind prison walls. Law & Social Inquiry, 49(1), 394–422. https://doi.org/10.1017/lsi.2022.76

23.

Howard

(2019). Exonerees in Black and White: The influence of race on perceptions of those who falsely confessed to a crime. Psychology, Crime & Law, 25(9), 911–924. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2019.1597091

24.

Innocence Network UK. (2025). Educating to overturn and prevent the wrongful conviction of innocent people. http://www.innocencenetwork.org.uk/

25.

Innocence Project. (2011). Conference. https://innocencenetwork.org/subcategory/conference-2025

26.

Innocence Project. (2022). Key provisions in wrongful conviction compensation laws. https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/Compensation.aspx

27.

Jenkins

(2013). Secondary victims and the trauma of wrongful conviction: Families and children’s perspectives on imprisonment, release, and adjustment. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 46(1), 119–137. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004865812470384

28.

Juedy

(2019). Psychosocial consequences of parental wrongful conviction on children [Doctoral dissertation]. Walden University. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7156

29.

Karaffa

K. M.

Page

Koch

J. M.

(2017). Compensating the innocent: Perceptions of exonerees’ deservingness to receive financial compensation for wrongful convictions. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 28(7), 710–732. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403415607049

30.

Kieckhaefer

Luna

(2024). Can you put a price on 14 years of life? Examining predictors of monetary compensation for exonerees. Psychology, Crime & Law, 30, 4. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2022.2093871

31.

Kukucka

Applegarth

H. K.

Mello

A. L.

(2020). Do exonerees face employment discrimination similar to actual offenders? Legal and Criminological Psychology, 25(1), 17–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.12159

32.

Laporte

(2018). Wrongful convictions and DNA exonerations: Understanding the role of forensic science. National Institute of Justice Journal, 279, 1–16. https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/wrongful-convictions-and-dna-exonerations-understanding-role-forensic-science

33.

L. C.

Hoang

Y. H.

Bui

H. T.

Nguyen

D. Q.

Mai

S. T.

Luong

H. T.

(2024). Wrongful convictions in Asian countries: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, 48(4), 345–361. https://doi.org/10.1080/01924036.2023.2188235

34.

Lewis

A. N.

(2022). Beyond the bars: Exploring the lives of exonerees and their loved ones as they cope with miscarriages of justice (Order No. 28963085). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (2674370049). https://uc.idm.oclc.org/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fdissertations-theses%2Fbeyond-bars-exploring-lives-exonerees-their-loved%2Fdocview%2F2674370049%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D2909

35.

Lopez

E. J.

(2023). Public perceptions of exonerees’ deservingness of compensation and expungement [Master’s thesis]. Minnesota State University, Mankato. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/1293/

36.

Lourtau

Babcock

Campbell

(2018). Justice Denied: A global study of wrongful death row convictions. https://dpw.lawschool.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Justice-Denied-A-Global-Study-of-Wrongful-Death-Row-Convictions-2.pdf

37.

McMunigal

K. C.

(2006). Guilty pleas, Brady disclosure, and wrongful convictions. Case Western Reserve Law Review, 57, 651. https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/faculty_publications/1123

38.

Miles

M. B.

Huberman

A. M.

Saldaña

(2020). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (4th ed.). SAGE.

39.

Morgan

(2023). Wrongful convictions and claims of false or misleading forensic evidence. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 68(3), 908–961. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.15233

40.

Murray

Farrington

Murray

(2017). Labeling theory: Empirical tests ( Farrington Murray

, Eds.; 1st ed.). Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203787656

41.

National Registry of Exonerations. (2019). Exonerations in 2019. https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/Exonerations_in_2019.pdf

42.

National Registry of Exonerations. (2024a). National registry of exonerations. https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/about.aspx

43.

National Registry of Exonerations. (2024b). Interactive data display. https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/Exonerations-in-the-United-States-Map.aspx

44.

Norris

R. J.

(2019). Exonerated: A history of the innocence movement. NYU Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1ggjjzr

45.

Norris

R. J.

Mullinix

K. J.

(2020). Framing innocence: An experimental test of the effects of wrongful convictions on public opinion. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 16(2), 311–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-019-09360-7

46.

O’Connor

Joffe

(2020). Intercoder reliability in qualitative research: Debates and practical guidelines. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 160940691989922-. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406919899220

47.

Overton

A. L.

(2008). Media depictions of wrongful conviction: Reality or distortion? (Order No. 1453950). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (304403748). https://uc.idm.oclc.org/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fdissertations-theses%2Fmedia-depictions-wrongful-conviction-reality%2Fdocview%2F304403748%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D2909

48.

Pate

(2022). Families as victims of a wrongful conviction. In Jackson

N. A.

Campbell

K. M.

Pate

(Eds.), The victimology of a wrongful conviction (pp. 87–102). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003121251

49.

Paternoster

Iovanni

(1989). The labeling perspective and delinquency: An elaboration of the theory and an assessment of the evidence. Justice Quarterly, 6(3), 359–394. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418828900090261

50.

Ramirez

(1984). Prisonization, staff, and inmates: Is it really about us versus them? Criminal Justice and Behavior, 11(4), 423–460. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854884011004004

51.

Roach

(2011). Wrongful convictions in Canada. University of Cincinnati Law Review, 80, 1465. https://scholarship.law.uc.edu/uclr/vol80/iss4/19

52.

Sanchez

P. Y.

(2020). Wrongful conviction documentaries: Influences of crime media exposure on Mock Juror Decision-making (Order No. 28030088). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (2444896478). https://uc.idm.oclc.org/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fdissertations-theses%2Fwrongful-conviction-documentaries-influences%2Fdocview%2F2444896478%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D2909

53.

Schapiro

(2019). Wrongful convictions: Not just an American phenomenon? An investigation into the causes of wrongful convictions in the United States, Germany, Italy, and Japan. Emory International Law Review, 34, 897. https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/eilr/vol34/iss3/5

54.

Scherr

K. C.

Normile

C. J.

Sarmiento

M. C.

(2018). Reluctant to embrace innocence: An experimental test of persevering culpability judgments on people’s willingness to support reintegration services for exonerees. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 14(4), 529–538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-017-9306-2

55.

Scherr

K. C.

Normile

C. J.

Luna

Redlich

A. D.

Lawrence

Catlin

(2020). False admissions of guilt associated with wrongful convictions undermine people’s perceptions of exonerees. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 26(3), 233–244. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000238

56.

Schuller

R. A.

Clow

K. A.

Erentzen

(2021). Twenty years for nothing: An exploration of wrongful conviction cases in Canada. Criminal Law and Legal Questions, 69, 111. https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/clwqrty69&i=117

57.

Scott

(2010). “It never, ever ends”: The psychological impact of wrongful conviction. American University Criminal Law Brief, 5(2), 10–22. https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/clb/vol5/iss2/2/

58.

Shlosberg

Mandery

E. J.

West

Callaghan

(2014). Expungement and post-exoneration offending. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 104, 353. https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc/vol104/iss2/3

59.

Small

M. L.

Calarco

J. M.

(2022). Qualitative literacy: A guide to evaluating ethnographic and interview research. University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv2vr9c4x

60.

Taylor-Baer

C. M.

Anderson

G. S.

(2023). Plagues in our criminal justice system: An analysis of wrongful conviction in Canada and other countries. The Wrongful Conviction Law Review, 4(3), 191–224. https://doi.org/10.29173/wclawr103

61.

Temares

A. E.

Parker

B. D.

Walker

L. E.

Shapiro

(2023). Parental grief, wrongful incarceration, and the continued effects after exoneration. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 32(1–2), 125–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2022.2051656

62.

Thomas

K. A.

Hoyt

W. T.

(2023). The psychological impact of wrongful convictions: Exploring retrospective trajectories of distress in exonerees. Psychological Trauma, 16(5), 872–880. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001425

63.

Thompson

A. M.

Molina

O. R.

Levett

L. M.

(2011). After exoneration: An investigation of stigma and wrongfully convicted persons. Albany Law Review, 75, 1373. https://doi.org/10.1037/e669802012-174

64.

Vick

Cook

K. J.

Rogers

(2021). Lethal leverage: False confessions, false pleas, and wrongful homicide convictions in death-eligible cases. Contemporary Justice Review, 24(1), 24–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/10282580.2020.1755845

65.

Westervelt

S. D.

Cook

K. J.

(2010). Framing innocents: The wrongly convicted as victims of state harm. Crime, Law and Social Change, 53(3), 259–275. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-009-9231-z

66.

Wildeman

Costelloe

Schehr

(2011). Experiencing wrongful and unlawful conviction. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 50(7), 411–432. https://doi.org/10.1080/10509674.2011.603033

67.

Zakirova

E. B.

(2018). Media framing of wrongful convictions. City University of New York John Jay College of Criminal Justice. https://academicworks.cuny.edu/jj_etds/68

68.

Zalman

(2018). Wrongful convictions: Comparative perspectives. In Treviño

A. J.

(Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of social problems (pp. 449–472). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108550710.027

“They Were With Me,They Were Against Us”: Exploring Loved One Support and the Us Versus Them Mentality After Wrongful Convictions

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References