Should it be called a happy ending, when a man wrongly convicted of murder and is put behind bars for 27 years for an offense he did not commit, finally gets his freedom? This is what Ricky Jackson, Ronnie Bridgeman and Wiley Bridgeman, went through. At 17, he was convicted of murder in the killing of a Cleveland money order salesman. Formerly known as Ronnie Bridgman, Kwame Ajamu wept in loud sobs when Cuyahuga County Judge Pemela Barker stepped down from her bench to give him a hug after clearing him of all the charges against him.
What happened?
In May 19 1975, two people had attacked Harold Franks with acid, and was also shot by one of them. A third person drove a getaway car. A 12-year old boy, Eddie Vernon, a principal and state's main witness, lied against them and a jury convicted and sentenced Bridgeman, along with his brother, Wiley Bridgeman who was 20 years, and Ricky Jackson 19, to death, but their sentences were later commuted. But Ajamu was released on parole after serving 27 years in 2003.
Kwame Ajamu in his words said:
"I'm so happy today that this battle has come to an end. We were robbed. There will be no offspring when I die. When my brother passes away, that was it. We don't have children. There will never be another Ronnie Bridgeman. The important thing is that we have been united while we are standing forward and upward and that we are not looking at each other in the graveyard".
When someone called Jackson's family, his eyes, soaked from tears beamed.
"It's over!" Jackson yelled tearfully into the mouth peace of the phone. "I'm coming home, I'm coming home. Be here to get me Friday. Let everybody know."
In 2011, a writer for Scene magazine, Kyle Swensen visited the story of the event that took place in 1975 and it attracted the attention of the Ohio Innocence Project lawyers who delved into the case and represented the defendants.
What Vernon said:
Eddie Vernon 52, was apparently disturbed when he read the story of the brothers in the papers on his sick bed in 2011. His conscience unfolded and confided in his pastor, Rev Anthony Singleton to let the truth out.
"All the information was fed to me. I don't have any knowledge about what happened at the scene of the crime. Everything was a lie. They were all lies!"
Vernon now 52, testified that he was with other school children on a bus when he heard two pops that sounded like a fire cracker. But the bus was not near the vicinity where he could see anything that took place, and this was also testified by others in the bus. He further said:
"I'm thinking I'm doing the right thing. I told the officer I know who did it".
On Vernon's witness, Ajamu said:
"It's my hope going forward that we don't have to wait another 40 years for the next Kwame Ajamu, Wiley Bridgeman, Ricky Jackson. It's my hope from this day we can stop ignoring what is obvious in criminal justice system and move forward with peace and love". "I would say I'm not angry with you. I didn't believe Eddy had any malice. He was a kid who got caught up in the wrong thing."
What next?
The trio could claim a total of $4.1 million in compensation, a move that Cuyahoga County prosecutor said they will not fight. Anyone found to be wrongfully imprisoned could receive more than $40,000 for each year they were imprisoned as stated in the Ohio state law.
Kwame Ajamu (Ronnie Bridgeman), Wiley Bridgeman and Ricky Jackson are now free again, starting life all over. And deep within their hearts, they still had a room for forgiveness.
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