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Stefanie Faucher
Nov 24, 2014, 2:30:35 PM11/24/14
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This email includes:
Democracy Now: Ohio Man Freed After 39 Years on Wrongful Conviction; Longest-Held U.S. Prisoner to Be Exonerated
ThinkProgress: These Two Men Spent 39 Years In Jail And Were Sentenced To Death For A Crime They Did Not Commit
Press Advisory: OTSE Establishes Fund to Support New Exonerees
______
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/11/24/headlines/ohio_man_freed_after_39_years_behind_bars_on_wrongful_conviction
Democracy Now
Ohio Man Freed After 39 Years on Wrongful Conviction; Longest-Held U.S. Prisoner to Be Exonerated
November 24, 2014
An Ohio man has been freed from prison after spending 39 years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit. Ricky Jackson, a 59-year old African-American man, had been jailed since 1975 on a murder conviction. The prosecution’s case was based on the testimony of a 13-year old witness. After a 2011 investigation, the witness recanted his testimony, saying he had implicated Jackson and two others under police coercion. The witness, Eddy Vernon, said police had fed him the story and threatened him with the arrest of his parents if he didn’t cooperate. On Friday, Ricky Jackson was freed after prosecutors dropped the case.
Ricky Jackson: "How does it feel? Extraordinary. Needless to say, you know, words can’t express what I feel right now. I’m just glad to be out, glad to be a free man."
Reporter: "What are you going to do? Where are you going to go?"
Ricky Jackson: "Wow. I mean, you know, you sit in prison for so long and you think about this day. But when it actually comes, you don’t know what to do, you just want to do something besides what you’ve been doing for 39 years."
Reporter: "When you heard the judge say an hour ago you’re a free man, goodbye, talk about what you were feeling. What was going on that we couldn’t see?"
Ricky Jackson: "I mean, it was like an emotional rollercoaster. It was just, I mean, the English language doesn’t fit what I’m feeling now. I’m just on an emotional high right now.
With nearly four decades wrongfully behind bars, Jackson is the longest-held U.S. prisoner to be exonerated. Another defendant who served slightly less time, Wiley Bridgeman, has also been released.
______
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/11/24/3596124/two-innocent-men-who-were-sentenced-to-die-for-a-murder-they-did-not-commit-are-now-free/
ThinkProgress
These Two Men Spent 39 Years In Jail And Were Sentenced To Death For A Crime They Did Not Commit
by Ian Millhiser
Posted on November 24, 2014 at 8:51 am Updated: November 24, 2014 at 10:08 am
On May 19, 1975, Ricky Jackson was a 20-year-old ex-Marine who had recently received an honorable discharge for health reasons. His 17-year-old friend Ronnie Bridgeman worked at a restaurant while he trained to be a welder at a nearby trade school. The two spent that day playing pick-up basketball at a local playground and then a game of chess at the Bridgeman home while Ronnie’s brother Wiley was washing his car outside. Meanwhile, in another part of their home town, a white businessman was killed by unknown assailants.
Less than a week later, all three were under arrest for a murder that they did not commit. Ronnie was finally paroled in 2003. Ricky Jackson and Wiley Bridgeman, by contrast, were just released from prison on Friday. It took 39 years for the state of Ohio to discover that it had locked up three men for a crime they did not commit.
Ricky and Wiley most likely owe their freedom to a 2011 article published by the Cleveland Scene which laid out the weakness of the case against them. The men were convicted based on the testimony of a 13-year-old boy with poor eyesight and conflicting stories. The boy, now a grown man, later filed an affidavit admitting that he never saw the murder. He also claims that he was threatened by police into identifying Jackson as one of the murderers.
“The detective said that I was too young to go to jail,” the witness said, “but he would arrest my parents for perjury because I was backing out. My mom was sick at that time, and that really scared me. I didn’t want my parents to get in trouble over this.”
The three innocent men were originally sentenced to death. Their lives were saved by a 1978 Supreme Court decision striking down an Ohio law making the death penalty mandatory in many murder cases.
______
Ohioans to Stop Executions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 22, 2014
OTSE Establishes Fund to Support New Exonerees
Columbus – In the wake of the exoneration and release of several men wrongly convicted for a murder they had nothing to do with, Ohioans to Stop Executions and the Ohio Innocence Project have established on-line fund raising campaigns to help the men begin a new life of freedom.
“These men spent nearly 4 decades in prison,” said Kevin Werner, executive director of the statewide anti-death penalty organization. “Right now they have nothing.”
The Ohio Innocence Project established a “GoFundMe” campaign for Ricky Jackson on Thursday when it became clear that he was about to be released. On Friday after Wiley Bridgeman was in process to also be released, attorney Terry Gilbert, who represents Bridgeman, asked Ohioans to Stop Executions to establish a similar fund.
“We’re heading into the holiday season,” said Werner. “These men were wrongly sent to death row and spent decades in prison when they were completely innocent. We invite anyone who would like to help them get back on their feet to join us in this effort.”
Donors who don’t like to use credit cards on the internet may send a check to Ohioans to Stop Executions, clearly labeled “OTSE Exoneration Fund” in the memo line. All funds collected will go directly to Jackson, Bridgeman, and their co-defendant, Kwame Ajamu, formerly known as Ronnie Bridgeman.
Links to the on-line fund campaigns are http://www.gofundme.com/wiley and http://www.gofundme.com/rickyjackson. Checks made to “OTSE” with “Exoneration Fund” in the memo line may be sent to Ohioans to Stop Executions, 9 E. Long St., Suite 202., Columbus, Ohio 43215.
Ohioans to Stop Executions is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working to end the death penalty in Ohio. For more information about our work, contact our office at 614-560-0654 or by email at in...@otse.org
______
--
Stefanie Faucher
Communications Director
8th Amendment Project
sfau...@8thamendment.org
Mobile 510.393.4549
8thamendment.org
Democracy Now: Ohio Man Freed After 39 Years on Wrongful Conviction; Longest-Held U.S. Prisoner to Be Exonerated
ThinkProgress: These Two Men Spent 39 Years In Jail And Were Sentenced To Death For A Crime They Did Not Commit
Press Advisory: OTSE Establishes Fund to Support New Exonerees
______
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/11/24/headlines/ohio_man_freed_after_39_years_behind_bars_on_wrongful_conviction
Democracy Now
Ohio Man Freed After 39 Years on Wrongful Conviction; Longest-Held U.S. Prisoner to Be Exonerated
November 24, 2014
An Ohio man has been freed from prison after spending 39 years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit. Ricky Jackson, a 59-year old African-American man, had been jailed since 1975 on a murder conviction. The prosecution’s case was based on the testimony of a 13-year old witness. After a 2011 investigation, the witness recanted his testimony, saying he had implicated Jackson and two others under police coercion. The witness, Eddy Vernon, said police had fed him the story and threatened him with the arrest of his parents if he didn’t cooperate. On Friday, Ricky Jackson was freed after prosecutors dropped the case.
Ricky Jackson: "How does it feel? Extraordinary. Needless to say, you know, words can’t express what I feel right now. I’m just glad to be out, glad to be a free man."
Reporter: "What are you going to do? Where are you going to go?"
Ricky Jackson: "Wow. I mean, you know, you sit in prison for so long and you think about this day. But when it actually comes, you don’t know what to do, you just want to do something besides what you’ve been doing for 39 years."
Reporter: "When you heard the judge say an hour ago you’re a free man, goodbye, talk about what you were feeling. What was going on that we couldn’t see?"
Ricky Jackson: "I mean, it was like an emotional rollercoaster. It was just, I mean, the English language doesn’t fit what I’m feeling now. I’m just on an emotional high right now.
With nearly four decades wrongfully behind bars, Jackson is the longest-held U.S. prisoner to be exonerated. Another defendant who served slightly less time, Wiley Bridgeman, has also been released.
______
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/11/24/3596124/two-innocent-men-who-were-sentenced-to-die-for-a-murder-they-did-not-commit-are-now-free/
ThinkProgress
These Two Men Spent 39 Years In Jail And Were Sentenced To Death For A Crime They Did Not Commit
by Ian Millhiser
Posted on November 24, 2014 at 8:51 am Updated: November 24, 2014 at 10:08 am
On May 19, 1975, Ricky Jackson was a 20-year-old ex-Marine who had recently received an honorable discharge for health reasons. His 17-year-old friend Ronnie Bridgeman worked at a restaurant while he trained to be a welder at a nearby trade school. The two spent that day playing pick-up basketball at a local playground and then a game of chess at the Bridgeman home while Ronnie’s brother Wiley was washing his car outside. Meanwhile, in another part of their home town, a white businessman was killed by unknown assailants.
Less than a week later, all three were under arrest for a murder that they did not commit. Ronnie was finally paroled in 2003. Ricky Jackson and Wiley Bridgeman, by contrast, were just released from prison on Friday. It took 39 years for the state of Ohio to discover that it had locked up three men for a crime they did not commit.
Ricky and Wiley most likely owe their freedom to a 2011 article published by the Cleveland Scene which laid out the weakness of the case against them. The men were convicted based on the testimony of a 13-year-old boy with poor eyesight and conflicting stories. The boy, now a grown man, later filed an affidavit admitting that he never saw the murder. He also claims that he was threatened by police into identifying Jackson as one of the murderers.
“The detective said that I was too young to go to jail,” the witness said, “but he would arrest my parents for perjury because I was backing out. My mom was sick at that time, and that really scared me. I didn’t want my parents to get in trouble over this.”
The three innocent men were originally sentenced to death. Their lives were saved by a 1978 Supreme Court decision striking down an Ohio law making the death penalty mandatory in many murder cases.
______
Ohioans to Stop Executions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 22, 2014
OTSE Establishes Fund to Support New Exonerees
Columbus – In the wake of the exoneration and release of several men wrongly convicted for a murder they had nothing to do with, Ohioans to Stop Executions and the Ohio Innocence Project have established on-line fund raising campaigns to help the men begin a new life of freedom.
“These men spent nearly 4 decades in prison,” said Kevin Werner, executive director of the statewide anti-death penalty organization. “Right now they have nothing.”
The Ohio Innocence Project established a “GoFundMe” campaign for Ricky Jackson on Thursday when it became clear that he was about to be released. On Friday after Wiley Bridgeman was in process to also be released, attorney Terry Gilbert, who represents Bridgeman, asked Ohioans to Stop Executions to establish a similar fund.
“We’re heading into the holiday season,” said Werner. “These men were wrongly sent to death row and spent decades in prison when they were completely innocent. We invite anyone who would like to help them get back on their feet to join us in this effort.”
Donors who don’t like to use credit cards on the internet may send a check to Ohioans to Stop Executions, clearly labeled “OTSE Exoneration Fund” in the memo line. All funds collected will go directly to Jackson, Bridgeman, and their co-defendant, Kwame Ajamu, formerly known as Ronnie Bridgeman.
Links to the on-line fund campaigns are http://www.gofundme.com/wiley and http://www.gofundme.com/rickyjackson. Checks made to “OTSE” with “Exoneration Fund” in the memo line may be sent to Ohioans to Stop Executions, 9 E. Long St., Suite 202., Columbus, Ohio 43215.
Ohioans to Stop Executions is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working to end the death penalty in Ohio. For more information about our work, contact our office at 614-560-0654 or by email at in...@otse.org
______
--
Stefanie Faucher
Communications Director
8th Amendment Project
sfau...@8thamendment.org
Mobile 510.393.4549
8thamendment.org
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