That's the title of Andrew Cohen's latest post at the Atlantic. It's subtitled, "Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Metal spoons. What's re-entry like for a man who last breathed free during Ronald Reagan's first term as president?"
That moment, the moment Glenn Ford hesitated inside that car on his way to get his first doughnut since Ronald Reagan was president, crystallizes the challenges that exonerees face upon their release from prison. In an instant they go from a world where they have virtually no choices to a world in which their choices seem limitless. And they go from a world in which they have no control—over opening a door, for example—to one in which they can, indeed, control their own fate.
Some exonerees make the transition to free life more smoothly than others. Some, like John Thompson, become selfless advocates for other exonerees. But some promptly get in more trouble with the law or with people seeking to take advantage of them.
Earlier coverage of Glenn Ford's exoneration begins with the preceding post.
Comments