By Ashonti Ford

As the White House renews its push for criminal justice reform, two Illinois men are putting a human face on one of the justice system’s most painful failures: wrongful convictions.

Frankie Benitez and Troshawn McCoy were both teenagers when court documents show they were arrested in Chicago and pressured into confessing to crimes they did not commit. Combined, they spent more than 50 years in prison — lost decades in what’s known as the “wrongful conviction capital of the country.”

“I never thought it was going to happen. I still thank God every day that I’m out,” said Benitez, who was exonerated after spending 34 years in prison. He now works security at the Field Museum in Chicago, slowly adjusting to life in a world he no longer recognizes since he was released. “My

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