Wrongfully Imprisoned for 19 Years -- Let's Go!
Donation protected
I wanted to escape out of South Central LA.
That's why I pushed myself and became a straight-A student. When I studied, I could outlast the lightbulbs. That's also why I volunteered to join the Navy right after graduation. I would see the world, serve my country, and free my future.
But two weeks before finishing my senior year, a shooting occurred across town.
The prosecution came up with this theory about me: "Kiera snuck out of her Lock-Down school (which was impossible since the doors of the school were locked during classes or led to a locked fence with barbed wire). She then changed her clothes, dyed her hair, drove 30 minutes to the crime scene, committed the crime, and somehow slid back into her desk all without being noticed."
As laughable as that sounds, that's really what they came up with. One problem: I didn't have a driver's license. I had never driven before. Still haven't!
Another problem for the prosecution: My teacher Rebecca Woodruff, who was 7 feet away from me, screamed from the mountaintop that I was in that classroom the entire time. She even handed over to the authorities the work that I did during that day's session.
It ended up not mattering. They put me in prison for almost two decades. But as shocked and angry as I initially was, I had this strange feeling that welled up in me: "You can still get out of South Central. You will have a family one day. And when Justice does arrive, don't be unprepared!"
So I got to work in prison. I got my high school diploma. Then I got my degree in Sociology. Then another one in Liberal Arts and Humanities. If the Innocence Project hadn't gotten me out, I would have gotten a third!
I'm so blessed that there's so many people who have stuck by me for 20 years. I have felt such immense joy since my release. To read a book in the park. To be able to make my son giggle uncontrollably. To hold my husband's hand knowing he'll never let go.
But I have also struggled. Many of the wrongfully convicted do. Landlords won't rent to us because we have to check the box, "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" Employers are scared to hire us because of our "record."
There are many people in the world who are suffering way worse than me. I have a wonderful boy and husband. And we will find happiness in whatever life hands us.
But we would appreciate it so much if you could help us (or anyone else who is struggling). Why would we be so grateful for a donation of even one dollar?
Because it would mean that someone somewhere cares. And for the first time in 20 years, I can finally see what I always knew: That people do.
Big Love,
Kiera
That's why I pushed myself and became a straight-A student. When I studied, I could outlast the lightbulbs. That's also why I volunteered to join the Navy right after graduation. I would see the world, serve my country, and free my future.
But two weeks before finishing my senior year, a shooting occurred across town.
The prosecution came up with this theory about me: "Kiera snuck out of her Lock-Down school (which was impossible since the doors of the school were locked during classes or led to a locked fence with barbed wire). She then changed her clothes, dyed her hair, drove 30 minutes to the crime scene, committed the crime, and somehow slid back into her desk all without being noticed."
As laughable as that sounds, that's really what they came up with. One problem: I didn't have a driver's license. I had never driven before. Still haven't!
Another problem for the prosecution: My teacher Rebecca Woodruff, who was 7 feet away from me, screamed from the mountaintop that I was in that classroom the entire time. She even handed over to the authorities the work that I did during that day's session.
It ended up not mattering. They put me in prison for almost two decades. But as shocked and angry as I initially was, I had this strange feeling that welled up in me: "You can still get out of South Central. You will have a family one day. And when Justice does arrive, don't be unprepared!"
So I got to work in prison. I got my high school diploma. Then I got my degree in Sociology. Then another one in Liberal Arts and Humanities. If the Innocence Project hadn't gotten me out, I would have gotten a third!
I'm so blessed that there's so many people who have stuck by me for 20 years. I have felt such immense joy since my release. To read a book in the park. To be able to make my son giggle uncontrollably. To hold my husband's hand knowing he'll never let go.
But I have also struggled. Many of the wrongfully convicted do. Landlords won't rent to us because we have to check the box, "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" Employers are scared to hire us because of our "record."
There are many people in the world who are suffering way worse than me. I have a wonderful boy and husband. And we will find happiness in whatever life hands us.
But we would appreciate it so much if you could help us (or anyone else who is struggling). Why would we be so grateful for a donation of even one dollar?
Because it would mean that someone somewhere cares. And for the first time in 20 years, I can finally see what I always knew: That people do.
Big Love,
Kiera
Organizer
Kiera Newsome
Organizer
Hawthorne, CA