According to The National Registry of Exonerations, the average time that exonerated individuals spend in prison for crimes they did not commit is just over nine years. But often, that time is much longer. The average time spent wrongfully incarcerated for people that Georgia Innocence Project serves is just over 23 years.

It can be hard to conceptualize 20+ years of life being lost to wrongful incarceration. Birthdays. First steps and last goodbyes. The chance to raise children, pursue dreams, care for aging parents. A world that moves on without you—technology evolving, relationships fading, opportunities vanishing.

What’s taken isn’t just time. It’s identity, dignity, and the simple freedom to choose how to spend your days. And even after release, the losses linger. Rebuilding doesn’t happen overnight. What was stolen can’t always be returned.

At Georgia Innocence Project, we carry these truths with us in every case. But sometimes, the weight of those losses strike in an especially personal way.

When Hayley, a spring 2025 intern at Georgia Innocence Project going into her third year of law school, joined alongside staff Senior Attorney Veronica O’Grady on the litigation stage of an active representation case, this stark understanding of time hit home.

Read on to hear the reflections Hayley had on this as she spent time at Georgia Innocence Project working on a client's case.

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Hayley's Reflections

What does 24 years mean to you? Well, for me, it’s my entire life. I have been on this planet for just barely over 24 years. And it definitely doesn’t seem like a whole lot–especially not to me–but this perspective completely changed the moment that I began working on a Georgia Innocence Project client’s case last year.

For 24 years, he has been in prison for a crime that he didn’t commit. My entire life, and everything I have ever experienced, he has had to endure in a prison cell. For 24 years now, all for something he did not do.

What was especially surprising to me during my time as an intern was just how painstakingly slow the legal process can be. We hear jokes about it all the time (at least in law school we do), but I never had the ability to appreciate just how slow it can be, until I started working on the client's case.

For 24 years, he has been replaying the same two weeks constantly. During that time, I learned… well, everything I know. And those same 24 years have defined every aspect of his life. The same two weeks, replaying over and over. And the system doesn’t seem to feel any sense of urgency.

It should never take ten years to hear back from a judge. What each individual deserves is dignity and respect, and choosing to ignore these pleas for justice sends a strong message: their lives are not seen as being worth the time. To me, that is the greatest injustice of the system. I couldn’t help but picture myself in the client’s shoes, being nearly the same as he was when his life changed forever, or imagining the client being the same age as my parents. What kind of life could he have had if justice was truly served? What kind of life can he live?

Why should my ability to live a fulfilling life be worth more than the 24 years and counting the client has had to lose? That so many others have lost? More than 372 years* collectively were spent imprisoned–without families, birthdays, funerals, hugs, even simple privacy–for crimes that they simply did not commit. This isn’t anything but an entirely preventable tragedy. That’s why I feel like this work is so important– there is no amount of time that can ever return what so many innocent people have lost after being wrongly convicted.

*372 years = the collective time spent wrongfully convicted and incarcerated by clients Georgia Innocence Project has helped to transition into freedom.

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At Georgia Innocence Project, we are continually inspired by the drive and insight interns bring.

If you or a student you know is interested in contributing to meaningful change while gaining hands-on experience in the criminal legal field, we encourage you to explore our internship opportunities.