Graduation Year

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Degree Granting Department

Criminology

Major Professor

Jessica Grosholz, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Lyndsay Boggess, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Amanda Lewis, Ph.D.

Keywords

Wrongful Conviction, Victimization, Labeling, Stigma, In-Depth Interviews

Abstract

Exoneration and wrongful conviction complicate the field of criminology and the criminal justice system. Much of the scholarship on wrongful conviction focuses on the faults of the criminal justice system, such as false or misleading forensic evidence, false confessions, official misconduct, inadequate legal defense, and more. However, there is less research on the social, psychological, and economic impact of a wrongful conviction on those who have been wrongfully convicted and those associated with wrongful convictions (e.g., exoneree's loved ones). Recent studies indicate that social and psychological implications after a wrongful conviction may not only affect exonerees but also their loved ones. Due to this gap in the literature, I analyzed 36 in- depth semi-structured interviews with 19 exonerees and 17 loved ones to further understand how a wrongful conviction affects a loved ones' perceptions of an exoneree's guilt and innocence. Specifically, I examine how these perceptions of innocence and guilt are affected by several internal and external factors, which end up influencing the relationships between exonerees and their loved ones. This study finds that the consistent perspective of innocence strengthens the relationship between exonerees and their loved ones. This study's findings expand our understanding of the impact of wrongful convictions on exonerees and their loved ones, while also making several recommendations to the criminal justice system.

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