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What does a wrongfully convicted person do on International Wrongful Conviction Day?
You'd probably imagine a bunch of exonerees getting together to have dinner and discuss how happy they are to have had their innocence confirmed; how grateful they are to no longer be behind bars. But today, more than almost any other day, as an exoneree myself, I'm keenly aware of the fact that although we're no longer behind bars, many of us are still anything but free.
I'm one of thousands of people fighting for their livelihood despite having been wrongfully accused because the same kind of outdated laws that favor law enforcement over the accused—like the qualified immunity law that is used to protect officers who framed the innocent—are now preventing me and many others like me from being compensated for our pain and loss. And it's about time lawmakers do something to remedy the issue.
In 1991, I was sentenced to death and have spent 25 years of my life on death row for a crime I didn't commit. In that time, among other things, my children grew up and had children themselves without having me there to guide and support them. My mother's health declined and I was unable to care for her, and my father died and I wasn't allowed to attend his funeral or say goodbye. If there's anyone who knows the importance of a day like today, it's me.
International Wrongful Conviction Day was established by the Innocence Network in 2014 to "raise awareness of the causes and remedies of wrongful conviction" and to support exonerated individuals after they've been freed. The support and awareness is sorely needed.
A conservatively estimated 1 percent of the U.S. prison population, approximately 20,000 brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers like myself, have been wrongly imprisoned. Because of the tremendous burden of proof required to overturn a conviction, some of them die in prison before having proved their innocence. And just this year, the Supreme Court ruled to make this process even more difficult.
Those who do get free wind up chasing justice like a leaf in the wind while trading one struggle for another; they leave the prison cell behind only to face a life of poverty and all the challenges that come with it.
Federal compensation laws in place require some states to provide some money to exonerees; 36 states currently offer exonerees anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 for every year spent in prison according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Granted, these laws require wrongfully convicted individuals to prove their innocence yet again in order to receive this compensation, despite having already been exonerated. And unfortunately, in 14 other states, including in Pennsylvania where I reside, wrongfully convicted persons receive no compensation whatsoever.
In my case, Judge Anita B. Brody wrote that I, James Dennis, "was wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to die for a crime in all probability he did not commit." She required the state to initiate a new trial within 180 days or set me free, but Philadelphia's district attorney appealed the case. The entire Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Judge Brody's decision and vacated my conviction. I'd finally been vindicated.
It was then, the moment that my innocence had been confirmed for a second time, that the prosecutor threatened to issue new proceedings, but my attorneys fought to reach a deal for my freedom. At the deal hearing, my innocence was read into the record by my lawyer and after the judge admonished the district attorney's office for their behavior in my case, the district attorney redacted the word guilt or any language that implied my guilt from the deal agreement. You don't do something like that unless you know the truth, that I'm innocent. That deal, however, forced me to plead "no contest" to reduced charges and I was released on time served.
Fighting to further prove my innocence would have meant potentially enduring years more in prison awaiting the result of a new trial. I made the agonizing decision that would bring me home to see my children, and my ailing mother before I lost her too. I just wanted the nightmare to end.
These are the terrible, "damned if you do, damned if you don't" choices that await those who are set free after being wrongfully imprisoned. Wrongful Conviction Day is necessary because of horrific stories like mine and others like it. And while we wait for change, the corruption in law enforcement that ruins lives continues.
As the city continues to fight against me receiving any compensation for what was done to me, in my mind, there is no amount of money that would amount to justice. Nothing can give me back lost time with my children, parents, siblings and friends; time I never got to live out my dreams as a free person.
So what does a person who's spent more than two decades in prison for a crime he didn't commit do on International Wrongful Conviction Day?
I pray for the day when this day no longer needs to exist.
James "Jimmy" Dennis is an R&B singer, songwriter and producer, loving father, brother, son and innocent man who spent 25.5 years on death row for a crime he didn't commit. Since his release, Jimmy has become a passionate advocate for wrongfully convicted persons, fighting for his rights post-release, and the rights of others. His music is available on all platforms. Follow his Instagram.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
