Exonerations for Wrongfully Convicted Disabled Inmates: The Path to Salvation is Paved With Bad Intentions

Every day, stories come out regarding individuals who have spent decades behind bars, only to be declared exonerated. But those who have been wrongfully
convicted have an uphill battle proving their innocence. By some estimates, 6 percent of the United States prison population (approximately 114,000 inmates)
may be wrongfully convicted. But of this population, the number of those who are disabled remains somewhat a mystery. One can extrapolate by knowing that
roughly one-third of individuals currently serving prison sentences suffer from at least one disability to estimate that over forty thousand disabled prisoners sit behind bars for crimes they did not commit.
This Article will be divided into three parts. Part I will focus on the difficulties that disabled inmates face in trying to prove their innocence and to free themselves from wrongful incarceration. It will begin by explaining how simply having a disability exacerbates the repercussions of a wrongful conviction. Part
II will then discuss the inherent hurdles in our criminal justice system that make disabled individuals prime targets for overzealous or even corrupt law enforcement. Focusing on barriers, such as communication difficulties, misinterpretation of behaviors, suggestibility, and memory issues, the Article will dive deeply into why preventing illegal arrests, stopping wrongful convictions, and establishing actual innocence present such unique challenges for disabled clients. The Article will also discuss preexisting issues in the justice system itself that stack the cards against disabled inmates, such as lack of qualified counsel, bias in legal burdens placed on plaintiffs, and inadequate accommodations in the court system and prisons. Finally, Part III will explain how conditions in prison facilities often keep innocent, disabled people locked away.
The Article will close by explaining how potential solutions for addressing these concerns, the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, fail to protect this vulnerable population. The ultimate goal is to educate the reader about the issue so that it can start conversations to help those who need assistance in proving their innocence. Additionally, it aims to prevent innocent, disabled defendants from ever being wrongfully convicted in the first place.