Wrongly Convicted Former Prisoners Get To See Warriors Play Clippers At Oracle
Earlier this spring, as the warriors began their latest push to win another NBA Championship, the organization took the time and effort to make an important gesture… They hosted a group of falsely accused and wrongfully convicted exonerees & members of Northern California’s Innocence Project.
Check out the video of the exonerees at the game here.
As great as the Dubs’ victories are, and I love every single one of them, the legal victories to exonerate the wrongfully convicted are FAR more meaningful! Here’s a recent example of what this kind of victory looks like… https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/05/15/man-exonerated-after-17-years-in-prison-for-2002-san-jose-shooting/
I am passionate and dedicated to educating people about the importance of fighting for due process and providing zealous legal defense to prevent wrongful convictions because of my own lived experience overcoming a false accusation. Although I was not arrested and never faced any charges, just being under a cloud of suspicion due to a defamatory social and news media smear campaign allowed me to catch a tiny glimpse of what the nightmare of wrongful conviction feels like for the men and women who are put through that hell.
That’s why I have decided to dedicate the rest of my life to fighting against the social, political, and legal evil of wrongful convictions, and to ensure that anyone who suffers that injustice will have access to the resources necessary to win exoneration.
I can only imagine the pain and despair of trying to unsuccessfully convince others that you are innocent of the crime for which you are wrongly convicted. To understand a tiny fraction of that suffering I highly recommend reading the book Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, checking out his Ted Talk, and visiting his organization’s website.
But most of all, I highly encourage you to check out the story of Walter McMillian, who was falsely accused of a crime he did not commit… not by just one person, but by multiple people. These people’s self-serving accusations became the official story, which was repeatedly echoed in the news and by local officials to the point that nearly everyone who heard it “knew for sure” that he was guilty. As a result, Walter ended up serving 6 years ON DEATH ROW for something he did NOT do before finally being exonerated. Walter’s story is a cautionary reminder that injustice takes many shapes, including condemning and passing judgement on a person based on accusations and without knowing all the facts or weighing all the evidence.
Still more powerfully, Walter’s story is a tribute to the resilience of people fighting for justice and an inspiration to anyone facing a similar challenge. In his own words…
“… I know it may not matter to you, but it’s important to me that you know that I’m innocent and didn’t do what they said I did, not no kinda way.” -Walter McMillian
And for the Warriors, supporting exoneration work this season is not just a one and done situation. It is part of their commitment to excellence on and off the basketball court. Check out the Warriors’s head coach, Steve Kerr, in a past pitch in support of legal advocates fighting for the exoneration of innocent people!
For all these reasons, I am proud to be a part of DUB NATION and applaud the Golden State Warriors for their support of the passionate and devoted people across the country who work to exonerate the men and women who are wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit. I look forward to continuing to educate the public about the need to defend everyones’ rights to due process and to advocate on behalf of people accused of crimes.
Hector Perla.com 