Wrongful Imprisonment Case Funding

Jun 07, 2010

We’re raised to believe that the phrase “innocent until proven guilty” is an accurate one, but sadly, it’s simply not always true. Far too often people are accused of doing something that they didn’t do, and many times they’re not only accused of committing a crime, but they’re found guilty on those charges and are sentenced to serve time in jail for something that they didn’t do! The legal system is not infallible, and there have been many instances in past years when those who had been found guilty by their peers suddenly have the charges reversed as a result of a number of issues.

Being Found Guilty

What does it take to be found guilty? It simply takes a prosecutor who can prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that you committed the offense the state has charged. This means that they have to make the jury or the judge, depending on the case, believe it’s not simply a case of wrong-place-wrong-time. They must prove it’s plausible for you to have committed the crime.
Unfortunately, there are many times when people who did nothing wrong are found guilty of crimes. This is often because there was a great deal of circumstantial evidence against them which, during the time of the case, made it seem as though there really was no other option than for the person to have committed the crime. Now that technology has advanced beyond anyone’s wildest predictions of decades ago, many lawyers are discovering that the clients that they had who were found guilty years ago were honestly telling the truth when they professed their innocence.

Losing Money

When you’re sent to jail for any amount of time, even if it’s just for a month, you are losing wages. You’re also losing credibility. Most people who have served time in jail find that they have a very difficult time getting a job when they’re let go, even if they were wrongly accused or have had their convictions overturned. When you’re in jail, you can’t earn the wages that you used to earn, and yet many bills still pile up. Once your conviction has been overturned, you do have the option of bringing a wrongful imprisonment suit against the parties involved in your conviction. This could include the police, the city, or even the state in which you were convicted. A victory in a lawsuit like this could give you access to the wages you should have been entitled to while you were wrongfully imprisoned.
But a lawsuit like this one, as with any legal process, can take a great deal of time to complete, which is why lawsuit funding is here to help. Lawsuit funding can allow you the chance to have immediate access to money, even before the case is completed. Unlike structured settlements, which only give you money after you’ve won a case, lawsuit funding has the ability to give you money while the case in still in progress, sometimes even before the court battle has started! It has the ability to help you jumpstart your life, even if you’ve suffered from wrongful imprisonment.