Innocent, convicted, exonerated: James Tillman, 20 years after getting free

About this episode

James Tillman shares his story of wrongful conviction and exoneration after 18½ years in prison.

James Tillman remembers the smell of steak and onions cooking at his mother’s house on the day police came for him. He thought he’d be back soon. Instead, he spent a total of 18½ years incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. In 2006, with the help of the Connecticut Innocence Project , DNA evidence proved his innocence, making him the first person in Connecticut exonerated through post-conviction DNA testing. Later, DNA pointed to another man, who eventually confessed in court. James talks about refusing to plead guilty, surviving prison, holding onto faith, and learning how to live freely again.  And we meet Katie Farrell, the social worker who helped him prepare for freedom before freedom was guaranteed.   Suggested episodes: Nothing goes as planned: A first-time offender’s prison story from arrest to release Love without the possibility of parole How to find purpose in life after accidentally killing someone    GUESTS:  James Tillman: Was wrongfully convicted of rape and kidnapping in Hartford in 1989 and sentenced to 45 years in prison. After 18½ years incarcerated, DNA evidence proved his innocence, making him…

People in this episode

Host: Chion Wolf

Guests: James Tillman, Katie Farrell

Topics covered

• wrongful conviction
• exoneration
• DNA evidence
• prison experience
• social work
• life after incarceration

Keywords

• wrongful conviction
• James Tillman
• DNA evidence
• exoneration
• Connecticut Innocence Project
• prison
• social worker
• life after prison

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Connecticut Innocence Project, Connecticut’s Division of Public Defender Services

Books & works: Audacious with Chion Wolf

Places: Connecticut, Hartford

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