Death Row Inmate Exonerated, Donations Pour in From Well-Wishers
A man on death row for 26 years has been exonerated and is learning how much peopole care thanks to the generous giving of anonymous donors. Glenn Ford is rebuilding his life with the help of strangers using Amazon's wishlist to purchase necessities for the former prisoner.
Ford, 64, had been on death row since the August 1988 death of Isadore Rozeman. He was recently exonerated and went free from the Louisiana State Penitentiary on March 12 with only the clothes on his back and two boxes of goods along with a $20 debit card from prison officials. However, Ford did not seem concerned with having his needs met as he left the prison.
"It feels good," he told WAFB-TV. "My mind is going in all kinds of directions. It feels good."
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Gary Clements, one of Ford's lawyers, took charge of the situation and built an Amazon wishlist, where people from around the world could purchase the things that Ford needed. It included an ironing board, pajamas, and a few other things that will help Ford get back on his feet. People have been busy purchasing the items, having them sent to Ford, and also making cash donations.
"After 30 years, Louisiana's longest-serving death row prisoner will get his freedom soon," Amnesty International USA Senior Campaigner Thenjiwe Tameika McHarris said in a statement earlier this week. "Glenn Ford is living proof of just how flawed our justice system truly is. We are moved that Mr. Ford, an African American man convicted by an all-white jury, will be able to leave death row a survivor. We are more determined than ever to put an end to the death penalty, once and for all."
Rozeman's family, however, was not as pleased with the outcome but still wanted to see justice done in the name of Isadore Rozeman.
"We don't have any animosity for anyone," Dr. Phillip Rozeman told the Shreveport Times. "If someone else was involved or others were involved in his death, there also will be justice for those people."
