Barely Surviving after 22 years Death Row...

EMERGENCY: While the murder that Ahmad was wrongly convicted of took place in Ohio, the victim was also Jordanian. The victims family does not believe Ahmad is innocent and. recently learned he is back in Jordan and have threatened to harm him. Ahmad is in hiding and is seeking a path to leave Jordan. He urgently needs funds for a plane ticket and to sustain himself upon arriving in another country.

Imagine being isolated from the world for 22 years, and coming back into freedom with nothing but the clothes on your body with which to resume life. What would YOU do? Could you use a hand up? That is what this is about.

Ahmad has many needs to re-establish his life, but he most wants to be self-sufficient. Ahmad is a Palestinian man who survived 22 years on Ohio's death row for a crime another man confessed to. He had to take a plea to a lesser offense and be sentenced to time served in order to avoid facing the possibility of a second wrongful conviction. Ahmad was deported to Jordan just before the pandemic, has struggled to find meaningful and sustaining work, and hopes now to emigrate back to North America.

The Story:

Ahmad Issa spent 22 years incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. Most of that time was spent on Ohio's death row. Now he is free but without many resources, and living in a country he hardly knows and hasn't been to for 30 years.

In 2018, Ahmad's conviction and death sentence were thrown out and the state was ordered to give him a new and fair trial. As often happens in cases such as this, prosecutors threatened him with another trial and the possibility of returning to death row. This is not an uncommon practice. Prosecutors use it to keep from having admit a mistake.

However, prosecutors gave Ahmad an option: Plead guilty to a (much) lesser offense, be sentenced to time already served, and be freed immediately. Even though the actual killer admitted to the crime and is serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole, as a Muslim immigrant in the current atmosphere, Ahmad chose not take any chances with another Hamilton County jury.

Ahmad agreed to that offer, but because he was not a US citizen he also had to agree to be immediately deported to his home country of Jordan.

There was one other catch: Because Ahmad agreed to plea guilty to a lesser offense, he would not be formally exonerated, and therefore he is not eligible for any compensation from the State of Ohio. Will you help Ahmad raise the start-up funds he needs to go into business for himself?

Ahmad Issa now lives with his brother in Zarqa, Jordan, just outside of Amman. He continues to look for work that will sustain him, but in the era of COVID-19 he has not been successful. Ahmad knows he has what it takes to go into business for himself as an Uber driver, and he hopes to raise enough money to buy a vehicle and take care of other basic necessities of life. Please help!

Background:

Listing on Death Penalty Information Center Innocence Page (Scroll down to 2019 releases)

Read Ahmads story in his own words.

A news item.

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Ruling .