Have you ever been falsely accused of something that has done irreparable damage to your reputation? It’s bad enough to be accused of an extramarital affair or pilfering reams of paper from the office, but when being accused and wrongfully convicted of a crime, the damage goes so much deeper.
You are not only dealing with an angry spouse or boss, but your conviction will almost always make the local news in your area. In fact, sometimes it even goes viral on social media. If at some point it is proven that you were not guilty of the crime for which you were convicted, what can you do to rectify such a grievous wrong?
Get to the Root of the Problem
The very first thing to consider is that quite often your conviction was the blatant mishandling of the case by law enforcement. Sometimes the investigation was rooted in discrimination, and that is common in some communities. Even so, the wrongfully convicted have already lost everything from jobs to years of their time, so how can they be compensated for all that?
If you have been wrongfully convicted of a crime in which you were later proved innocent, the first thing to do is find an attorney who specializes in these kinds of cases. You can get more info on what it involves and how you stand to be compensated by reading about winning cases lawyers have won in the past.
The Importance of Legal Representation
Sadly, according to Project Innocence, almost half the states do not offer any kind of compensation for the wrongfully convicted. This doesn’t mean that you can’t file a suit against those found negligent in investigating your case. It means that there are grounds to stand on that could be a whole other matter. For example, if it is found that you were convicted based on discrimination, that’s something else altogether.
Even if the state in which you were convicted refuses to compensate the wrongfully convicted for all those losses resulting from that conviction, grounds for a suit could be discriminatory practices in that law enforcement agency. The right attorney can find ground to file a substantial lawsuit that the average person may not be aware of. Just because you are told that there is no compensation available for you doesn’t mean there isn’t some other grounds to file under. Contact an attorney before throwing in the towel.
Too Many Wrongful Convictions
A majority of inmates who pled “Not Guilty” will claim they are innocent and were wrongfully convicted. It is so commonplace to hear this that we stop believing them. However, some are really telling the truth and so this is also the time to hire an attorney expert in these cases. They can often have your conviction overturned with a bit of good detective work law enforcement should have undertaken. Whether they help to prove your innocence or go back in after the fact to win your justifiable compensation, the place to start is with a good legal team. These cases can be won, but it takes an expert in the field.