Exonerated convicts wrestle with stigma

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CHICAGO (Reuters) - Thousands of Americans are in prison for crimes they did not commit, experts believe, but the few who are exonerated and set free often are consigned to a purgatory between guilt and innocence.

"My life has been a living hell. Some of my loved ones want to see me come in the door, some don't. I'm very, very bitter," said Marlon Pendleton, who was freed from prison in 2006 based on DNA evidence that cleared him of a 1993 sexual assault.

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Pendleton and an increasing number like him have gained a measure of freedom thanks in large part to improvements in DNA testing technology that can provide proof of innocence from tiny pieces of evidence.

Lawyers who work for "Innocence Projects" in several states are inundated by inmate requests, and their success exonerating dozens of Death Row inmates has fueled America's debate over capital punishment.

Reuters