When I was a child, I remember having a reoccurring nightmare in which I was trapped in a very small room, where I could not really move around, and I could not escape no matter how hard I fought to free myself. In my dream, I had no idea how I had become trapped in the room, and I would inevitably begin screaming for my mother to come and find me and help me get out my mother never came. The dream always ended with me becoming so frightened in it, that my fear would violently jar me awake. My terror in the dream was amplified because I am extremely claustrophobic (I have an extreme fear of being trapped in small spaces).
My greatest fear -that had played out in my nightmares as a child- came true in 1998 when I was arrested and accused of a murder and robber that I did not commit and then placed into a 9’X12′ concrete prison cell. Just like in my dream, I could not figure out how I had got there, and no one came to rescue me no matter how loud I screamed for help. Unlike my childhood nightmare, I cannot wake up (to freedom) by jarring myself awake. I am trapped and have been for nearly twenty-four years now.
Imagine being wrongly accused and convicted of a crime that would lead to a sentence of “death by incarceration” (Life Without the Possibility of Parole) in a 9’X12′ cell in California’s state prison system. At first, we all believe that something like that could never happen to us or someone we love, but it can and does happen to a select few like myself, and we are crying out for anyone who will listen to come to our rescue.
In my case there is scientific evidence (DNA on DuctTape used to tie the victims up with Fingerprints at the crime scene and on a stolen getaway car and shoe prints left in dirt area where the actual three perpetrators had walked through on their way to commit the crimes) which law enforcement agencies failed to investigate or concealed, and that now the courts refuse to have tested and allow me to present as exonerating evidence. I have repeatedly sought to bring this evidence to light to prove my innocence, and the courts have repeatedly shut their doors in my face. In essence, I have been screaming for nearly twenty-four years for someone to help me, and no one has been listening.
My prayer is that you will hear and join me in calling attention to my wrongful conviction, and thereby, help me to find a way out of this nightmare.
To be clear, I am not antigovernment or anti law enforcement nor am I one who believes that our Criminal Justice System is “completely broken” beyond all repair. I believe that our Criminal Justice System does have a few serious cracks in it that must be fixed by our society and that those of us whom have fallen through those cracks need to be heard and lifted back out.
My prayer is that you will join me in calling attention to my wrongful conviction, and thereby, help me to find a way out of this nightmare.