The journey from death row to a normal life is a lonely one for former inmates who have been cleared of murders they did not commit. Walking out the prison door is but the first difficult step. People like Alan Gell, sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit, are given a pat on the back, possibly some financial compensation and not much else.

What they really need is help adjusting to the outside world.

Two University of North Carolina system professors have done a public service with their book, "Life After Death Row," which examines the difficult transition from the grimmest of cell blocks to complete freedom – and absolutely no guidance as to what comes next.

Kimberly Cook, who heads the UNC Wilmington sociology and criminology department, and Sandra Westervelt, associate professor of sociology at UNC Greensboro, relate the struggles of Gell and others who have found themselves going from an institutionalized life where every decision is made for you into an unfamiliar world that expects you to get on with your life without missing a beat.

It doesn't work that way, and it is a disgrace that, after wrongly imprisoning someone, our justice system does not have procedures to help exonerated inmates make that transition. In North Carolina, it is not as though it would break the bank to provide some help.

Only eight death-row inmates have been cleared in recent history, including Gell. Counseling, assistance finding housing or a job and other services are needed to help them adjust. As reporter Brian Freskos' Jan. 11 story pointed out, while inmates with a projected release date get some job and counseling services to help them prepare for life on the outside, there's no need to provide those services to death-row prisoners.

In Gell's case, a $3.9 million settlement for wrongful arrest and prosecution – he was in jail on another charge when the murder he was convicted of took place – may have softened the blow. But not before he served time for taking indecent liberties with a minor (his "girlfriend," who was 15 at the time and with whom he had a child). Only now does he see some stability.

And while the state allows for compensation of up to $50,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment, exonerees do not automatically get the pardon that is required before they may pursue that avenue. Many of the 142 freed death-row inmates have walked out of prison with little more than the clothes on their back.

As important as some financial assistance is help finding work, finding a place to live and understanding what society expects. While these freed inmates may be innocent of murder, many of them had criminal records before their conviction, which makes it even harder to prove to others that they deserve another chance – and harder to avoid reverting to their former lifestyle.

North Carolina, which established an Innocence Commission and which passed the Racial Justice Act, has a history of working for fairness in the criminal justice system. It is only fair that we help death-row inmates adjust to their new freedom.

Surely the Honorables and Gov. Pat McCrory could support a modest program to help right a very serious wrong. Sentencing an innocent man to death certainly qualifies as such.

Source