Jeffrey Deskovic Photo Gallery

17 yrs old, on bail, not yet convicted. Mother at my side.

Dec 1990, 17 yrs old. The Day Justice Failed.

Jeff in 1991 at age 17 with Aunt Marlene. Taken in Elmira Correctional Facility.

1994, 21 yrs old, at Graduation in prison. I had received my A.S. in Liberal Arts from Corning Community College.

1997, 24 yrs old, in Elmira Correctional Facility .

Sept. 20, 2006. First few moments of freedom. Flanked by Innocence Project Co-Founder Barry Scheck and Innocence Project Attorney Nina Morrison. In back, Eleanor Jackson Piel, who represented me at the Federal Court of Appeals, the rearguement motion there, and at the U.S. Supreme Court. She had requested more sophisticated DNA Testing to be performed which then Westchester D.A. and former Attorney General Candidate Jeanine Pirro successfully blocked. It wasn't until new D.A. Janet DiFiore took office and the Innocence Project represented me that the testing was obtained, whose results cleared me.

Hugging My Aunt Lorraine. For the first times in approximately 16 years, I hugged my Aunt Lorraine while free, just moments after being released

Sept. 20, 2006. At press conference following release, with Innocence Project Co-Founder Barry Scheck and attorney Nina Morrisson . With the urgent need for reforms at the forefront of my mind, I spoke about it to the press, after being free for about 20 minutes. I also spoke of Frank Sterling, who remains wrongfully convicted based on a false confession obtained from him while under hypnosis. Thus far, The Innocence Project has been unable to secure his release, due to opposition by D.A.'s and judges in Rochester, N.Y.

2007, 33 yrs old, free for about 9 months.

2007, Giving a speech on wrongful convictions.

2007, answering a question following a speech on wrongful convictions.

2007, Close To Graduation. Mercy College gave me free tuition and books to complete my B.A. in Behavioral Science. When it looked like I would land in a homeless shelter, they then allowed me to stay for free on campus as well. I had been released from prison with nothing and was very struggling very much. I believe that everybody who has been released following wrongful conviction should be given immediate funds, aside from what is awarded from a lawsuit, to cover housing, cost of living, mental health services, education, health insurance.

Lecturing About Wrongful Convictions & Death Penalty.  Raising public awareness about wrongful convictions through lectures at Colleges, Universities, High Schools, Churches, and other Community Organizations country wide is a big part of my advocacy against wrongful convictions. Armed with the information that I give them regarding how frequently they occur, and the cracks in the system that cause them, they are then able to help by calling their Senators and Assemblymen and insist that they pass reforms, share information with friends and family and ask them to call as well, sign the petition on my website, and ask other places to invite me to speak there. Here I am speaking at The Ethical Cultural Society in White Plains. [photo courtesy of The New York Times]

Meet and Greet. As a people person, shaking hands and saying hello to the audience after the presentation is one of my favorite parts of delivering lectures. Here, I am very happy to shake hands with an audience members son.
[photo courtesy of The New York Times]

Attending A Press Conference/Rally for Kenneth Foster In Harlem, NY.
 Foster had been schedlued to be executed in Texas 72 hours later, for a crime he did not commit. A robbery spree he and a co-defendant went on ended hours prior, but they had never parted company. On the way home, the co-defendant got out of the car to talk to a woman, and wound up killing her boyfriend some 90 feet in front of Foster, and without his prior knowledge. We were part of a nationwide movement to call attention to the injustice, and persuade Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who had previously signed over a 160 death warrants, to stop his execution. [photo courtesy of The New York Times]
 

Trying To Prevent An Unjust Execution. Read the article I wrote about the effort. I spoke at the press conference/rally on behalf of Kenneth Foster, hoping that my presence and words would call further attention to his plight, and carry moral weight. My words were picked up and rebroadcast through various media outlets in other states. At noon of the day he was scheduled to be executed, his death sentence was commuted to life in prison without possibility of parole. Hopefully he will be able to regain his freedom down the line through further challenges, but this was an important first step. The case illustrates why the death penalty is not a good idea; innocent people will be caught up in it. Foster came frighteningly close to being executed. Playing a part in saving his life, albeit a small one, was one of my most proudest moments. [photo courtesy of The New York Times]

Press Conference Following The Sentencing of The Real Perpetrator with Laura Porter of New Yorkers Against The Death Penalty, with reporter Grace Noon of Channel 12 asking questions'. Steven Cunningham, the real murderer of Angela Correa, was sentenced to 20 years. Every time an innocent person is convicted, it leaves a perptrator free to strike again. Cunningham killed school teacher Pat Morrisson 3 1/2 years later after killing Ms. Correa. I had a mini press conference after the sentencing. At that time, the NY Legislature was contemplating both bringing the death penalty back to NY and passing reforms to slow down the rate at which wrongful convictions occur. Asked by the media if I was angry at Cunningham for remaining silent while I remained incarcerated for his crime, I told them that I didn't have time to be angry at Cunningham because I needed to focus on getting reforms passed and stopping the death penalty from returning to NY. The Senate passed the death penalty, while voting down the reforms. Fortunately The Assembly would not pass the death penalty, but the reforms that it passed didn't become law because the Senate would not pass it.  [photo courtesy of The New York Times]

Completing My Education  At 34 years old, my education disrupted by my wrongful incarceration, combined with then NY Governor George Pataki cutting the funding for prisoners to attend college which prevented me from completing my B.A. while incarcerated, I had to again be student, often with people who were much younger than I was, rather than having completed my education long ago and been solidly established financially.

One Of The Hidden Impacts of Wrongful Convictions: Difficulties Breaking In Socially. I would like to be able to have people to socialize, play sports, and have fun with who are between 25-37. It has been very difficult for me to break in socially. Most people have friends from college, work, friends of friends. But people at the college are too youg, I am never at the same place twice when I do presentations except for maybe 6 months later if they bring me back, and I don't know many in my age range that I can socialize with regularly who can introduce me to others. It very much is like being dropped off on a strange planet where I don't know anybody. I am free, but free to hang out with who? Free to go where and do what with who? Consequently, most of the time, I am by myself. Here, in an example, I eat by myself, contrasted with two much younger students, who are talking and having fun.

2007, Relearning the Basics of Life.   I have had to learn how to do many life activities that people whose lives have not been disruped learned to do when they were much younger. An example is shopping. Here Mercy College's Dean Shelley Alkin takes me shopping, while explaining which products are quality, and what to look for.
[photo courtesy of The New York Times]

Relearning The Basics Of Life.  Another example is learning to drive. Here, I am given instruction by Michael Collins of Tarrytown who reached out to me following his reading of my story in The Journal News.

On hot days in the summer while incarcerated, I used to stand under the cold shower and dream of swimming. As a youth, I used to live in the pool every summer at the apartment complex where I lived. Here I am swimming again for the first time in 16 1/2 years.

My Grandmother,The Late Betty Deskovic. My grandmother raised me along with my mother. She passed away while I was incarcerated. I was faced with the horrific decision of either going to see her while she was on her death bed but in a coma, or to attend the church service once she passed away. After much struggle, I elected to go see her while she was still alive. The memories of that decision, and the mistreatment that I underwent on the trip were the subject of an article I wrote, entitled "One Day In The Life Of A Prisoner", which can be found here.

Meeting My Brother. While incarcerated, I saw my younger brother just 3 times in 16 years. While speaking in Albany at Sienna College, I saw him for the first time while he was an adult. It felt strange seeing him all grown up, when my last memory of him was when he was still growing up. Not recognizing him, I had to ask my mother where he was. Here we engage in a group hug, our first in 16 and a half years.

Seeing my nephew for the first time.

Visiting with my Aunt Lorraine, following my speech. This was the first time that I had seen her since leaving Cobleskill 3 days after my release, in order to try to rebuild and situate my life. Also pictured is my brother Chris.