Beverly Monroe spent 11 years trying to prove her innocence after being convicted of a crime she did not commit.  In March of 1992, Monroe found her long time boyfriend dead with a pistol in his hand.  Because prosecutors withheld evidence showing the likely cause of death to be a suicide, Monroe was found guilty of both first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.  Monroe was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Convinced of her mother’s innocence, Monroe’s eldest child, a lawyer, quit her job and spent the next six years trying to find evidence to prove it.  Kate Monroe assembled a team of lawyers to take on her mother’s case.  Due to her tireless efforts, Beverly Monroe was released after 11 years’ imprisonment. However, Monroe was never compensated for the time she spent in prison.

One particular problem exonerated people have is obtaining a job.  While employers were empathetic to Monroe’s story, they still weren’t willing to hire her.  

Larry Peterson, who spent 17 years in prison and was later exonerated through DNA testing, shares Monroe’s problems.  He describes the experience of trying to find a job: "When they go to an employer and they bring the newspaper saying they were exonerated, the employer says, 'Well, that's wonderful. But, you know, you've got a 20-year black hole. And besides, even if you were innocent, you hung around some pretty mean characters for 20 years. I'm f—— sorry, you just don't have the skill set I need. I wish you well, but I can't hire you.' And, 'I can't give you this apartment.' And, 'I can't give you credit.'"        

Monroe, who has a master’s degree in chemistry, now works as a low-paid administrative assistant with no benefits.
Monroe’s ordeal changed the career path of her daughter Kate, who was a former board member of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and now heads the Utah Rocky Mountain Innocence Project.  In 2008, Utah Governor Jon Huntsman signed a law that Kate helped pass through the legislature that gives exonerated prisoners approximately $35,000 for each year they were in prison up to 15 years and erases their criminal record.  However, since Monroe was convicted in Virginia, and Virginia has no such law, Monroe has not been compensated.    

Click here to read CBS News' coverage. 

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