John —
In 1989, when I was just 16 years old, I came home from school and found that my mother had been killed — it was my worst nightmare. I called the police immediately.
They began an investigation and took me in for questioning and after hours of intense interrogation without a lawyer or adult in the room, I just said whatever they needed me to say to get out of there. They coerced me into confessing to something I didn’t do, and two years after I lost my mother, I was convicted and sentenced to 15 years to life.
My childhood ended then and I was robbed of a normal life. But I never gave up. I spent 19 years wrongly incarcerated and ten years on parole before being exonerated in 2019.
I can truly say that without the Innocence Project’s help, I don’t think I’d be where I am today — and there are so many people who still need that same help. So today, I’m asking you to please make a donation to support the work the Innocence Project does every day to free innocent people like me:
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It’s surreal to be out sometimes. It’s like I’ve been carrying around this weight for so long and to finally be able to put it down feels like having freedom for the very first time.
Having some of life’s happiest moments — graduating high school, going to college, even just spending time with loved ones — stolen from you takes a toll. But the reason I never gave up hope is because of my mother and my father, both of whom are no longer with us.
Since being free, I’ve been making new memories — like running the New York City Marathon, a dream I had for years after discovering a passion for running while incarcerated.
I want to let other innocent people in prison know that there is hope. Don’t stop. Don’t give up. Continue to fight. Don’t lay down, because the moment you lay down, that’s when it’s over. And there are people — like the folks at the Innocence Project — who will fight alongside you.
I appreciate all the support the team here has shown me, and I know none of it would be possible without people like you. So please, can you make a donation right now to keep funding the important work of freeing innocent people from incarceration?
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Thank you so much for everything,
Huwe Burton
Exonerated in 2019
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