Hi all. I’m Erica and I will be live blogging through the Dr. Phil Follow Up show.
3:56 – Loretta would like to start “Loretta’s Law” to obtain support for victims. What a fantastic idea.
Thanks for tuning in today. Please check out our website at http://www.luc.edu/law/lifeafterinnocence/ for more information on our amazing clients.
3:51 — Rock on, Elearners.com! They gave Ronald a $7,000 scholarship package and a laptop!! And thanks Goodwill Industries for giving Ronald a job! We know you won’t be sorry. He is a great man.
3:49 — “It’s like being in a coma that whole time. You wake up and the world has changed.” This statement by Dr. Phil makes me so sad. I am so sad for the years Ronald has missed.
And in the words of Dr. Phil, “Chicago, get Ronald Kitchen a job!”
3:40 — We meet Ronald’s two sons, Ronald Jr. and Randell. Ronald Sr. and Randell only recently met for the first time because Ronald was imprisoned before Randell was born. Randell describes their relationship as more of an older/younger brother relationship and hopes to someday feel like he has another dad. They take it dayby day and try to get to know each other.
3:34 — Ronald explains that he confessed because he was handcuffed and beaten for 17 hours. He believed they would beat him to death or beat him to the point where he wished he were dead. He needed it to stop, and believed that the jury would find him not guilty. That was not the case and Ronald was sentenced to death.
3:33 — “If you are a fighter, you have to fight.” Ronald doesn’t feel pity for himself, but it is hard for him to be around other people. He is used to waking up in the morning because guards banged on the bars to wake him. He doesn’t ride the busses because it is hard for him to be with people. He is short and blunt because he spent half his life in a place where he wasn’t allowed to speak freely. Ronald truly is a fighter and a survivor.
3:29 — Ronald Kitchen, another LAIP client, spend 21 years in prison for 5 murders that he did not commit. Eleven of those years were spent on death row where he was in solitary confinement 22 hours of the day. He was beat into confessing. He cried himself to sleep and missed out on raising his sons.
3:24 — Dr. Phil introduces Laura Caldwell, our project’s fearless leader! She explains what we do at the Life After Innocence. Unfortunately exonerees fall through the cracks, and although Dean received a full pardon, he was not automatically granted an expungement to get the conviction off his record. We are trying to help him with this so that finding employment will be less of a daunting task.
3:22 — Loretta thanks Dean for meeting her and says that meeting him changed her life. She has been able to accept him as a victim too and says she is excited to see him again. I am so touched by Loretta’s strength and love. I am in awe of her. Like Dr Phil, I admire both Dean and Loretta and am grateful they have opened their hearts to each other.
3:22 — Dean still catches himself being afraid that he’ll have to go back to prison, it is still scary for him, but he prays every day for the strength to go on.
3:21 — Jewel, Dean’s amazing fiancee, explains that they are blessed and are doing better. Dean sleeps more peacefully, he is more open, a burden has been lifted off of him. The show helped him.
3:18 — Dean comes out and joins Loretta. His smile brings tears to my eyes.
3:16 — Loretta realizes that both she and Dean are victims. Dr Phil asks everyone to imagine that they have been wrongly accused, locked away, criticized and ostracized. Loretta feels bad for what Dean had to go through and hopes they can give each other strength to move forward.
3:14 — Loretta meets another exoneree and learned that they both had the same fears. They are both victims, they are both alike. She said that coming on the Dr. Phil show was a life changing experience for her.
3:09 — Jennifer helps Loretta see that she is a survivor, not a victim, and she can take back control of her life. Dr. Phil reminds us that if they can overcome something as terrible as this, the rest of us can face our own challenges and overcome them too. Their strength and courage is incredibly inspiring.
3:06 — Loretta met Jennifer Thompson, a woman who went through almost the same thing Loretta did. She and the man she accused, Ronald Cotton, are now friends. They have also written a book together.
3:03 — We see a recap of what happened on the first show. Both Dean and Loretta went through terrible things and were both victims of terrible events. It is heartbreaking to hear their stories again.