ISSN: 2151-0806
make the best I can of what’s left, and live my own life and enjoy as much of it as I can while there is still life in me! ME: Is there anything you’d like our readers to know about healing and transformation that you’ve not already mentioned? MU: As far as the transforming, or transformation is concerned, Change, true change, has to start within. If change appears as an outward attempt to display itself, it will be recognized as phony, and the majority can feel those things as being transparent. And, the real you, the unchanged you, will appear to others and none of it will mean anything or amount to nothing. And, if you continue to try and “self improve” yourself in this way it will an unwelcome manner by others. It’s like when you steal and do things over and over, and then lie about it every single time, soon enough nobody will believe in you and you’ll be known as a liar. But, when you finally do come clean and tell the absolute truth, you still will not be believed by anybody because you have already built up your word and reputation as a liar (your word is no good). In my own life, I have experienced a transformation. 1) I no longer desire to be involved in criminal activities, 2) that I remember where I came from and how I used to be and what I am like now, and I like the way I am now, and 3) I have absolutely no desire to be imprisoned where I have no liberty or freedom of liberty. ****** At many points over the last three and a half years, I have had to ask myself serious questions about the practicality of our battle with the system. I knew what the law required and the task that lay ahead. Many of the people involved in Michael’s case are dead or face serious mental health issues. Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that even if we did not secure his exoneration, merely knowing that someone believed in him, was fighting for him, was a good thing. And, even though the obstacles to proving his innocence often seem insurmountable, we have had some successes. In September 2011, the jailhouse informant who had testified against Michael recanted his testimony. The informant said that he had been approached by a sheriff’s deputy who offered that he could “get a deal” if he would testify against Michael, saying that Michael had confessed to him. On the basis of his recantation, the Ohio Innocence Project, now also considering nonDNA cases, resumed work on Michael’s case. Unfortunately, the State does not look favorably upon recantations as new evidence. Michael, having entered prison with a ninth grade education, has been his own zealous advocate. Representing himself, he has filed motion after motion only to have the courts rule against him. In doing so, the doctrine of res judicata prevents the courts from considering those issues again. Thus, new evidence must be found. Michael’s story is but one illustration of a flawed and failing system. Yet, there is a small light within that darkness. In November 1992, Michael’s first appearance before the Ohio Parole Board took place. He would be denied then and many more times in the coming years, most Peace Studies Journal, Vol. 6, Issue 3, July 2013
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