Kevin Strickland has been behind bars for more than four decades – one of the longest unlawful incarcerations in the United States. He has no right to compensation. But his fate moves thousands.
Kansas City – Thousands of people donated money for a man who was innocent behind bars in the United States for more than four decades.
By Thursday noon (local time), more than 900,000 US dollars (around 800,000 euros) had been collected on a donation website on the net. The 62-year-old Kevin Strickland was released Tuesday after around 43 years in prison in the state of Missouri. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with no parole in 1979 for an act of violence that resulted in three deaths.
The man is not entitled to any compensation. This would only have been possible in Missouri if the verdict had been overturned based on DNA evidence, according to the Midwest Innocence Project. She had also promoted the release of Strickland and now started the fundraising campaign for him.
Out of jail in a wheelchair
“Nothing we give you can make up for the loss of time. I just hope that this will make your life free of financial worries, ”wrote one donor on the website.
Strickland’s case marks one of the longest unlawful detentions in US judicial history. There is no evidence that Strickland was actually at the scene, and the main witness at the time revoked her testimony, the judge in charge had justified his release. The 62-year-old had always protested his innocence.
The case touched many people in the United States. Strickland had left prison in a wheelchair and announced that he finally wanted to see the sea. dpa
