One day, far from now, a college will proudly boast the name James Q. Wilson University. Today is not that day.
Today, a Civil Rights hero like Mr. Alan Jerome Crotzer would have a school - perhaps an elementary or middle school - named after him, replacing some dead white male whose name once adorned that same school. What did Mr. Crotzer do? Try this (DNA frees innocent man after 24 years, January 24, 2006):
A US man who spent 24 years behind bars was freed today after DNA testing and other evidence convinced prosecutors he was not involved in the robbery and rapes that led to his 130-year sentence.
Alan Crotzer, 45, was freed more than three years after he wrote to the Innocence Project in New York, a legal clinic that works to exonerate inmates through DNA testing.
Crotzer had been sentenced to 130 years in prison for a 1981 robbery and two rapes.Well, Mr. Crotzer 15-minutes of fame, fortune, and adulation as a Civil Rights hero is up (Man freed after 24 years in prison arrested on attempted murder charges, July 31, 2012):
"It's been a long time coming," Crotzer said. "Thank God for this day."
A Florida man who successfully won $1.25 million for being wrongfully jailed is now being accused of attempted murder.
Tallahassee police late Monday arrested 51-year-old Alan Jerome Crotzer.
Crotzer is accused of shooting into a car that he was driving next to Sunday in Tallahassee, striking Antoine Davis in his arm and leg.
Davis told police Crotzer threatened him a couple of months ago after they had an argument over a CD he sold Davis' girlfriend.
As he was leaving a Best Buy store, Davis saw Crotzer's car.
Crotzer pulled up to him and fired through an open passenger window while both cars were going about 40 miles per hour, police said. Police found Crotzer based on a description of his car and he was arrested Monday after Davis picked him out of a police lineup.
Crotzer spent more than 24 years in prison on charges of burglary, robbery and rape. He was freed after DNA evidence showed that he had not committed the crime.Who buys CDs anymore (well, unless its a certificate of deposit)?
The Florida Legislature in 2008 approved a bill that paid Crotzer $1.25 million for his time spent in prison. The measure also guaranteed Crotzer free tuition to any college or university in the state.
Crotzer is on the board of directors of the Innocence Project of Florida.
The executive director of the group would not comment on Crotzer's arrest and referred all questions to his attorney.
Mr. Crotzer - a true Civil Rights hero the children of Florida no doubt learn about in school - is obviously the real victim here. Let's hope he stays on as executive director of the Innocence Project of Florida, despite heading back to jail.
Last time he went there, he collected not just $200 after passing "Go"... but $1.25 million. Perhaps this time, he can pay the state back.
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