Less than two weeks ago, I was thrilled to celebrate Jaythan Kendrick’s exoneration with him in person. It was also the first time I’d been in a courtroom in over eight months. It’s unusual for me to spend this much time out of court, but these are not normal times.
We’ve had to pause some of the ongoing investigations in our clients’ cases and conduct hearings over Zoom, but the hardest part is not being able to visit our clients in person.
COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way we do this work — but we’re pushing through and continuing to support our clients at a time when our work, for many, is the most critical. As the virus rapidly spreads through prisons, getting our clients out has become even more urgent.
The pandemic has been particularly difficult for our clients in prison. When COVID-19 first hit, getting information to our clients about how to protect themselves from getting sick was a priority — as well as finding ways to maintain contact. In-person visits from loved ones were no longer allowed and, in some cases, phone time has been significantly restricted. For many of our clients, the Innocence Project is one of their only points of contact with the outside world.
A lot of people ask me how our exonerated clients are doing in this time. Many of them — like Malcolm Alexander who works for the Jefferson Parish Water Department in Louisiana — are first responders and front line workers. They don’t have the luxury of working from home and risk their health every day.
I know this has been a challenging time for all of us, but this pandemic has only made the work we do more important and timely.
The Innocence Project exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. www.innocenceproject.org
