![Image of a person outdoors enjoying freedom. From Unsplash.](https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2023/01/n21141523/jcr:content/image.img.cq5dam.thumbnail.500.500.jpg/1674161101110.jpg)
WKYC-TV: Life after a wrongful conviction, meet Charles Jackson
OIP exoneree speaks with Cleveland TV station about nearly three decades of lost freedom
It's been a long journey but Charles Jackson is finding his voice and being heard.
The 59-year-old Cleveland man spent 27 years in prison for a murder and attempted murder he didn’t commit. It’s been more than four years since he gained his freedom with the help of the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati.
Jackson shared his story with WKYC-TV in Cleveland.
Jackson’s attorneys, Mallorie Thomas and Donald Caster of the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP) at the UC College of Law which took up Jackson’s case, argued that the state violated Jackson’s right to a fair trial by not disclosing evidence favorable to him. And throughout the ordeal he always maintained his innocence.
In November 2018, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert C. McClelland ordered Jackson’s release following a hearing in which his attorneys argued —and prosecutors agreed — he deserved a new trial.
On November 27, 2018, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit agreed that Jackson’s convictions should be set aside, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Judge McClelland signed an order vacating the convictions and Jackson was released pending a retrial. On August 29, 2019, the prosecution dismissed the charges.
Charles Jackson, center, with members of the OIP team who worked to secure his release. From left, Liza Dietrich, Maddy High, Mallorie Thomas and Donald Casto. Photo provided.
"It's like a certain type of feeling, humiliation or whatever, to hear, like, 'Convicted murderer' or, you know, 'He's a killer,'"Jackson told WKYC-TV for an interview.
He missed many birthdays and funerals of loved ones. Jackson didn’t see the birth of his daughter and while incarcerated his brother and mother passed away.
"When my mom passed away, I felt so hopeless and I cried out to God. Like, 'God, what I'm going to do,' you know what I'm saying? 'Who gonna be here for me?'" Jackson told WKYC-TV.
But Jackson found a way to cope and ultimately survive.
"I'm a funny dude and, and I think my humor (is) what got me through a lot of it,” he told WKYC-TV. “I just wanted to live," Jackson said. "And it doesn't matter where I am. I'm gonna try to live the best life I can live, you know?"
The WKYC-TV interview is available online.
Learn more about Charles Jackson and OIP.
Related Stories
WCPO-TV/Channel 9: Ohio Innocence Project at UC takes on possible wrongful conviction case
May 10, 2021
UC's Ohio Innocence Project helped earn freedom for a Cleveland man after more than 14 years in prison. Michael Sutton was one of two men convicted in 2006 as a teenager for the shooting of two people and the attemped shooting of a police officer. He and Kenny Phillips were freed on bond on May 3, 2021.
TIME: What Bill Cosby’s release really says about getting a conviction overturned in America
July 8, 2021
Mark Godsey, a UC Law professor, was one of the experts cited by TIME Magazine for a story on the release of comedian Bill Cosby.
Reuters: Walmart was hit with a $125 million verdict, but the law is on its side
July 30, 2021
Sandra Sperino of the UC College of Law was cited as a source in a story published by Reuters on a decision by a federal jury in Wisconsin to hit Walmart with $125 million in punitive damages for firing a longtime employee with Down Syndrome.
WCPO: Sittenfeld motion to dismiss high bar to meet, says UC law expert
January 4, 2021
Don Caster, an attorney with the University of Cincinnati College of Law and Ohio Innocence Project, says the federal government tends to only take on cases in can win in regards to Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld's motion to dismiss federal charges against him.
Cincinnati Law Dean appointed to anti-corruption task force
January 27, 2021
Verna Williams, UC College of Law Dean and Nippert Professor of Law, has been appointed to a new nine-member task force in Cincinnati.
Cincinnati Business Courier: Opera, book, film cast light on UC's Ohio Innocence Project
February 8, 2021
A book, opera and film are all helping to shed light on the work done by the Ohio Innocence Project at UC Law. Outside of Cincinnati, the OIP is fast becoming a model for innocence projects around the world.
WHIO: First Black woman elected to Dayton Municipal Court reflects on 42 years behind the bench
February 4, 2021
Alice McCollum, the first woman, and first Black woman, elected to the Dayton Municipal Court, reflects on 42 years of service in the legal profession.
Vox: How school funding can help repair the legacy of segregation
February 17, 2021
Cincinnati Law dean Verna Williams discusses the implications of educational segregation on Black students and students of color.
The Atlantic: The breathtaking ingenuity of incarcerated artists
February 9, 2021
Gillispie was freed thanks to UC's Ohio Innocence Project in December 2011 after serving 20 years in prison for rapes he did not do.
Cleveland.com: Men imprisoned since 2006 get new trial after Cleveland police officers contradict fellow officers’ testimony
March 22, 2021
An appeals court granted a new trial for two men who spent the last 14 years in prison for the shooting of two people and the attempted shooting of a Cleveland police officer. The unanimous decision issued by the 8th District Court of Appeals found that Cleveland police and Cuyahoga County prosecutors denied Kenny Phillips and Michael Sutton a fair trial by failing to tell the men’s defense attorneys that officers gave conflicting statements about the shootings, and not calling them testify at trial. The Ohio Innocence Project represents Sutton. Mark Godsey, director of the Cincinnati-based Ohio Innocence Project, said that attorneys for the men would ask the courts to release the men on bond immediately pending their new trial.