An online fundraiser has gathered more than $1.5m for an American man, Kevin Strickland, who has spent 43 years in jail over a triple murder he was innocent of.
The Midwest Innocence Project had set up a GoFundMe page for Strickland, as they appealed for his release, noting that he would not get a compensation from the state of Missouri. Kevin was wrongfully convicted when he was age 18.
The Midwest Innocence Project stated that Kevin needs financial assistance as he has no work history because he was imprisoned at the age of 18 and presently using a wheel chair, noting that the victim has suffered unimaginable atrocity and has received help from nobody.
Kevin had been convicted based on the evidence of a witness who identified him as one of four men who were involved in the killings of three young adults. The witness later retrieved her statement before she died, saying that after the trial she was lured by the police to give false witness against Strickland.
After ruling the evidence used against Kevin as fake and void, a Judge ordered his release.
Upon hearing news of his release while watching a TV series, he made it known that he was not angry saying he has gone through a lot of emotions – joy, sorrow, fear in his life.
Strickland further declared that he is interested in efforts to restructure the criminal justice system, so that he can prevent this type of atrocious incident from happening to someone else.
