If You Were Jailed 27 Years But 100% Innocent, What Would You Need?

If the reader had spent 27 years in prison for a crime you never committed, what would you need? One man and his wife know the answer only too well: Good will of fellow Americans. A Florida judge this week ordered a full hearing of Falsely Imprisoned Person Kris Maharaj’s case after Reprieve’s campaign to free the innocent man jailed 27 years, but Kris needs a little more olf-fashioned American help. 

“We have some huge news,” Reprieve’s founder and director Clive Stafford Smith announced in a written statement emailed on Friday. “Thanks to everyone who helped fund Kris Maharaj’s latest appeal, we argued his case in the Florida courts, and we won.”
 

Reprieve got the verdict they’ve been fighting for over the last few weeks: The judge has ordered a full hearing of Kris’s case. 

“This means that our lawyers can present all of our latest evidence to the court – evidence that proves Kris is innocent,” Rerpieve says. “We’ll also have the chance to show that the government suppressed vital evidence during Kris’s original trial, and that the prosecution’s witnesses lied in court. If we win, Kris will be set free.

“We’ve fought long and hard to make sure Kris gets to finally prove his innocence, and this shows just how much we can achieve when we come together. 

Florida authorities have not wanted Reprieve to expose the terrible wrong they’ve done in locking up an innocent man. 

“We took them on, and now we have the chance to do exactly that,” Stafford Smith said. “Now is the time – we need to do all we can to make sure that Kris is set free.

“This victory means that we have a lot of work ahead and we need to raise more money to fund Kris’s legal team, to pay for ongoing investigation and to bring vital witnesses to testify in Florida.”

Many people have supported this victory. Reprieve raised $20,000 of the $28,000 needed to fund his appeal, fantastic – but the chairty group needs to keep going with this case. 

“At last, after 27 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, there is a chance that justice will be done in Kris’s case.  Every single donation will help, so please chip in whatever you can afford to set Kris free.”

“This year I will celebrate my 75th birthday at the prison just outside Miami, USA… This year my birthday falls on a Sunday, so it’s visitation day. This year I will see Marita, perhaps for two full hours”

A message from Kris Maharaj.

Click here to read more

(Photo: Kris and his wife Marita)

To donate, click: www.reprieve.org.uk/donate