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Walking Free Fund

Those who received Walking Free funds prior to the program being transferred to the Organization of Exonerees are listed below beginning with the most recent. You can search by year, name or description.

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Sept 2024

$

750

Chazlee Lemons

Like so many in the past three decades, Chazlee was wrongfully convicted of killing her child based on the now-discounted diagnosis of "Shaken Baby Syndrome. She has good family support and is looking forward to being able to vote in the upcoming election. She is pending a new trial which will most likely be dropped by the prosecutor and is Dave Moran's (Michigan Innocence Clinic) last case as director. She was imprisoned for 20 years.

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May 2024

$

750

Paul Clark

Paul has a very positive outlook. He has skills as a barber and a personal trainer and is looking for work in those area.

He was a client of the Michigan Innocence Clinic.

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Nov 2023

$

750

Louis Wright

Louis Wright was convicted of a rape. After 35 years of wrongful imprisonment, he was finally exonerated based on DNA evidence. Apart from Louis being in the vicinity of the attack, there was no evidence that he committed the crime.

At this time his only goal is to become reacquainted with his immediate and extended family.

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Apr 2023

$

1000

Alphonso Clark

Alphonso Clark spend 18 years in prison for something he did not do. He was the childhood friend of another exoneree, Kevin Harrington.

Alphonso is deeply appreciative of all those who have helped him. He intends to get his commercial DL and become a realtor, something he was doing when arrested. He also intends to do what he can to support the Nat’l Org. of Exonerees.

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Mar 2023

$

750

Mack Howell

After 7 1/2 years of wrongful imprisonment, Mack is glad to be out and living with his sister. He knows reentry can be difficult but he has a positive attitude and is looking forward to a hopeful future.

This was the first exoneration produced by the new Macomb County Conviction Integrity Unite under the direction of Gail Pamukov. Keep up the good work, Gail!

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Jan 2023

$

750

John Sanders

John Sanders was charged with Shaken Baby Syndrome and spent nearly 12 years in prison before the Mich Innocence Clinic brought in two medical experts who testified the child died of an infection; not abuse.

John intends to finish his Associate Degree in Business Administration and take things from there!

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Jan 2023

$

1000

C'Quan Hinton

C’Quan was convicted of murder in Oct 2007, based on dubious testimony and a jailhouse snitch. In 2014, family members FOIAed documents, never turned over to the defense. Discrepancies between the original and later testimony could have been used to question the reliability. On Mar 23, 2023, a very proud C'Quan displayed his Com Driver License!

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June 2024

$

1000

Duane Williams

Duane has always maintained his innocence. He was convicted on the testimony of a jailhouse snitch who claimed Duane confessed to him that he started the fire. (Ever hear that before?) The prosecutor pushed the belief that Duane started the fire with no expert testimony to support his theory. Duane is deeply interested in helping other wrongfully convicted persons.

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May 2024

$

1000

Kainte Hickey

Kainte is glad to be out after 37 years in prison. He is looking for work to support himself. Though acquitted in his retrial, due to long lines to get into court, he was 10 min late, so they determined that he broke parole and put him back in jail, resulting in losing the job he had since being released. He would be happy to hear from anyone who might help him with employment.

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Sept 2023

$

1000

Michael Griffin

Now exonerated, Michael is working to get on with his life. He and his fiancée, Kalesha, plan to get married May 3, 2024, the anniversary of his freedom.

Michael says he has no marketable skills since he was incarcerated at such a young age. It would be wonderful if someone or some organization can give him training and experience.

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Mar 2023

$

1000

Keith Robinson

Keith Robinson has spent 27 years in prison for something he did not do. His sentence was commuted by Gov Whitmer. With that comes a 4-year probation. Consequently, Keith is very careful in everything he does. Fortunately, he has a very supportive family who believes in his innocence. While in prison he received two culinary certificates. When he pulls together the money, Keith's dream is to have his own food truck.

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Mar 2023

$

1000

Eron Shelman

Eron was convicted on weak evidence in 1993. He maintained his innocence from Day 1 and, through reinvestigation and a bit of luck, Rachel Wolfe Law, which includes Anthony Legion (who previously received WFF funds) was able to locate witnesses the police did not speak to or disclose. Judge Walker agreed that had the jury heard the new evidence, the trial likely would have ended in acquittal.

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Jan 2023

$

1000

Joshun Edwards

Joshun was convicted of murder in Oct 2007, based on dubious testimony and a jailhouse snitch. In 2014, family members FOIAed documents, never turned over to the defense. Discrepancies between the original and later testimony could have been used to question the reliability. The MI Supreme Court said they deserve a retrial, and the county chose not to retry. Joshun is currently looking for work.

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Jan 2023

$

750

Dartanion Edwards

Dartanion was convicted of murder in Oct 2007, based on dubious testimony and a jailhouse snitch. In 2014, family members FOIAed documents, never turned over to the defense. Discrepancies between the original and later testimony could have been used to question the reliability. The MI Supreme Court said they deserve a retrial, and the county chose not to retry. Dartanion is now working for Amazon.

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May 2024

$

1000

Darrell Ewing

Darrell has a fiery optimism about life and his future. He studied the law. He filed his own court documents and represented himself in court!

He intends to go to law school and continue the fight for justice in the U.S. criminal justice system. He also has a book soon to be published.

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Dec 2023

$

1000

Kareem Swilley

Kareem was arrested when he was only 16. He was at city hall with his sister and grandparents when the murder occurred. Yet, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. He has been out of prison since 2020 awaiting retrial. Unable to move on his life with a tether, he pleaded ‘no contest’ to a lesser charge in exchange for time served. Click on his photo for more details.

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Apr 2023

$

750

Kenneth Webb

Ken spent 35 years in prison. He is one of the sweetest persons you can meet. Ken has issues that make it necessary for him to live in an assisted living home. MIC helped get him established in an environment where he can now enjoy his days and is in a good place. The supervisor said that he finds it incomprehensible that such a gentle guy could have endured prison for as long as he did.

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Mar 2023

$

1000

Donyelle Woods

A long-time client of MIC, Donyelle received a commutation of his sentence by Gov. Whitmer. When we met him, he was already hard at work with his cousin who founded EnjoyDetroit.org, a nonprofit created to improve people's lives. Donyelle was not able to benefit from classes MDOC gives people about to be paroled and there is a lot for him to absorb after being in prison for 20 years. He has a supportive extended family.

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Feb 2023

$

750

Jeff Titus

Jeff Titus spent over 21 years in prison for something he did not do. Owner of some rural property, he was accused of murdering two hunters in the area with virtually no evidence. Jeff now lives with his sister as he tried to get used to living outside prison walls.

There are some great write-ups for more info by clicking on his picture.

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Jan 2023

$

1000

Kino Christian

Kino was convicted of murder in Oct 2007, based on dubious testimony and a jailhouse snitch. In 2014, family members FOIAed documents, never turned over to the defense. Discrepancies between the original and later testimony could have been used to question the reliability. The MI Supreme Court said they deserve a retrial, and the county chose not to retry. Kino is working as a paralegal.

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Dec 2022

$

750

Kelvin Nolen

Kelvin Nolen was wrongfully convicted of murder. MIC proved that the killer in the video is significantly taller than Mr. Nolen. They found a woman who was in the video who got a good look at the killer, knows Mr. Nolen and confirmed that the man she saw was not him, providing “new evidence”. With 8 years of his life missing, Kelvin is considering getting his license in order to be a truck driver.

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