WRONGFULLY CONVICTED.

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN EXONERATED SINCE 1989.

THAT'S ACCORDING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN'S NATIONAL REGISTRY OF EXONERATIONS AND THAT TIME ON THE INSIDE ADDS UP TO MORE THAN 30,000 YEARS UNJUSTLY SPENT IN PRISON FOR MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE.

A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF THOSE YEARS WERE SPENT TRYING TO FIND LEGAL REPRESENTATION TO MAKE A CASE FOR THEIR EXONERATION, A PROCESS THAT IS COMPLICATED, DIFFICULT AND ABOVE ALL, LENGTHY.

JOINING US NOW, OUR MICHELLE MBEKI, ARNIE SENIOR LEGAL AND POLICY ADVISER FOR JUSTICE REFORM IN THE COOK COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.

SHE'S ALSO THE FOUNDER AND CEO OF PERIOD, A PLATFORM THAT CONNECTS PEOPLE IN PRISON WITH LEGAL REPRESENTATION.

TRAIL SWIFT AND EXONEREE WRONGFULLY CONVICTED FOR 15 YEARS AND PERIOD ADVISORY BOARD CHAIR AND WRONGFUL CONVICTION.

ATTORNEY LAURA KNIGHT RIDER THANKS TO THE 3 OF YOU FOR JOINING US.

MICHELLE BECKY ON AN ILLINOIS.

HOW ARE PEOPLE GOING ABOUT FINDING LEGAL REPRESENTATION WHILE INCARCERATED?

WELL, TO MANY SURPRISE ARE RELYING SOLELY SNAIL MAIL.

>> OF CURRENTLY WE'RE SEEING THAT A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE CURRENTLY INCARCERATED EITHER FINE ATTORNEY FOR WORD OF MOUTH OR FAMILY MEMBER REACHING OUT TO ATTORNEY FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE THAT CONNECTION TO THE OUTSIDE.

THE SEND LETTERS OFTENTIMES SENDING DOZENS HUNDREDS OF LETTERS BLIND COLD CALLING ESSENTIALLY TO FIND ATTORNEY TO REVIEW THEIR CASE AND THAT PROCESS, THEY'RE WRITING LETTERS TELLING THEM ABOUT THEIR CASE.

BUT OFTEN TIMES ATTORNEYS ARE NOT INFORMED OF THE INFORMATION THAT'S NECESSARY TO ONE IDENTIFY WHO THEY ARE IN THE SYSTEM A LOT OF ROBERTS MISS OF THE WORLD TO WHAT THEIR ISSUE IS TO BE ADDRESSED AND 3, HOW TO MOVE FORWARD WITH FAMILY MEMBERS ON THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE.

THAT TAKES A LOT OF TIME.

A LOT OF A STAFFING AND IT'S VERY COSTLY AND TIME-CONSUMING FOR THOSE WHO ARE INCARCERATED.

>> TOMORROW, YOU ARE ONE OF THE SO-CALLED THE BEFORE ENGLEWOOD TEENAGERS.

ONCE UPON A TIME CALLED ENGLEWOOD FOR WRONGFULLY CONVICTED FOR 1994 RAPE AND IN 1988, CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WHEN YOU'RE INCARCERATED TRYING TO FIND THAT REPRESENTATION?

>> IT WAS IT WAS A LONG BATTLE.

AND I STARTED STARTED MY QUEST OF WRITING ATTORNEYS AND, YOU KNOW, SEEKING HELP IN 1998, AND I GET AND YOU WANT TO REALLY TAKE MY CASE UNTIL AND I WAS SCHEDULED TO BE RELEASED IN SO THAT WAS A LONG PROCESS.

AND I'M THINKING LIKE BACK THEN IT'S THAT WAS THE 10, 12 YEAR PROCESS FOR ME BACK THEN.

>> WITH THE INVESTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY NOWADAYS YOU CAN PROBABLY ADD ANOTHER 10, 15 YEARS ON TOP OF THAT.

AND I DID IN TIMES OF SOMEONE TRYING TO GET HELP TODAY.

THE MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE, RIGHT OR SNAIL MAIL AS MICHELLE JUST, YOU KNOW, AS YOU PUT WE'RE NOT RIGHT OR THE U.S. PRISON POPULATION STANDS AT 2.3 MILLION.

SOME STUDIES ESTIMATE BETWEEN 2 AND 10%, WHICH, YEAH, IT'S A BIG DIFFERENCE RIGHT THERE.

8 1% TO BE SPECIFIC.

>> BUT BEEN 2.10% OF THEM ARE WRONGFULLY CONVICTED.

WHICH WOULD MEAN ABOUT PEOPLE OR TO 46,000 TO 230,000 PEOPLE.

>> ARE THERE ENOUGH ATTORNEYS IN THE WORLD WORKING ON WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS TO MAKE A DENT IN THOSE KIND OF NUMBERS?

YOU KNOW, WE CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY PEOPLE WORKING ON THE PROBLEM OF WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS RIGHT THERE.

WE KNOW RIGHT NOW.

>> OF OVER 3,000 CASES OF PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN EXONERATED MANY LOSING DECADES OF THEIR LIVES.

AND THESE ARE FOLKS WHO HAVE SENT THE PROVERBIAL MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE RIGHT LETTER AFTER LETTER AFTER LETTER, 2 ATTORNEYS AND JOURNALISTS, WHOMEVER THEY HOPE.

WE'LL LISTEN RIGHT NOW.

THERE'S ABOUT 72 INNOCENCE ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE PLANET THAT'S ON THE GLOBE.

ONLY ABOUT 72, MANY OF WHICH ARE STAFFED WITH 2 ATTORNEYS HERE.

3 ATTORNEYS THERE FOR ATTORNEYS.

THERE ARE A LOT OF THE NONPROFIT'S, SOME OF THEM HOUSE AT UNIVERSITIES.

THIS IS A TREMENDOUS START.

A TREMENDOUSLY POWERFUL, DEDICATED COMMITTED GROUP OF ADVOCATES.

BUT THE NUMBERS OF LAWYERS OUT THERE ARE SMALL AND THE DEMAND, UNFORTUNATELY, FOR THIS KIND OF LEGAL REPRESENTATION IS WAY TOO HIGH.

MICHELLE, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OTHER BARRIERS FOR THE WRONGFULLY IMPRISONED WHEN THEY'RE TRYING TO GET BACK INTO THE COURTROOM?

>> I MEAN, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TEND TO TAKE FOR GRANTED IS JUST THE COST TO SEND OUT A LETTER TO GIVE AN EXAMPLE IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK AND THEIR PRESENCE.

YOU GET ONE STAMP EVERY 5 DAYS.

IT COULD BE NO MORE THAN ONE OUNCE.

SO ESSENTIALLY INDIVIDUAL INCARCERATED TRYING TO GET AT LEAST ONE PERSON TO LISTEN TO THIS STORY HAS 6 PAGES TO PUT ALL THAT INFORMATION.

THAT'S JUST TO GET YOUR STORY OUT.

I'VE HEARD STORIES OF INDIVIDUALS INCARCERATED WHO FORGO COMMISSAR, CALM, SERENE, EATING JUST TO GET AS MANY LETTERS OUT AS POSSIBLE.

OFTEN TIMES SAYING YOU JUST NEED ONE PERSON TO LISTEN.

BUT IN THAT PURSUIT OF ONE PERSON TO LISTEN, OFTENTIMES TAKES UP TO A DECADE OR EVEN MORE.

SO THAT'S JUST THE KIND OF THE COST SIDE FOR INDIVIDUALS INCARCERATED TO ROLL.

ONCE YOU DID CONNECT TO LEGAL HELP, WHAT WAS WHAT WAS THAT LIKE WHEN YOU'RE COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR LEGAL TEAM?

>> IN TERMS WHAT WAS IT LIKE AND HOW HOW DID YOU COMMUNICATE WITH AND THEN AND WHAT WE'RE WHAT WAS THAT NEXT PROCESS?

THE NEXT PART OF THE PROCESS IT WAS?

>> YOU KNOW, FOR ME, IT WAS WHEN WHEN YOU'RE YOU KNOW, WRONGFULLY CONVICTED AND YOU ARE PREACHING NOW FOR SOMEONE LISTEN.

JUST WANT SOMEONE TO LISTEN AND HEAR OUR VOICE.

AND ONCE I FINALLY GOT THAT REPRESENTATION HAVE THAT VOICE TO BE IN FRONT OF THE COURTROOMS BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I NEEDED.

I NEEDED SOMEONE TO HEAR MY STORY AND BE VOICE FRONT OF THIS COURT ROOM BECAUSE I CAN TELL YOU LEGALLY WHAT THEY DID, BUT IT WAS WRONG.

YOU IT WAS IT WAS IT WAS, YOU KNOW, IT WAS DEFINITELY A LONG PROCESS, BUT IT WAS GRATIFYING.

IT IS GRATIFYING WHEN YOU GET THAT HELP BECAUSE YOU'RE FIGHTING YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS FOR SOMEONE JUST TO LISTEN.

>> THE HEARTBREAKING THING ABOUT THE PRODUCT PRACTICING AS AN INNOCENCE ATTORNEY AT SO MANY DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY.

THERE ARE BACKLOGS OF HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS OF LETTERS, PIECES OF PAPER TORN OUT OF A NOTEBOOK HANDWRITTEN LETTERS THAT COME IN FROM STATES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, SOMETHING OTHER COUNTRIES.

AND JUST THE MERE TASK OF SORTING THROUGH THAT MAIL AND BEING ABLE TO CORRESPOND MUCH LESS ENGAGE WITH THE FACT THAT EVERY CASE AND GET TO KNOW EACH PERSON HAS THE HUMAN BEING THAT THEY ARE.

IT'S AN ENORMOUSLY DAUNTING TASK FOR FOR WRONGFUL CONVICTION I MENTIONED ALSO INDICATE THAT THERE ARE FAR MORE PEOPLE WRONGFULLY CONVICTED IN PRISON.

THEN WE MICHELLE WIE MENTIONS THAT YOU'RE LAUNCHING A DIGITAL PLATFORM TO CIRCUMVENT SOME OF THESE BARRIERS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, THE PERIOD AT BRIEFLY BECAUSE WE'RE ALMOST OF TIME.

TELL US HOW IT WORKS.

PLEASE.

>> SO SHE DIGITAL PLATFORM FOR LEGAL CORRESPONDENT AND ADDRESSES THAT FINDING ATTORNEY AND MATCH WITH ATTORNEY.

>> THE PERSON WHO'S INCARCERATED HELP SOMEONE FIND THE ATTORNEY, THE UNIVERSE OF ATTORNEYS THAT CAN TAKE ON THEIR CASE INFORM THE ATTORNEY OF NECESSARY INFORMATION TO ASSESS THEIR CASE, GIVES THEM FEEDBACK ON WHETHER THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE ON THE CASE FOR THE ATTORNEYS, WHICH IS A HUGE VALUE PROPOSITION ONE FIND THOSE CLIENTS ARE TRYING TO REACH OUT TO THEM IN A FAST MANNER TO BE INFORMED OF WHAT THE INFORMATION WE NEED ON THEIR CASE.

ALSO TO REVIEW THAT INFORMATION AND RESPOND TO THEM IN A TIMELY MATTER.

ESPECIALLY DOES IS MINIMIZE THE COSTLY TO GET MORE TIMELY, ADMINISTRATIVE IN TAKE TEST SO WE CAN EXPEDITE THAT PROCESS FOR THEM TO FIGHT FOR THE CLIENTS.

OKAY.

ALMOST KIND OF LIKE DATING.

BUT FOR SO EXACT USER EXPERIENCE THAT I USE, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS FAMILIAR AND USER FRIENDLY.

>> BECAUSE PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO NAVIGATE THAT.

SO HOW CAN I THAT?

THAT'S EASY FOR ATTORNEYS TO NAVIGATE THAT.

THAT'S VERY MORE INTUITIVE.