Exoneree Huwe Burton and Staff Attorney Susan Friedman, training together. Photo by Sameer Abdel-Khalek/Innocence Project.
John,
On the day I was exonerated, 30 years after I was wrongfully convicted of my mother’s murder, the reporters at the Bronx County Courthouse asked what I would do now that I was free. I told them I would run the New York City marathon.
Running the marathon started as a joke in prison, where I told myself I’d run the race if I ever got the chance to go home. After saying it to myself over and over again, telling myself it was something I was going to do, life found a way to make it happen.
"For the last 30 years, I’ve been running the marathon of my life."
This Sunday, I’ll be up early to run 26.2 miles as a truly free man. By my side will be one of my Innocence Project lawyers, Susan Friedman. Susan was with me through the final chapters of my long legal battle and stood beside me in court when the judge cleared my name.
This year has gone by so quickly, and it’s hard to believe the big day is almost here. I know it won’t be easy — I also know I’ve been through more difficult things. If you’re in New York, I hope you’ll come out to cheer us on as we run. I’d love to see the faces of the supporters who I know have been with me all along.
Started in 1992 as a legal clinic at Cardozo School of Law, the Innocence Project is now an independent nonprofit, affiliated with Cardozo, that exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. www.innocenceproject.org
