Buffey Re-Entry Support Fund

Joe Buffey's friends, family, legal team, and community are seeking donations to assist Joe as he begins his long-awaited transition from fourteen years of wrongful imprisonment to life at home with his family in Harrison County, WV.

On March 10, 2016, Joe was released from prison on bond after the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals overturned his conviction for rape and robbery. The Court unanimously found that the State had violated Joe's constitutional rights by withholding DNA test results that directly supported Joe's longtime claim of innocence. Joe won that battle after many years of pro bono legal work by his lawyers at the Innocence Project and attorney Al Karlin of Morgantown WV. Michael Hissam and Ben Bailey of the law firm Bailey & Glasser joined the legal team this year.

Joe went to prison at the age of 19 and is now 33 years old. He is lucky to have the support of a loving family that has stood by him throughout his long ordeal. But his family has extremely limited funds, and Joe is on strict home confinement until his case is fully resolved. (You can read more about the case HERE and HERE .)

We are seeking donations to help Joe and his family with basic living expenses to ease his transition to civilian life.​ The funds donated will be limited to helping with costs of food, clothing, transportation, utilities​, phone/internet​, books, ​and medical/dental expenses.

The funds raised will not go to pay Joe's legal fees -- all of the lawyers on the case are representing Joe free of charge. The donations will be held by his lawyers in a separate account, to be given out to Joe as the need arises.