John,
Today is World Oral Health Day! A lot of people may not immediately understand why an organization like the Innocence Project would be talking about oral health — but dental care is a huge issue for those who have been wrongfully convicted.
Rodney Roberts, the Innocence Project’s re-entry coach and an exoneree himself, is one of those people. Rodney was wrongly incarcerated for 18 years after being coerced into pleading guilty to a crime he did not commit. During his time in East Jersey State Prison he had the excruciating experience of having three teeth pulled for common cavities at the prison dental clinic, which he describes as more of a "butcher shop”.
Unfortunately, Rodney’s story is not an anomaly. The poor quality, and often the brutality, of dental care has deep and lasting consequences for many people caught in the carceral system — a fact Rodney attributes to the inhumane treatment of people throughout the country’s prisons.
Will you take a moment today to learn more about Rodney’s journey and how wrongfully convicted people often have little to no access to oral health care?
Mr. Roberts in 2022 preparing for bridge implants after the dentist noticed his fear and helped him relax. (Image courtesy of Rodney Roberts)
The consequences of poor oral health extend beyond physical discomfort. Rodney said when he was released from prison, he felt a sense of shame and embarrassment because of the state of his teeth. It caused him to withdraw from social circles and mumble through public speaking engagements. He said, “I was so self-conscious of what my smile looked like.”
This stigma and self doubt adds additional roadblocks to the chances of newly freed and exonerated people securing employment, especially in public-facing roles.
When Rodney was finally able to see a dentist whom he described as compassionate, he said people started to notice a change in his confidence — and that translated in his day to day work. “Getting my teeth fixed exonerated me in a different kind of way,” Rodney said. “I felt like I made parole from being held back by shame.”
On World Oral Health Day, take some time to learn more about the state of dental health care in prisons and why so many wrongfully convicted people continue to struggle finding access to dentists.
Thank you so much for your support,
— The Innocence Project Team
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