16 | MARCH 9 • 2023 

told me that, historically, most wrongful 
conviction studies had focused not on the 
innocent persons themselves but on the 
causes of miscarriages of justice that expose 
systemic flaws in the criminal jus-
tice system,
” she said.
Zalman invited her, as 
a trauma researcher, 
into his world and 
challenged her to 
explore the human 
impact of wrongful 
conviction on the 
wrongfully con-
victed person’s life 
and the lives of their 
loved ones.
Konvisser is not a 
therapist. She tries to help 
exonerees connect with thera-
pists, but finding those who are qual-
ified and available is an ongoing challenge. 
“We must address immediate, comprehen-
sive psychosocial services for the newly 
released for a productive re-engagement 
with life, as well as long-term services nec-
essary to address the detrimental impacts 
of imprisonment and the unique obstacles 
faced upon reentry to life outside of prison,
” 
she said.
She sees herself as a story-listener, an 
advocate and a supporter of wrongfully 

convicted, freed and exonerated indi-
viduals. “I give them the opportunity to 
have a voice,
” she said. “My real passion 
became listening to the voices of wrongfully 
convicted, freed and exonerated 
individuals, in particular 
the innocent women, to 
learn from them about 
their experiences, the 
strategies that have 
helped them cope 
with their situations, 
and their ongoing 
needs to rebuild 
their shattered lives 
post-exoneration and 
move forward. It’s so 
important for them to tell 
their stories.
”
Konvisser also invites 
exonerees to share their experiences to 
build public awareness.
She has attended national conferences of 
the Innocence Network and is on the board 
of the local chapter of Proving Innocence, 
an organization dedicated to freeing 
individuals wrongfully convicted and 
imprisoned and assisting their reintegration 
into society. She works primarily with 
Michigan exonerees but has helped some 
women exonerees outstate as well. 
Konvisser says the public needs to know 

that winning an exoneration involves more 
than getting out of prison. The needs of 
exonerees are ever-changing, but the trau-
ma is lifelong. 
“When they first come out of prison, 
there’s an exuberance, a rush to action — 
and then there’s a crash,
” she said. 
It’s usually hard for exonerees to find 
jobs. Some are senior adults when they 
come out of prison and face problems with 
housing and health care. Many suffer from 
post-traumatic stress disorder and the 
stigma that accompanies it. The material, 
relational, physical and emotional challeng-
es affect families as well as the exonerees 
themselves.
In 2009, Michigan passed a law to pro-
vide compensation for people wrongfully 
convicted and imprisoned, but receiving 
compensation requires a separate court 
process, which can be re-traumatizing, 
Konvisser said.
In some ways, the exonerees’ experience 
is similar to that of Holocaust survivors, 
said Konvisser, who is an oral historian 
at the Zekelman Holocaust Center in 
Farmington Hills. “We need to give them 
voice and hear their stories,” she said.
She has developed long-term relation-
ships with many of those she works with. 
“My biggest honor is to be called ‘Mom,’” 
she said. 

Zieva 
Konvisser

“THE EMOTIONAL POWER OF WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS IS SO 
“THE EMOTIONAL POWER OF WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS IS SO 
STRONG THAT IT CAN BE A LEVER TO LOOK INTO THE OVERALL 
STRONG THAT IT CAN BE A LEVER TO LOOK INTO THE OVERALL 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.”
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.”

— MARVIN ZALMAN

continued from page 14

OUR COMMUNITY
ON THE COVER

