Exonerated Edwin Chandler Launches Project to Help the Wrongfully Convicted

Edwin Chandler starts a new project to help exonerees re-enter society

Wrongfully convicted and imprisoned in Kentucky, Edwin Chandler spent nearly a decade in prison before he was exonerated in 2009. Now with the same courage and heart that brought him through the ordeal, Edwin Chandler is launching “The Chandler Project” which will work to help others who were wrongfully convicted across the country.

“We have exonerees popping up every day, you see it in your news, every — almost on a daily basis,” said Chandler. “And so, what do you do? You know, what are we doing to help those people once they get out and try to get their lives back together?”

Edwin Chandler considers the near-decade spent in prison the “lost years” — precious time he’ll never get back.

“I’m starting to get emotional because I just understand the damage and the totality that this has done, that this has taken from me,” said Chandler.

He says for the wrongfully convicted, there’s no program to help them transition back into society.

“When I got out of prison. It just wasn’t there. I didn’t have, you know, I didn’t have a path, I didn’t have anybody to look up to, I didn’t have a lot of things coming out of prison,” Chandler said. “And even more so because I didn’t do anything to be in prison – that’s the factor.”

Chandler hopes his project will become a household name, and lay the groundwork for a better future for all.

Edwin Chandler is here to talk about how he’s working to help other exonerees

“I want people to understand that the justice system is flawed, but we can fix it. We’re able to do that,” said Chandler. “And that’s what I’m doing now. It starts right here.”

He hopes as his project grows, so will awareness.

“When we can share our stories and make the public aware of what we’ve been through and what we’re trying to do, I think it’s going to go over really well,” said Chandler. “There’s no way that I would have known how much of a magnitude my life would be playing in other people’s lives, and that means a lot to me, you know, it’s really amazing. It’s a great feeling. And so, I’m grateful, and I’m thankful, to be here today.”

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