Hug your kids tight. I know I will.
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John —
I was ready for my first child, ready to be a dad. I prayed for my first child, and then I was blessed with another one, too.
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Photo of Darrill (center), with his daughter Daranika and son Darrill Jr. in New Orleans in June 2020. Photo by Claire Bangser/Innocence Project.
I was so happy, thankful, and proud of my kids. I never wanted to stop holding them. But in 2004, I was arrested and convicted for the murders of two women in the 7th Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana — a crime I did not commit.
When I went away, my two kids were just starting elementary school. Being away from them was one of the hardest things about prison — missing birthdays, holidays, graduations, and not being able to be there for them when they needed me the most. Now that I have been released from prison almost 16 years later, Darrill Jr. and Daranika are both adults. But even though it was incredibly painful, I never lost faith that the day would come when I’d walk free and be with my family again. After all of those years in prison on a wrongful conviction, that day finally came last month.
After DNA evidence excluded me from the crime scene evidence, the same judge from my original trial vacated my conviction. The District Attorney’s Office is appealing the reversal. The court set bail at $400,000 so that I could be home with my family while I continue to fight my wrongful conviction. My family has had to raise $48,000 to pay a bondsman so I could come home.
Spending this Father’s Day with my kids means everything to me, especially because my daughter is pregnant with my first grandchild.
To all the fathers and father figures out there: Happy Father’s Day! Hug your kids tight. I know I will!
Thanks,
Darrill Henry
If you’re able to help out, you can donate to Darrill’s bail fund ([link removed]) to help him and his family pay off the debt and start this new chapter in their lives.
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