Unseen Scars: Addressing Mental Health Post-Incarceration

By Sanhita Sheth

“But it does leave its scars, and I’m definitely a different person now than when I went in.”

Mass incarceration continues to be a significant problem in the United States, with the country currently holding more than 1.9 million people in all its varying prisons, jails, psychiatric hospitals, and other facilities. Data from 2024 by the Prison Policy Initiative revealed that compared to any other nation, the U.S. locks up the highest number of people per capita, coming in at a rate of 583 per 100,000 residents. The conditions faced by people living in jails and prisons are far from adequate, causing incarcerated people to form serious health problems due to factors such as contaminated water, lack of proper nutrition, massive cold or heat exposures, and more. Local jails also have a multitude of people who require specific medical care and social services; however, jails consistently fail to deliver such necessities. With such horrific conditions, it’s no surprise that incarcerated people are being left with severe physical and psychological effects. One of these effects includes Post-Incarceration Syndrome, a PTSD-like condition that demonstrates how released prisoners are trapped in “cycles of incarceration” because even once they are freed, they have significant difficulties in finding and keeping jobs and housing.

While no person should be forced to live under such circumstances, what makes matters worse is that thousands of innocent people around the nation have been wrongfully convicted and are having to live in these surroundings. Studies have shown that currently, there are between four to six percent of people who are wrongfully incarcerated in the U.S. Stephanie Spurgeon, a team member of the Innocence Project of Florida (IPF), was a part of this statistic. She was wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for the manslaughter of an infant girl in 2008 and has first-hand experience of the negative mental and physical effects of incarceration, effects that she is still dealing with even post-incarceration.  In a recent interview IPF conducted with Stephanie, she discussed how her wrongful incarceration affected her mental health and left her with scars that would stay with her forever. In August 2020, Stephanie was finally released with the help of IPF; however, she was released with an Alford plea, meaning she maintained her innocence but had to give in to the conviction. With that, even though Stephanie was released, she was done so as a convicted felon, a title she is now forced to live with for the rest of her life. “Sure, it has made life more difficult, being a convicted felon,” she shared with IPF. When asked about her mental state and health after being released from prison, Stephanie noted, “I don’t think it would’ve attributed to any dementia, but definitely PTSD.” To cope with this, she did a lot of rapid-resolution therapy and used self-regulation tools.

Stephanie went to three different prisons, the first one being Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala. When she first arrived, she shared that there were no cameras and that “It was pretty bad. I realized quickly that I needed to do something. I’m gonna go to a dark place.” So, to prevent her mental health from deteriorating, she was able to land a position as a law clerk. Trying to maintain her confidence and a positive mindset, despite what was happening to her, Stephanie said, “That gave me an environment to go where I could refrain a little bit and try to learn and grow while I was still trapped.”Stephanie also went to the Hernando Correctional Institution, a women’s character base compound. While there, she said she maintained her position as a law clerk, was close to home, made friends whom she still talks to today, and that she “learned a lot about people who made bad decisions, went in, did their time, and are now home and are different people.” With this kind of exposure, she was taught a lot about the overall social stigma that goes along with convicted felons. Despite saying that she believes she may have come out of her incarceration more unscathed than others due to being hardheaded, she admitted, “But it does leave its scars, and I’m definitely a different person now than when I went in.” While she entered the whole situation, singing nursery rhymes and rocking babies, she came out knowing how to do things such as make car bombs.

Upon her release in 2020, Stephanie revealed in the IPF interview that her integration back into society wasn’t the easiest. Attesting to the conditions faced by those dealing with Post-Incarceration Syndrome, she said, “You come home, and you’re a convicted felon. Trying to find a place to live is next to impossible. Nobody wants a convicted felon living in their apartment complex or their neighborhood if there’s an HOA.” In 2021, IPF had written a three-page letter for Stephanie that she used as a letter of recommendation for jobs in Tampa. She re-used this letter in 2023 when trying to find a place to rent and updated it in 2024 when she took a position as a paralegal with IPF in Tallahassee. So even after all these years later, Stephanie said, “I still struggled.”  Towards the end of Stephanie’s interview, she explained how her incarceration also caused her to experience emotional detachment from her loved ones, stating, “If somebody’s mourning, I’m learning that I don’t think I have the tools to comfort people anymore.” She said being locked up inside for several years didn’t allow for any type of physical contact, adding, “You couldn’t be a shoulder to cry on.” Her struggle with physical contact has also been seen through small actions such as her boyfriend putting his hand on her, saying, “If we try to go to sleep, even if his hand’s just touching me, it’s touching me, and I'm hyper-focused.” Even with just a small form of physical contact, such as a hand touch, she said she has to tell her boyfriend to take his hand off her so that she can go to sleep.

         Stephanie’s journey, from pre- to post-incarceration, clearly demonstrates the kind of mental and physical toll such an experience can bring to an individual, especially to a person who has been innocent since day one. Despite her admittance to being left with scars, Stephanie has overcome so much, even sharing that her PTSD is now to a minimum. She joined IPF’s team as a paralegal and is now giving back by helping others who have also been wrongfully convicted and incarcerated, sharing, “What a dream job. Can you imagine working side-by-side with the people who helped you give you back your life essentially?” Her story serves as a representation for others who have been wrongfully incarcerated and are facing the negative aftermath effects that they should never lose hope nor undermine their skills and abilities, no matter how hard it gets.

 1 Sawyer, W., & Wagner, P. (2024, March 14). Mass incarceration: The Whole Pie 2024. Prison Policy Initiative. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2024.html 

2 Beneath the statistics: The Structural and Systemic Causes of Our Wrongful Conviction Problem. Georgia Innocence Project. (2022, March 24). https://www.georgiainnocenceproject.org/general/beneath-the-statistics-the-structural-and-systemic-causes-of-our-wrongful-conviction-problem/