No one would blame Troshawn McCoy if he simply wanted to lead a quiet life. In 2017, McCoy was fully exonerated after spending 22 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Today, he is running several successful businesses, writing a book, filming a documentary, and he and his wife recently launched The Troshawn and Dana McCoy Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to serving other individuals and families impacted by wrongful convictions.
Keeping busy, he says, is the key to navigating the aftermath of so much lost time.
“I’m in a race against time, and I have to make the most of the time I have left,” McCoy said. “Spending time being angry, it would just make it that much worse. I have to move on. If I stayed in that space, I would be miserable.”
McCoy was the first of four teenagers arrested in Chicago in 1995 for a double murder and robbery. Despite the lack of physical or forensic evidence linking the teens to the crime, all were convicted and given lengthy prison sentences. All of the convictions have since been overturned, leading to a lawsuit in which the City of Chicago settled with the four men for a combined $50 million.
“My experience serves as a powerful reminder of the urgent need for systemic reform and the human capacity to overcome profound adversity,” McCoy said.
Chicago’s legacy of overturned convictions and hundreds of millions of dollars in lawsuit settlements has led the Innocence Project to nickname Illinois the “wrongful conviction capital of the country.” But no amount of money can compensate McCoy and other wrongfully imprisoned people for the years they’ve lost.
“While my settlement has provided financial stability, it underscores a poignant reality: material wealth cannot reclaim lost time,” McCoy commented. “I cannot buy back the 22 years taken from me.”
McCoy’s harrowing story underscores the personal and familial toll of wrongful imprisonment and the systemic failures in the criminal justice system. Demonstrating remarkable resilience and strength, he is working toward rebuilding his life while fighting for others facing similar circumstances.
And McCoy’s case isn’t an isolated one. Chicago has a long and troubling history of corrupt policing, particularly in cases involving young Black men. According to the Innocence Project, 540 wrongfully convicted people in Illinois have been exonerated — more than in any other state.
“I don’t know how it feels to be in your twenties, fall in love, dream of building a family, and create the steppingstones for your future,” McCoy said. “All of that was taken away from me as I sat in a cold jail cell, knowing the truth, but being unable to do anything about it. I was robbed of my young adulthood, almost like a time glitch, where you look up and your life is just starting at 37 years old.”
