By D. Kevin McNeirSpecial to the AFROkmcneir@afro.com
In 1990, Jimmie C. Gardner, now 59, was a member of the Chicago Cubs Minor League group in Charleston, W.Va., pursuing his lifelong dream of enjoying skilled baseball. However after two aged White girls falsely accused him of sexual assault and theft, he was arrested, convicted and sentenced to 110 years in jail.
After serving 27 years in jail for a criminal offense he didn’t commit, Gardner’s conviction was overturned – considered one of greater than 140 circumstances by which the state relied on falsified forensic proof testimony by the chief serologist to safe a conviction.
The U.S. District Courtroom for the Southern District of West Virginia, whereas overturning the conviction, mentioned Gardner’s conviction was “not solely a complete miscarriage of justice,” however that he “had been held in authorized purgatory for 27 years.”
In 2023, the Dawson, Ga., native discovered himself once more accused, arrested and placed on home arrest for 17 months earlier than being exonerated after a witness retracted her assertion.
Gardner mentioned his religion in God and the assist of his household and associates have made him stronger, convincing him that he wanted to do one thing to assist others who’ve undergone or proceed to face related experiences of injustice.
“I used to be given a second likelihood twice and I’m grateful, however I by no means allowed it to make me bitter,” he mentioned. “Being in jail for thus lengthy taught me persistence and I noticed that I needed to forgive those that knowingly sought my conviction. That wasn’t simple, however I knew that anger, like most cancers, would solely rot and destroy me from inside if I allowed it.”
At present, Gardner is a extremely wanted motivational speaker who shares his testimony in prisons, at church buildings, and at enterprise conferences throughout the U.S. He has additionally shaped a non-profit, Gardner Home LLC, as a method of offering assist and sources to others wrongfully trapped inside the jail industrial advanced.
“I knew that I needed to sound the alarm as a result of it’s clear to me that America doesn’t need Black males to succeed,” he mentioned. “I see it as an assault on Blackness and we have to be extra conscious so we will combat the evil forces that search our demise. The success we achieved through the Civil Rights Motion now stands in jeopardy and it’s not by likelihood however by design.”
Gardner mentioned he has been lucky to have the monetary sources and different technique of assist to lastly overcome the injustice he confronted. However others are much less lucky.
Historical past illustrates the inordinate examples of injustice confronted by Blacks
Black males are disproportionately affected by false accusations and wrongful convictions within the U.S. justice system, dealing with larger charges of police misconduct, racial bias in charging and sentencing, and wrongful convictions for drug crimes and homicide in comparison with their White counterparts.
Historic examples, just like the Scottsboro Boys and the case of Ronnie Lengthy, illustrate the devastating affect of racial bias, which will be exacerbated by components similar to defective eyewitness identifications, prosecutorial misconduct and insufficient authorized illustration.
A report by the Nationwide Registry of Exonerations discovered that Black people are about seven instances extra prone to be wrongfully convicted of great crimes than White folks.
Gardner mentioned he hopes his basis will assist efforts led by organizations just like the Innocence Mission (www.onnocenceproject.org) which have helped to free or exonerate folks since 1992, practically 60 p.c of whom are Black.
“It value me greater than $1 million to achieve my launch,” he mentioned. “I feel numerous it needed to do with my household, particularly my spouse, the Honorable Choose Leslie Abrams Gardner being the chief U.S. district choose for the Center District of Georgia, and my sister-in-law, former Georgia Congresswoman Stacey Abrams, who continues to combat towards voter suppression.
“However I’m nonetheless right here – we’re nonetheless right here. And irrespective of how far you fall, you may at all times get again up. Blacks stand on the shoulders of our ancestors who achieved greatness regardless of the percentages towards them. It’s my responsibility to provide again and to assist for the subsequent technology.”
