“I Went to Bed Innocent. I Woke Up on Death Row.”
Marilyn Mulero never imagined that a simple decision—to walk through the wrong neighborhood—would change her life forever.
She wasn’t a criminal. She wasn’t a murderer. She was a young mother who trusted the system to find the truth. Instead, the system decided her fate before she ever had a chance to defend herself.
In 1992, at the age of 21, Marilyn was sentenced to death without a trial after being coerced into signing a confession she didn’t understand. She spent 28 years behind bars, many of them in a cage the size of a parking space, knowing that she was innocent, knowing that the world had moved on without her.
When she was finally released in 2020, she had nothing. No money. No home. No support. She had survived death row, but now she had to survive freedom—a different kind of prison, one without walls, where people don’t understand what you’ve been through and where the past still haunts you.
Marilyn is just one of thousands who have been wrongfully convicted in the United States.
The Numbers Are Staggering
✅ Over 3,500 people have been exonerated since 1989 – but those are just the ones we know about.
✅ The average exoneree spends 14 years in prison for a crime they didn’t commit.
✅ 63% of wrongful convictions involve government misconduct.
✅ At least 100 people have been exonerated from death row – meaning they were almost executed for crimes they never committed.
For every exoneration, there are countless others still sitting in prison, waiting for justice.
We are failing the innocent.
Beyond the Bars – The Aftermath of Exoneration
When the system takes decades of someone’s life, there’s no way to give it back.
Imagine being released with nothing—no home, no job history, no financial compensation, and no way to explain the gap in your resume.
Imagine having your identity stripped away. You’ve missed decades of technological advancements, relationships, and milestones. You’re a stranger in a world that’s moved on without you.
This is what exonerees face. And yet, most states provide little to no assistance after release.
We have to do better.
How You Can Help
🚨 Donate to the Wrongful Conviction Trauma Center – We provide exonerees with the resources they need to rebuild their lives.
🚨 Speak out – Share exonerees’ stories and demand policy change.
🚨 Support reform – Push for changes in interrogation laws, forensic science, and sentencing guidelines.
Because this isn’t just about justice. It’s about human lives.
