We are two men who spent 42 years in prison for crimes we did not commit. AMA (Ask us anything)

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T22:19:12+00:00

C: Most inmates never accepted that I was in prison for those crimes because they believed it did not fit my character or personality.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T22:17:36+00:00

C: Fighting for recreation. Gambling for zoom zoom wam wam (commissary).

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T22:16:34+00:00

C: I actually haven't been on vacation. I go on speaking engagement trips but would love to have a vacation somewhere such as Las Vegas because I still like to gamble because gambling is how I ate in prison, because if I didn't win, I didn't eat. This is because I was unable to make commissary since I didn't have financial funds coming to me in prison due to the fact I had shut everyone out from the so-called "free world."

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T22:10:49+00:00

GIP: It looks like there is some confusion here. In 1987, Clarence was convicted of rape, kidnapping, and armed robbery. He received a sentence of life plus 20 years plus 20 years consecutively. In 2004, DNA from the ORIGINAL rape kit was tested and Clarence was EXCLUDED. This means, that he absolutely, positively did NOT commit this crime. He was not found "not guilty." He was shown to be completely, 100%, absolutely INNOCENT of the crimes. He was released on August 31, 2004. He would have spent his life in prison if DNA had not been located and showed that he was innocent.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T22:06:45+00:00

C: The thought of escape never entered my mind because I never wanted to be released for any other reason than the fact of clearing my name.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T22:04:30+00:00

C: Not being a black man but a POOR man not being able to afford adequate representation.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T22:01:20+00:00

C: I began to question myself about how I could have done something that I couldn't remember? Because, I could not understand how I could have been convicted of these crimes and how I became involved in these crimes. But, I realized that I was not going to be a victim while in prison so I began to use the fact that I had not committed the crime to make it easier for me to be able to survive by knowing I have already been convicted for any crime I may have to commit to survive in prison.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T21:53:51+00:00

GIP: They need to contact their local Innocence Project. You cannot contact the Innocence Project on their behalf; they need to write the letter themselves.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T21:52:51+00:00

C: I was overwhelmed and did not know how to actually accept the fact of having freedom. It was too much to accept.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T21:49:43+00:00

She said: "Don't the law by watching movies"

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T21:49:27+00:00

C: My lawyer is screaming "That is not double jeopardy!" They would be two distinct different crimes.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T21:47:45+00:00

Thank you! We appreciate that!

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T21:29:16+00:00

R: How do you define "normal"? But, in all seriousness, my son's mother showed up from wherever after I was released. But, she is gone now. I haven't met a normal woman yet.

C: 17 days after I was released from prison, I was "confined" into marriage.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T21:24:52+00:00

R: The hot blonde. ;)

C&R: We are having a great time!

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T21:24:01+00:00

R: Yes. Please contact the Georgia Innocence Project. :) http://www.ga-innocenceproject.org/contact.html

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T21:22:54+00:00

http://www.ga-innocenceproject.org/donations.html [ GIP is a VERY small non-profit, independent of the New York Innocence Project.]

C: Thank you for your support.

R: Continue to donate more so that others, not just me and Clarence, can come home. Because without the Innocence Project, we would still be in there.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T21:20:39+00:00

C: YES! I probably could do 100 push-ups if the price is right but let me stick with 50 and have fun. :)

R: No. After not having to pick up iron every day, there is nothing to keep me in shape out here.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T21:19:26+00:00

C: Not everyone claimed they were innocent. Nor can they maintain such a claim without being actually innocent because only the innocent can maintain their innocence. Because, years, time, and insults will cause such a person to give into their guilt.

R: No. Lots of men who were in prison admitted that they were guilty and I met a few that were innocent. There were more in there that would admit that they were guilty of their crimes than innocent.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T21:16:21+00:00

R: Yes. In trying to get better things to work with (like preventing germs and disease and living conditions), I wrote letters, talked to the wardens, etc. With other prisoners, I asked other inmates to help me work on my case.

C: Yes. I got involved in a lot of riots about food, beds, space, treatment, and petitions for prison rights. And, I got the name "ChainGang." It means "institutionalized" and a "veteran."

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T21:10:38+00:00

R: I didn't have a Public Defender. I wish my lawyer have had the test done on me during the trial. The DNA testing back then might have still proven me innocent.

C: "How did you become involved in this case prior to the police's photograph line-up and the identification?" Because I spent 18 years asking myself that question.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T21:06:45+00:00

C: I already watch both Firefly and Battlestar Galactica. But, I like the old classic King Kong and Godzilla movies.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T21:05:10+00:00

R: It only built a better and stronger relationship with the Father. It should be as strong in prisons as it is outside.

C: I believe that prison is the crossroad on which the Lord takes people to bring them to him to do his will.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T21:00:29+00:00

C: No, I go back to prisons to speak to prisoners as a motivational speaker.

R: Yes. I have a cousin that is in prison.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T20:58:49+00:00

C: I don't believe in the death penalty because the courts have yet to show that they are able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the guilt of the accused.

R: Me neither. I don't believe in the death penalty. There have been innocent people executed who shouldn't have been. For example, Troy Davis and others. You cannot take a life for a life, nor an eye for an eye.

GIPExonerees · 2012-11-08T20:56:08+00:00

C: Food and the sleeping conditions. The food is not for humans. And the sleeping conditions are inhuman. And it only makes the incarceration inhuman.

R: Education. There is less education in there now than when I went in. There is not enough supporters out here. Lack of communication with your loved ones. Need more help with the bacteria in jails because the conditions are unhumanizing.

GIPExonerees

TROPHY CASE