This #GivingTuesdayNow, think about the innocent people sitting in prison cells across the country right now who need justice.

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John —

Before #GivingTuesdayNow tomorrow, I want to tell you why I hope you will help fund the Innocence Project’s critical work — especially right now. ([link removed])

In 1985, I was arrested for the murder of a Florida woman — a crime I did not commit — and spent 29 years on death row.

During my trial, the prosecution presented a serology expert who falsely claimed that bodily fluids found on two pieces of crime scene evidence likely came from me. My lawyer at the time had never tried a murder case, and didn’t have an expert to challenge the flawed science, so I was convicted.

Then, in 2003, new DNA testing proved beyond any doubt that I was not the source of this evidence. But the state refused to give me a new trial, and I was forced to stay on death row.

It was then that the Innocence Project came in and started working tirelessly on my case. The Innocence Project won a legal fight to have the DNA from the crime scene searched in the national databank — and it came back with a “hit” to the man we had always suspected was the real killer.

Finally, I was released this March — 35 years after my wrongful conviction.
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Paul Hildwin after he was released from prison with his team including Kate O'Shea (left), investigator, and Lyann Goudie (right) of Goudie & Kohn, P.A., who led the retrial team since 2014. Photo courtesy of Kate O'Shea.
Adjusting to life outside of prison can be difficult, but doing it during a global pandemic as a four-time cancer-surviving 60-year-old is completely overwhelming.

Thankfully, the Innocence Project and its social work team have continued their unwavering support for me as I try to stay safe and healthy during the COVID-19 crisis.

Without them, I would not be a free man today.

I know my story sounds unique — an impossible, unfortunate coincidence. But sadly it’s not. There are so many innocent people sitting in prison cells across the country right now who need justice. And with the rapid spread of COVID-19 in prisons, it is more urgent than ever that we free the wrongly convicted before it’s too late.

So in the spirit of Giving Tuesday Now, a chance for all of us to think about how we can give back, please consider making a donation to the Innocence Project to help people like me get the freedom they deserve. ([link removed])

Thanks,

Paul Hildwin
Freed in 2020
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