The Oprah Winfrey Show
Death Penalty Controversy

Kirk "I was in total shock. I couldn't believe that all these people were saying I was a brutal murderer."

Kirk Bloodsworth is one of a small but disturbing number of innocent people who were released from death row after being wrongfully accused, wrongfully convicted and wrongfully sentenced to die. Had he not been his own best advocate...had DNA testing not been available, he might be dead today.

In 1984, Kirk, an ex-Marine with no criminal history, was arrested for the brutal rape and murder of a 9 year-old girl. The nightmare began after one of his neighbors thought Kirk looked like the man in the composite sketch he had seen on TV. The man described was over 6 feet tall, thin and blond. Kirk didn't come close to that description. He believes prosecutors were so determined to solve the case that they refused to listen to the truth. In 1985, Kirk listened in horror as he was sentenced to death.

Kirk spent the next 2 years on death row in a prison cell below the gas chamber. Somehow he found the inner strength to move past anger. He focused on fighting to prove his innocence. He wrote letters, called people—anything to get people to listen. He would not give up. Eventually he won a new trial and was sentenced to life without parole.

Reading became Kirk's only comfort—it proved to be the key to his release. Reading a crime story, he learned about DNA testing and demanded to be tested.

The DNA test proved he could not have committed the murder. He was finally freed after nearly 9 years in prison. Kirk's mother, his biggest supporter, was not there for his release—she died only 5 months before. Since his release, Kirk has dedicated his life to ending the death penalty. He says the fact that he was innocent kept his spirit alive. The real tragedy, Kirk says, is that a little girl lost her life, and, after 17 years, her killer is still roaming free.

Find out more about Kirk's case and other wrongful conviction issues at www.thejusticeproject.org.

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