I’ll never forget you. You’re pretty hard to forget. Beautiful inside, out and unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed. I hope my daughters grow up to be as fierce, confident, and educated as you. Your parents should be proud. As a fellow Black woman, I am proud. Keep up the good fight.
Take care of yourself.
Danielle Roberts-Andrews.
I blinked awaythe single tear that swelled in my right eye. Daniel was one of the few cases I collected from my extensive research on inmates still claiming their innocence after the system had taken years, sometimes decades, of their lives.
It was extremely difficult to keep the faith when fighting crimes you didn’t commit. The system would tell you that you did something enough times for you to begin to believe it. But, not Daniel. He was adamant about his lack of involvement in the murder of the store clerk.
He was present.
But, he didn’t have a gun.
He didn’t have a motive.
He didn’t have an alibi.
All he had was an erection that he needed protection for so that he didn’t end the night as a nineteen-year-old father.
That wasn’t enough to convince the judge of his innocence. Not when he resembled the killer they’d only caught a glimpse of on camera.
Condoms. I released a slow, steady breath as I sat back in my seat.
“Entire life given to a system that murderedhim… for condoms.”
I massaged my temple as my heart sank deeper into the rug underneath my feet.
One.
I closed my eyes as my chest imploded.
Two.
Three.
Everything around me was silenced.
Four.
Five.
I mourned. Silently, I despised the familiar feeling of loss. Gloom. Grief. Death.
Six.
Seven.
My body shuddered from the impact of the news. For a moment, I was breathless.
Eight.
I inhaled deeply, pulling air into my lungs.
Nine.
I exhaled again.
Ten.
