Texan of the Year: From prison to freedom


The day Christopher Scott was released from prison, a stranger walked up and introduced himself, then made what Scott thought was a suspicious offer: free use of a spacious apartment with a fully stocked refrigerator until he got settled and adjusted to life outside prison. Whatever Scott needed, the stranger was more than happy to provide.

As a newly freed exoneree, Scott was due more than $1 million from the state for the nearly 13 years he was wrongfully imprisoned. He had his guard up, even though the stranger, Steven Phillips, was himself an exoneree. Scott thanked Phillips but went to stay with his mother instead.

“How many people do you know who would come up to you and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got this apartment for you?’” Scott recalled thinking. Days later, Phillips called to reiterate his offer, working hard to break through the barrier of mistrust.

The persistence eventually worked, and Phillips and Scott formed an enduring friendship that now has expanded into a fraternity of exonerees whose mission is to help others making similarly difficult transitions from prison to freedom. With more than 87 men now on the growing list of exonerees collecting compensation from the state, there are lots of people in need of a helping hand.

Keep in mind that not every exoneree was an angel before going to prison. Some had prior arrest records. Scott, for example, was on probation for marijuana possession when he was arrested in 1997 and convicted of a murder he didn’t commit.

Some exonerees feel the lure of returning to old lifestyles and re-establishing unhealthy friendships. Through the House of Renewed Hope and the Texas Exonerees Project, Phillips, Scott and others volunteer to help their brethren build and maintain productive lifestyles and avoid frittering away their compensation packages.

They travel around the state to be present on a prisoner’s exoneration day in court. Anywhere from 15 to 20 exonerees are there, Scott says, and as soon as the judge’s declaration is final, they stand in line to shake the new exoneree’s hand. Each hands over $100. They help the new exoneree with the basics — clothes, a place to stay, assistance getting a Social Security card, driver’s license and bank account.

When the compensation money comes in, some exonerees start partying as if they’d won the lottery. Some get entangled again with the very legal system they’d just escaped. Phillips was arrested in 2011 for cocaine possession, putting millions of dollars in compensation at risk. Claude Simmons, who was convicted and exonerated in the same case as Scott, was arrested in November on a drug possession charge.

Whenever anyone seems to be veering close to the edge, “we have an intervention,” Scott says.

More potential entanglements loom when family members come asking for money. Phillips again found himself in the headlines in September when his ex-wife, who divorced him while he was in prison in 1991, sued for back payment of child support. A judge ordered Phillips to pay her $114,000.

It’s not a highly educated group, and certainly not one steeped in the skills of managing million-dollar bank accounts. Sometimes, only the voice of experience can break through when things go crazy, which is why the calm, reassuring, take-it-slowly message of people like Scott is what can make a difference in keeping exonerees on the right track.

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