Healing from 40 Years of Wrongful Conviction

I am an innocent man who was incarcerated for a crime I did not commit for 40 years. In October 2021 I walked out of the Washington State Reformatory in Monroe, WA as a free man for the first time in 4 decades. I was convicted in Snohomish County, WA of a terrible crime based on evidence that has since become completely discredited - microscopic hair comparison and bite marks, plus a statement the detectives wrote for me and tried to say was a "confession."

I was a 22-year-old father of two who had just gotten out of the Marine Corps when I was arrested in 1981, and convicted and sentenced in 1982 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. I always maintained my innocence and wrote to as many lawyers as I could to get help. They all said they would help me but only if I had enough money to pay them. I had nothing. Eventually, in 2004 the Washington Innocence Project agreed to take my case. Several rounds of DNA testing of evidence from the crime scene excluded me, which was helpful, but not enough to fully exonerate me in the eyes of the state.

After 17 years of work, my lawyers presented the county prosecutor with evidence that the forensic methods used against me in my case - hair microscopy and bitemark evidence - have been deeply discredited, resulting in the conviction of countless innocent people. The prosecutor quickly offered me the opportunity to walk out of the prison without any conditions if I would enter an "Alford Plea" to a lesser charge. (An "Alford Plea" is a way to take advantage of the terms of a prosecutor's offer without admitting guilt). I swore for years to my Washington Innocence Project lawyers that I would never plead to something I didn't do. But my mom is in poor health and she wanted me home. If it weren't for my mother, I would probably regret the decision, but I agreed to take the Alford Plea on October 5, 2021 in exchange for my immediate release. This means I can never get any kind of acknowledgment that I was wrongly convicted or any compensation for losing 40 years of my life. But on October 6, 2021, almost 40 years to the day from my arrest in 1981, I walked out a free man.

I went in as a 22-year-old kid, and came out as a 62 year-old man. The options available to me to support myself are a lot different than they would have been without being locked up for most of my life. Even though - other than the year that I fought cancer - I always worked full time, I generally made about $50 a month. But I have no social security. I have no retirement. Within a week of getting out, I started a full-time job as a dishwasher at a restaurant in the Pike Place Market. In addition to that I worked temporary jobs at Goodwill, doing graffiti removal, and eventually the night-shift at a gas station. I'm not afraid of work, but these jobs were all hard on me mentally and physically.

In my heart I always knew I would get out, I just didn't expect it to take as long as it did. I got through those 40 years of wrongful conviction with the dream of taking to the road, making jewelry, and spreading the word about the conviction of innocent people all over this country. Today, at nearly 64 years old, I realized I have no time to waste, so I found a van that I'm making payments on and equipped it with some tools to make jewelry so I can eventually support myself on the road.

I set this fundraising goal because it should be enough to support me on the road for about a year, while I make connections with people and build up my inventory of jewelry to sell so I can live the rest of my days on my terms.

In the meantime, I am hoping you'll consider supporting my journey so that I can continue my healing in freedom.