The CT Innocence Fund was created to assist newly released exonerees who have been recently released from prison based on proof of actual innocence of the crimes for which they were imprisoned. A state statute provides for compensation for such exonerees, but that process is slow and leaves newly-released exonerees without support during their first months of freedom.
This is a tax-deductible fund to provide monetary advances to assist newly-released exonerees with immediate financial needs prior to awards of compensation from the State of Connecticut. The advances will be loans, to be repaid out of the exonerees’ compensation awards, and will thereby be a self-replenishing fund.
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Kenneth Ireland
"In 1988, when I was only 18, I was arrested for the murder and sexual assault of a mother of four. I was convicted and sentenced to 50 years in Connecticut’s maximum security prison. In 2009, when I was 39, I was finally released after serving 21 years. The CT Innocence Project was able to prove my innocence using DNA testing.
On the day of my release I owned nothing. Had there been an Innocence Fund that I could’ve utilized, my transition would have been less of a burden on myself and on my family and friends. I would like to personally thank everyone who has made a donation to the CT Innocence Fund. This fund will help ensure that exonerees will not have to go though the same struggles that I’ve had to endure."
Kenneth's Story
In 1988, when I was only 18, I was arrested for the murder and sexual assault of a mother of four. I was convicted and sentenced to 50 years in Connecticut’s maximum security prison. In 2009, when I was 39, I was finally released after serving 21 years. The CT Innocence Project was able to prove my innocence using DNA testing.
On the day of my release I owned nothing, not even a toothbrush. I was helplessly reliant upon the support of family and friends. Not only was I trying to reconnect with my loved ones while at the same time trying to learn the new technologies that were invented while imprisoned, I also had to deal with the burden of trying to survive in a very different world than the one I remembered. Although the days after my release were the happiest of my life, they were also some of the scariest. It was just another hardship that I was forced to endure. Had there been an Innocence Fund that I could’ve utilized, my transition would have been less of a burden on myself and on my family and friends. I would like to personally thank everyone who has made a donation to the CT Innocence Fund. This fund will help ensure that exonerees will not have to go though the same struggles that I’ve had to endure.
Thank You,
Kenneth Ireland
