🔵 By Arness Richardson. Photo by lauragrafie.
Stunned, was my immediate reaction to learning of my beloved mothers murder. Family members, frantic for information converting my mother called my phone relentlessly, prompting me to cut it off, as if not talking about it wouldn’t make it true. The detective asked me to go to the police station. They said they wanted me to help them provide a timeline of when my mother went missing, and I eagerly went along with them. But in my time of bereavement the detectives began questioning me, as if I was a suspect. I immediately volunteered to do a lie detector test and passed it. I thought they would be satisfied with the result, but they were not done with me. Ultimately the day that I lost my beloved mother, I lost my freedom, family, and friends.
The past 23 years I’ve spent shut out of the world, not responding to letters, birthday or holiday cards. But this self imposed isolation had to end. Slowly, I began to take down the walls I built up around myself. It was time to get back to life, back into the fight to overturn my bogus murder conviction. I owe this to my beloved mother and to myself, to open up and invite people inside again one thing for sure I can’t win this fight without your help, support and above all, your friendship. My name is Arness Richardson and I am a 52-year old black man, I’m from the USA. For over 23 years I have been subject to an unjust incarceration falsely accused of a crime in which I did not commit. My injustice was constructed by half truths and whole lies. First by police corruption, and later by proprietorial misconduct.
Freedom and the pursuit of happiness is a reality, but my happiness I can’t reach and my freedom I can’t touch. It’s been snatched away unjustly. So this is an open letter I am personally inviting everyone to get to know me. This invite is to all who went to stand in support of my fight to regain my freedom. But to also get to know on, a personal level. I am looking forward to hearing from you. The start of any journey, is its first step. I am looking forward to also express myself and getting to know you all.