A LOT OF HARD TIME FOR INNOCENT GUYS.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

MODERN DNA evidence is slowly but surely freeing hundreds of men - most of them convicted on rape charges - who've spent years in prison for crimes they did not commit.

But as the documentary ``After Innocence'' heartbreakingly demonstrates, that's hardly the stuff of happy endings. Director Jessica Sanders follows eight exonerees as they try to adjust to civilian life after years, sometimes decades, behind bars. The film also shows, infuriatingly, how some of the states responsible for stealing those years often do as little as possible to make reparations or help their victims readjust.

Sanders scrupulously presents the particulars of each individual exoneree's life and case. Yet almost all of these men share a certain shell- shocked, tentative attitude, as if having been punished for something they didn't do has left them distrustful of everything, hope most significantly.

The one exception is Pennsylvania's Nicholas Yarris, a Type A personality who spent 23 years on Death Row and is now an intense, articulate and seemingly tireless advocate for penal reform (as well as, encouragingly if ironically, a sought-after speaker for corporate and government events).

Most of the others, however, are just trying to figure out how to get a job or a home of their own (some, though freed, have not had their criminal records expunged), or establish relationships with women who are understandably wary of guys who've done hard time for sexual assault. Many live in states that don't compensate exonerees for their lost years (California, one of 20 that does, pays $100 for each day served); most provide extensive services to guilty parolees that innocent exonerees don't qualify for.

Frustrating as all of this is, all of the men in the film appear to be winning their inner battle against the anger and bitterness that, however natural and justified, could ruin the free years they have left. At least, that's how Sanders presents them. If the whole truth is sometimes otherwise, it might well have been unbearable to watch.

The film also depicts the hard, dogged work that organizations such as The Innocence Project put into each case, as well as the cruel, bureaucratic stance that some prosecutors take in lieu of admitting mistakes were made. One Florida convict, Wilton Dedge, remained in prison three years after DNA cleared him, essentially on a procedural technicality that demonstrably shocked at least one judge.

While the film is rich in fascinating, factual information, the most remarkable aspect of ``After Innocence'' is its unfailing humanity. There's a CHP officer who clearly will never forgive himself for thinking like a cop instead of a father when his son was (wrongly, of course) accused. And to underline the fact that system flaws begin with human error, there's the story of Ronald Cotton and Jennifer Thompson, friends and activists now despite her having mistakenly identified him as the man who raped her many years ago.

Bob Strauss, [phone]

bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com

AFTER INNOCENCE - Three stars

(Not rated: language)

Director: Jessica Sanders.

Running time: 1 hr. 35 min.

Playing: Landmark's Nuart, West Los Angeles.

In a nutshell: Documentary follows a number of men exonerated after years spent in prison for crimes they did not commit. It's nice to see justice done and to learn the process for doing it. But so much unfairly stolen lifetime can't help but make one immensely sad.