Last weekend Ryan Matthews from Texas graduated from College.
Fifteen years ago this joyous moment seemed impossible. Matthews was a prisoner in death row in Louisiana.
After he was exonerated and released, he decided to «restore life.»
«He never got angry, he was never depressed. He was determined to fight and achieve,» said CNN his wife, Candice Matthews.
Last Saturday, Matthews graduated from Texas Woman’s University with a bachelor’s degree in applied arts and Sciences.
It wasn’t easy. Candice Matthews said that her husband was coming with a 12-hour night shift in the packing house, drove their four children to school and then sat and studied.
Photo: CNN/Family Handout
But Ryan Matthews said: he did what you must, so was obliged to everyone who helped him get out of jail, including the lawyers who helped him to his feet after he was rehabilitated.
«Now I’m doing my thing, he said. – I welcome the challenge. I like it.»
Matthews was 17 when he was arrested and charged with murder in 1997.
Owner of a grocery store was shot while attempting a burglary in bridge city (Louisiana) about 10 miles West of New Orleans, and witnesses identified the guy as a suspect. According to the Innocence Project, Matthews and his friend went to a nearby area on the car that resembles the car, which escaped criminal.
«We knew what the sentence will be,’ said the sister of the guy, Monique Coleman. — He was a young African American, shot and killed a white store owner».
Ryan Matthews was convicted and sentenced to death in 1999 — despite the fact that forensic medical examination has not confirmed the presence of his DNA on a mask left behind by the suspect at the crime scene.
«Many people think that the criminal justice system is flawless, and if you are there, you are there for business, said sister Ryan. But it is not.»
Matthews exonerated in 2004 after serving seven years behind bars, five of which were on death row.
Last year 151 prisoner in the U.S. was exonerated, according to the National registry of rehabilitation. Those who are rehabilitated in 2018, has been in prison an average of about 10 years.
«You can fall but make sure you have up — Ryan said. — This is not the end, when you can do it.»
