Help Cody Marble After Wrongful Conviction

At the age of 17, former MTIP client Cody Marble was arrested for an alleged rape at a juvenile detention center and was wrongfully convicted in 2002. Cody had been serving time in juvenile detention on misdemeanor marijuana charges and had already been discharged at the time of the arrest. Cody spent the formative years of his life – from 2002 to 2016 – in prison for a crime he did not commit. In fact, this crime never even occurred, and Cody’s conviction was ultimately overturned in part based on the alleged victim recanting his accusation in 2010.

Even with all this evidence to support Cody’s innocence, he was not freed for another 6 years. During this time, the Montana Innocence Project was fighting in the courts for Cody to be granted a new trial – filing motions, being denied, appealing decisions – until it was granted in 2015 upon reaching the Montana Supreme Court. After another year in the courts, Cody’s conviction was vacated.

Finally free in 2016, Cody was eager to return home and reunite with his loved ones. However after 14 years of being locked up in prison, the world around him could not be more different from the world he once knew – from technology advancements to changes in his community to the toll that prison took on his own mental and physical health. With no resources to address these challenges, Cody filed a claim with Missoula County in 2021 to receive compensation for his wrongful incarceration under a now sunsetted Montana law. The statute forced Cody to waive his right to alternate remedies as part of the filing process.

Cody never wished to be retraumatized. Despite the statute’s nominal financial prospect, ($750K total to be paid out at $80K/year in annuities), in comparison to median lawsuit settlements in Montana for similar cases, ($4M), Cody chose to forgo his right to seek relief through a lawsuit against the state based on his belief that applying under the state statute would provide a meaningful level of compensation to move forward with rebuilding his life and spare him the pain and devastation of facing yet another trial. Unfortunately, Missoula County contested the compensation claim, forcing Cody to prove his innocence of the original crime again in a civil trial - 22 years after the original allegation of a crime.

The civil trial was a long and hard battle in which Cody had to once again relive the trauma of his wrongful incarceration in the courts. On May 21st, 2024, the state district court jury concluded that Cody had failed to prove his innocence, rejecting his attempt to receive compensation and barring Cody from any form of remedy for the years he spent wrongfully imprisoned.

Like many others rebuilding their lives after wrongful conviction, Cody’s path forward will unfortunately be anything but easy. Today, Cody continues to shoulder lasting health effects from years of incarceration and poor medical care, which causes him to regularly struggle to work to make ends meet.

MTIP has set up this personal GoFundMe fundraiser on Cody’s behalf, to help mitigate some of the financial burdens Cody is facing, with a goal to raise $750,000. Your donation will directly benefit Cody to help him maintain housing, establish medical care, and secure basic life necessities. Together, we can make a significant difference in Cody’s life, by offering him the support and resources he needs to move forward. Please consider donating today.

Thank you for your ongoing support and generosity!