Christopher Abernay Essay On Christopher Anthony

Christopher Abernathy from Illinois was falsely convicted for murder, rape and robbery at the age of 17. The person who he was convicted of murdering was Kristina Hickey. He was taken in for questioning after someone he knew, Allan Dennis, said Abernathy confessed to killing Hickey. There was no forensic or physical evidence that connected him to the crime. It was committed in 1984 and Abernathy was convicted in 1987. He then went on to serve 28 years in prison. However, the confession Abernathy gave was false. Dennis had pressured Abernathy to confess saying that the police had said they would give him lenient treatment on some previous minor charges. A couple of Northwestern students were researching the case and had found out what Dennis

Then on February 15, 2015 Abernathy was released. There was no substantial information on how Abernathy is doing now, but the state of Illinois gives $199,150 in compensation. Bruce Godschalk is another exoneree who was wrongfully imprisoned for 15 years. He was convicted for sexual assault and burglary because of false eyewitness identification and a false confession. He had an alibi for the crime, but was convicted none the less. He contacted the Innocence Project after numerous attempts to get a DNA test from semen found at the scene of the crime. The Innocence Project tried to get tapes of the false confession, then tried to get a DNA test of the semen found. After some back and forth it was found that the semen had gone for identification, only it never reached the laboratory. The evidence was the found in 2001 and test. The DNA did not match Godschalk's, but he was still denied release. Then finally in February of 2002 Godschalk was released. He worked as a landscaper when he was released from prison and also received money (the exact amount was not disclosed) as compensation for injury and sickness from being

But both did get some compensation money and Godschalk successfully got a job. However this is not the case in all states. Compensation should be availible to all exonerees in every state based on the type of prison, the number of years they were imprisoned, and whether or not they were on death row. There should also be a program for exonerees where they can find affordable housing, job,and in some cases a education to obtain a job. Many of the exonerees were convicted before they went to college, which means they have no degree to show when applying for a job. There should also be groups that get together to talk about their wrongful imprisonment, or just a general one on one psychologist that is provided free of charge. Having this is important because many of the people being release have not been on the outside for decades. It will also help them through and PTSD or any other issues they may be going through. Basically everything should be done to help the exonerees integrate back into a unfamiliar society and to get them back on their