A family with a lot to celebrate!

Thanks to all who came to help welcome John Smith home and make his Exoneration Party a success!

The Grand Entrance.

John made his grand entrance shortly after everyone had arrived, and guests greeted him with a cheerful round of applause.  His grandmother, who celebrated her 80^th birthday two days before, was by his side dressed in a lovely navy blue suit that she picked out especially for the occasion.  The celebration was replete with lawyers, activists, journalists and others passionate about issues related to wrongful convictions. Filmmaker Court Crandall (director of “Free Throw”) and his crew were also present to capture the joyous event.

Court Crandall and his crew, doing their best to go unnoticed

Innocence Matters founder Deirdre O’Connor made a few brief remarks related to the Innocence Matters victory and expressed gratitude to those who have donated both time and money to the cause.  Board member Jessica Farris, who worked extensively on John’s case as an intern, also spoke briefly about her experience at Innocence Matters.  And, of course, the guest of honor, John, took the opportunity to show his appreciation for all the hard work and effort of those who played a role in bringing his innocence to light.   “The past six weeks have been the best six weeks of my life!  I can’t even begin to say how much I appreciate all you have done.”

Since John’s grandmother is the most important person in his life, Innocence Matters made a point to honor her.   A highlight of the event was when guests surprised John and his grandmother by serenading her with “Happy Birthday” and bringing out a large cake complete with eight birthday candles each representing every decade of her life.

John and party guests enjoyed the magnificent view from the roof and the ground

The intimate gathering was successful due to the generosity and selflessness of some many.  A special thanks to hostesses Kristina and her grandmother Debra for opening their lovely home for this occasion and to the Innocence Matters volunteers who make all things happen!  We also extend our heartfelt appreciation to the following local businesses that provided beverages and a variety of culinary delights for our guests to enjoy:

• Bristol Farms, Rolling Hills Estates, CA
• Chicken Maison, Rolling Hills Estates, CA
• Homegirl Café, Los Angeles, CA
• Fanoos, Torrance, CA
• Fresh and Easy, Harbor City, CA
• Mayer’s Bakery, Rolling Hills Estates, CA
• The Appetizer, Rolling Hills Estates, CA
• Palace Surplus Inc., Inglewood, CA

In addition, guests showered John with gifts and donations including clothing, books, movie tickets, and gift certificates to name a few.

This pile of letters is likely filled with many more John Smiths

Since John’s exoneration, Innocence Matters has received over 400 requests for help from people in situations similar to John’s. Your generous donations will enable us to bring other innocent people home.  Those who are passionate about our mission and would like to donate your time and/or expertise are encouraged to contact us!

More about John’s case, the party and the plight of the innocent can be found in Our Weekly’s Guilty until proven . . . by Josanta Gray

Why

It’s time to celebrate!

On September 24, 2012, after a nineteen-year struggle to prove his innocence, John Smith was finally released from prison and reunited with his family.

John’s grandmother, Mrs. Laura Neal, will join us–just two days after her 80th birthday–to celebrate John’s release.  In 1994, Mrs. Neal and her late husband mortgaged their home to pay a private law firm $65,000 to save their innocent grandson. This firm’s mistakes cost John his freedom for another eighteen years.

Who

Award winning screenwriter (Old School) and documentary filmmaker (Free Throw) Court Crandall is very interested in learning more about John’s story.  Court and his crew will be there to celebrate, mingle and document the celebration!

Our Weekly journalist Josanta Gray is covering John’s story; she will be on hand to discover more about John’s journey home and his recent efforts to rebuild his life.

Lawyers, activists and others concerned with the integrity of the criminal justice system have already RSVP’d.   Request your invitation to John Smith’s Exoneration Party before it is too late!

The Innocence Matters Blog is primarily a forum for folks to discuss ways to improve the system and prevent wrongful convictions, to acknowledge recent exoneration victories, and to share news specific to Innocence Matters.   We wish every innocent person a speedy exoneration!

“Would you please, please, please look into my false accusation case.  . . . I really need some guidance even if you cannot help.  I am truly and actually innocent of a crime that did not even happen.”

“My family has struggled for years trying to raise money to reopen [my son’s] case and prove his innocence.  I urge you please help us in doing so, you are our only hope.”

“I was watching KCR news this evening and saw the clip that you helped an innocent man get out of jail after many years.  I have been praying for God to direct me to someone who can help my son.”

“It seemed as though when I feel like giving up, something tells me there is still hope. I am anxious, nervous, full of mixed emotions.  I turned on the TV last night only to find that there is some hope for my best friend.

Virtually all reported searching for help for years–sometimes decades, only to be denied time and time again.  Most never heard of Innocence Matters before September 24.  Why would they?   We were just a small group of committed people, passionate about helping John and willing to do so on a shoestring budget.

And now with 400+ people asking for our help, we are going to do what we can to quickly secure the necessary funding so that we can help as many as possible from Los Angeles County.  We will work closely together with our colleagues in the innocence community to find advocates for those outside Los Angeles County.

You can help us reach more people by donating, assisting us with our grant-writing and fundraising campaigns, or volunteer to serve as a pro bono attorney for one of the many new innocence cases.  Contact us to let us know how you can help!

“Well, John,” I explained, “my daughter’s just looking for an easy way to distinguish you two.”  ’New’ John is the more recent client, a man who has yet to experience all the joys of waiting the interminable wait of good news following an Order to Show Cause.  Heck we haven’t even filed his petition yet.  Nevertheless, aside from that, sadly, the two gang cases are virtually indistinguishable.

“So, John, I’m not sure you’ll be OK with the options.  You see, when I explained to my daughter that ‘old John’ might be a little insulting, my daughter decided from that day forward you shall be called ‘Fluffy Tree’ and the other John shall be called ‘Poofy Tree.’”

I’m absolutely certain new John will not be enamored with ‘Poofy Tree.’  Though, as it turns out, old John is OK with Fluffy Tree.  Maybe everything is OK once you’ve been released from prison after nineteen years of doing someone else’s time.

The night before John–a.k.a. Fluffy–got out, my daughter made him a welcome home present–her rendering of a fluffy tree, pictured above!  John was so sweet to stop the interns and I before we nearly absconded with the artwork.  ”Wait, wait!  I forgot my fluffy tree!”  He reached into the front seat of my car and retrieved fluffy tree.

Here’s hoping for a happy ending for Poofy Tree.

Innocence Matters first exoneree, John Smith, will start blogging his thoughts about his newfound freedom and the long journey to September 24, 2012.

Well, that is, once we can figure out how to work his recently donated laptop!

About an hour before, Deirdre learned and conveyed to John that the judge assigned to his case was ill and could not make it to court.  At the scheduled court time, a stand-in judge allowed John through the doors to hear that there was nothing to do but wait until Monday.

So John got cold metal around his wrists instead of his grandmother’s warm hands in his.  He got a lonely meal for his empty, agitated stomach instead of the boisterous pizza dinner we planned.  He got two more days incarcerated for a crime we all acknowledge he did not commit.

John’s family walked out of the courthouse with the clothes and shoes they packed for him and with heavy, downcast heads.  We all parted, “Until Monday….”

As a student who worked on this case, as a law graduate about to embark on my legal career, as a human with an upset stomach and tense shoulders, I have competing and complicated feelings today–the day after John was supposed to be freed.  I’m devastated that John has to wait even one more second incarcerated, that he has any reason to doubt Monday, and that he’s probably not sleeping well.  I’m also shoving my own doubt about Monday going off without a hitch into a small corner of my gut to make way for the bright exhilaration I feel shining out of my middle when I envision John hugging his family, making his statements, and chewing his pizza.

I’ll visit John tomorrow in jail and I’ll be excited, happy, and jokey.  But today, I’m mad that I’ll have to fake those emotions.  Until Monday….

It held all the promise of a magnificent day!  My first visit with John in the morning was the highlight.  He walked in tired and uncertain.  The transfer from prison to county jail had been a long process which left him with no sleep.  They did not assign him a dorm until 5:00 a.m. and by then it was time to get in the line for the bus that would take him to court.  When he got to the courthouse lock up they served him peanut butter and jelly, which he could not eat due to his peanut allergy.  Sleep-deprived and hungry, John was eager for good news.  ”Please tell me something good,” John begged.  Glad to oblige, my friend, “You’re going home, John.  It’s over.  It’s a definite, you’re going home.”  John put both of his hands on the glass that separated us, as if to hug me.  I returned the hug.  We spent the next half hour just being happy, and planning our celebratory pizza dinner.  ”There are four great pizza places near my grandmother’s–if they’re still there.  A Dominos, a Pizza Hut . . .”  I busted out laughing, amused by how little John required to be happy.  ”Let me get the interns on it and see what they come up with.”  When I left he was happy.

The interns and I–with nothing left to do but wait until 2 o’clock–went to a have a celebratory lunch.  Just after the food arrived, we got the phone call: the assigned judge, the one who had studied the case and held several conferences with the attorneys, was sick and John’s case would have to be put over until Monday.    

We rushed back to lock up to deliver the bad news to John.

I knew it! “(John punched his hand twice and then buried his face in both hands for a moment.  When he looked at me, it was with incredible sadness.)   “This is going to kill my grandmother.

Judge Lomeli stood in.  He apologized to John and his family and then reassured us the matter would be resolved on Monday.

(Video: Click here to watch NBC Channel 4′s coverage of the delay.)

I was in California at the time, and although I had attended three of Troy’s previously scheduled execution dates in 2007 and 2008, I was too pathetically broke to afford the trip to Georgia.  I think the truth be told, though, I was a bit relieved not to be there with the crowd of people outside the prison.  I’m a loner when it comes to grief and I don’t like problems that can’t be fixed.

I called Troy that morning.  Finding the right words was not easy.  The guards kept interrupting, insisting Troy fill out some forms.  Troy apologized for the distraction.  I told him how sorry I was that I could not be there and he told me that he was grateful for all I tried to do for him since we first met in 2007.  He said “I love you.”  ”Me too.”

When I picked up my 8-year-old daughter from school that afternoon, I explained “Mommy needs to be alone for a few hours.”  The execution was scheduled for 4 p.m. PT (7 p.m. ET).  So I barricaded myself in a bedroom at a friend’s house while my daughter played with my friend’s kids.  I had CNN on the TV and Amy Goodman’s live feed from the prison grounds on my laptop.  I was tweeting a bit, trying to find some way to be of service.

It was surreal.  Time passed slowly, and when 4 p.m. came there was a jolt of frenzied confusion at the prison.  The crowd misunderstood and thought the Court had issued a stay.  They broke out in song and fell to their knees praising God.  It was so heartbreaking to watch the crowd when moments later they were confronted with the truth.   It was all a mistake.  There was no stay.  Nevertheless, Troy was still alive so there was still reason to hope.

My daughter started popping her head in around 5:30 p.m., looking for dinner.  ”In a minute!” I shouted.  Clearly not a contender for Mother of the Year.   Around 7 p.m., I could no longer ignore my daughter’s plea for some food.  We ran out to a nearby Subway and returned in time to hear the announcement that the Supreme Court had denied the stay.  Around 8:00 p.m., my daughter came in and laid on the bed next to me as I continued to watch in the dark.  ”What’s going to happen to Troy, Mommy?”  ”They’re going to kill him, sweetie.”

Moments later, they did just that.  Troy’s last words.

The reason I was too poor to make the trip to Georgia last year was because I had invested what little I had to start Innocence Matters and then forgot to get paid.

When I left Atlanta in 2008, I promised Troy I would continue to help out in whatever way I could.  When I arrived in California, I purchased the domain name Innocence Matters–a name I had been using since 2007–with plans to set up a nonprofit to help people like Troy.

I visited Troy a few times since the move, spoke to him on the phone regularly, and remained active in his case as an amicus attorney through 2010.  Life, single-parenthood and trying to pay the bills delayed the start of the nonprofit, though.

In late December 2009, I received a call from John Smith.  I remember my daughter was playing with her Christmas puppy, Rosey.  That gave John and I a fair amount of time to speak without interruption.  

There was something about John’s tone and manner that made me want to believe him.  When I agreed to look into his case, though, it was solely to see if I could find enough selling points to pitch it to the California Innocence Project.  

I explained Innocence Matters was not an established organization.  We existed in theory only and had no means to make a significant investment in his case.   As I began the research into his case, however, I was appalled to see how poorly John was represented.  His case was actually dismissed in federal court because the lawyers forgot to file a brief.  During those first three months, I spoke to John frequently and got attached to him and his case.

Innocence Matters was founded on March 29, 2010 and John Smith became our first official client.  Around that time, an eager student materialized.  Jessica Farris called from Pennsylvania and wanted to intern with us full time over the summer.  Really?  Damn, I’m going to have to get an office before then, I thought.

Throughout the summer, Jess and I investigated John’s case.  Popping from one prison to the next tracking down gang members in the know.  Later Valerie Rone and Kiley Schaumleffel joined the team, followed by many others, who would contribute to our petition, which we filed on October 29, 2010.  So convinced of the compelling force of John’s innocence, we aimed for a December 2010 release.

Nearly two years later, we’re finally there.  Today, on the one-year anniversary of Troy’s execution, the court will dismiss John’s case and he will be free to leave . . . as soon as he finishes the paperwork, of course.

As excruciatingly painful as it is to remember the heartache of Troy’s execution, it is fitting that John will get good news today.  Were it not for Troy, John and I would have never crossed paths.

JOIN US on Friday, September 21, 2012 @ 2 p.m.

 

Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center

Honorable Patricia M. Schnegg

Dept. 100, 13-307

210 W. Temple St., 13th floor

Los Angeles, CA 90012

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office will submit on the habeas petition Innocence Matters filed on Mr. Smith’s behalf.  This comes after Deputy District Attorney Marc St. Hippolyte painstakingly reviewed John’s habeas petition and conducted his own investigation, all of which corroborated John’s innocence.   If the proceeding goes as expected, John will walk out of court and into the arms of his father, brothers, sister, and grandmother.  Of course, I will be standing nearby with the many law students, law graduates and interns who together dedicated thousands of hours to help John gain his rightful freedom.

I will be beaming with pride for all the hard work that these students and young lawyers put in to free John.

All of us at Innocence Matters are excited to witness what John will accomplish once free.  Our immediate plans are to have a few laughs and some pizza with John.   After that, we’ll need to dig in and help John get on his feet.  Maybe you can help.

Perhaps after you learn more about our work on John’s case, you will be moved to donate to the Welcome Home John Fund.