"I felt hopeless when I was in my 15th year of wrongful imprisonment- all of my appeals had been exhausted. I had written letters for four years looking for legal help, rarely getting answers, and then the parole board denied me parole in large part because I had maintained my innocence rather than expressing remorse and taking responsibility. I was openly asking my new pen pal if I should give up or if I should commit suicide."
Jeffrey Deskovic is an internationally recognized wrongful conviction expert and founder of The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice which has freed thirteen people and passed six laws aimed at preventing a wrongful conviction. An advisory board member of the coalition It Could Happen To You- spear-headed the passage of additional laws.
Jeff also serves on the Global Advisory Council of Restorative Justice International. He co-owns the Recharge Beyond The Bars Re-Entry Game. Jeff makes frequent television, radio, print, and new media appearances; speaks across the country and internationally; and regularly meets with elected officials. Jeff has spoken in front of police cadets, prosecutorial groups, judges, and defense attorneys, addressing a wide range of wrongful conviction topics. Jeff’s motivation is that he spent 16 years in prison-from age 17 to-32, for murder and rape prior to being exonerated by DNA.
A documentary short about his advocacy and life after exoneration, “Conviction”, can be watched on Amazon Prime.
HOW did you get through this nightmare of 15 years?
- My belief in God
- My attitude to NEVER give up
- Continuously looking for a way out
- Willing to work as hard as necessary
- Reversal - freeing the wrongfully convicted
- Reform - pursuing policy changes aimed at preventing wrongful conviction
- Recovery - helping the exonerees reintegrate into society by helping them on an emergency basis
