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Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

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Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

#1
Hi, I'm Clint Ehrlich, a hacker/law student who helped get an innocent man released from prison. I'm here on HN asking for advice about how to help my new friend get back on his feet.

A year ago, I saw a Dateline NBC episode about an Iraq-war vet, Sgt. Ray Jennings, who allegedly killed an 18-year-old girl in a parking lot. The evidence didn't persuade me, so my dad and I started our own investigation.

We wrote a 34-page letter to the DA's office, which you can read here: http://www.ehrlichfirm.com/criminal-cases/raymond-lee-jennin... The letter persuaded them to reopen the murder investigation.

Last week, after 11 years behind bars, Ray walked out of court a free man. But he was released onto the street with no resources. Do any of the great minds at HN have any ideas about how I can help him get money for housing, food, and clothes?

The most obvious answer is litigation. And in a year or two, Ray will probably receive some compensation from the State. Unfortunately, there's no way to access those funds in time to cover his immediate expenses.

In the future, Ray also may be able to earn some income talking about his story. Unfortunately, the charges against him won't be formally dismissed for another 2 months, and until then he is understandably reticent about speaking publicly.

I have set up a GoFundMe campaign. It did well, but momentum has stalled. I'd appreciate any recommendations about how or where to promote it:

https://www.gofundme.com/RayJennings

Thanks for your help. I'm sorry that I was a bit caustic in previous posts asking for help with this case. I contacted the Mods, and they encouraged me to try again with a different approach.

Re: Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

#3
post #2

This may not be the greatest idea, and may not even be realistic but are there not cash advances on a pending/future lawsuit? I imagine the terms are not friendly, but it may be more successful than a GoFundMe campaign if he becomes desperate enough.

Unfortunately, Ray's case has not advanced far enough to make litigation financing a practical option. Financing firms need significantly more assurance of a realistic payoff than they would be able to obtain at this juncture.

Re: Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

#6
post #4

What'd he do in the military? He may be able to leverage those skills for immediate employment.

He was an infantryman. Kicked down doors in Iraq going room-to-room searching for insurgents.

Until the charges are formally dismissed, it's hard to imagine any employer will actually be willing to hire him. The DA's office is really making his life hard by refusing to just immediately stipulate that he's an innocent man.

Re: Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

#7
Churches.

I currently tutor a formerly homeless man whom I met through an Episcopal church.

They saw him sleeping outside the front door and took him in. They connected him with low income housing services who found him a subsidized apartment and gave him a job working in the cafeteria of their school.

I'd visit a few parishes and ask friends/family who are churchgoing for direction.

Best of luck and I hope Ray gets on his feet.

Re: Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

#9
post #5

In Germany the reimbursement is be 25 Euro[1] (28 USD) per day. I hope it's more i the US and other countries. [1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haftentsch%C3%A4digung

That's not great, only $10k/yr. For 11 years of wrongful imprisonment, that's $112000.

In the US, there have been cases where the wrongfully imprisoned have received ~600k/yr: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/innocent-man-16-65-...

Re: Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

#10
I wonder if Dateline would have interest in updating his story, and if there might be any compensation for something like that. I'm not involved in TV production, but you would think if they had enough interest to report on his conviction (which happens every day) there would be an even better story regarding his release.
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