Four months ago, I was mistakenly identified as the wrong tall, bald, black man and wrongfully arrested and held under a $100,000 bailed for armed bank robbery. A day later I posted about it on Facebook. Three days later it had over 30,000 shares. A week later, I found out that I still had an arrest record even though I was released as innocent. Three week later I started an online nationwide effort by way of the #AutoErase petition to bring awareness to the fact that innocent individuals wrongfully arrested should not have to bare the burden and expense to get their arrest record erase. One month after the incident, I went to Washington, DC to participate on panels and meet with my Congressional reps. Two months after the incident, I started a non-profit, Fitting The Description, to help bring awareness to and to help provide resources for the number of folks that are wrongfully detained and arrested each day. Three months after the incident we celebrated the close of a successful fundraising campaign for the non- profit. It gives great pleasure and joy, that today, only four months since the incident, we are able to announce that Illinois Representative Ken Ken Dunkin has completed his Bill and will be submitting it for first reading, AND, that we have provided that Model Legislation to TWELVE (12) other state legislators that are introducing or thinking about introducing #AutoErase legislation! What a great way to end the year!
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 18:40:30 +0000