{"id":2072,"date":"2015-06-15T10:58:55","date_gmt":"2015-06-15T15:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.candoclemency.com\/?p=2072"},"modified":"2022-08-19T15:34:30","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T20:34:30","slug":"justice-denied-paul-frees-quest-for-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sheryanne.com\/cando-new2\/justice-denied-paul-frees-quest-for-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"Justice Denied: Paul Free’s Two-Decade Plus Quest for Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Paul<\/a>
Paul Free is serving Life Without Parole for Marijuana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MOTION DENIED<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The ruling might as well have said “Justice Denied.”<\/p>\n

Paul Free<\/strong><\/a>, serving a sentence of life without parole for a nonviolent marijuana conspiracy offense he says he can prove he did not commit, is used to such outcomes after more than 20 years of incarceration in a maximum-security federal penitentiary. It\u2019s the reason for this particular denial of justice that is so maddening to him this time.<\/p>\n

One of the judges charged with deciding his fate claims Free should have brought up evidence of his innocence years ago and that his current \u201cMotion for Rehearing<\/a>\u201d contains nothing new. However, anyone who actually takes the time to read the petition will see a brand new affidavit from the case\u2019s star witness, a man who testified on the stand that he and Paul Free traveled together for years and were responsible for delivering large quantities of marijuana. This witness now states that he never knew Paul Free before the trial, in fact he didn\u2019t even know him at the time of trial, but detectives told him whom they wanted to convict and he complied.<\/p>\n

As astounding as this piece of evidence is, there is much more evidence that puts Paul Free hundreds of miles away from where the \u201ccrime\u201d took place. But that is the least part of this dramatic story. The real story, casually dismissed by the judge claiming he saw no new evidence, lies in the resolve, determination, and resilience of the remarkable man at its heart.<\/p>\n

Paul Free has worked tirelessly, every day, against near impossible obstacles and odds, for over two decades, to get a chance at the justice that was denied him during his trial. If he wasn’t writing a motion, or a reply, or an appeal to the courts of appeal, or to the Supreme Court, he was waiting on a response from them. All the while he was gathering as much evidence of his innocence as he could find. He hired investigators to first locate and then interview each of those who testified against him at trial, no small feat from the confines of federal prison and on a prisoner\u2019s wages.<\/p>\n

For many years Paul did everything on his own, but along the way he has gathered a dedicated group of supporters and followers, including this organization, who want to see him released.<\/p>\n

\"Paul<\/a>
Paul Free with his mother, the late Maxine Free, not long after he was first incarcerated.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before we explore Paul Free\u2019s twenty-year plus quest for the justice denied him, let\u2019s be clear about two facts first:<\/h2>\n