In 1990, Jonathan Fleming was wrongly convicted of the murder of 22-year old Darryl Rush. Upon his conviction, Fleming was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, and up until Tuesday, had been an innocent man serving that sentence for 24 years.
Eventually, investigators launched a probe into Fleming’s case and were able to find two documents that proved his innocence. Earlier this week, a judge granted a motion to dismiss his charges, and Fleming was finally a free man.
So how does a Brooklyn native celebrate his first week of freedom after wrongly spending so much time in prison? By catching a Brooklyn Nets game of course.
On Friday night, Fleming got the royal treatment at Barclays Center, where he got a behind-the-scenes tour before the start of the Nets game and then chatted up Katie Couric at courtside.
“That’s my girl now,” he joked afterward.
While a night at a Nets game obviously isn’t enough to make up for what Fleming has dealt with, it is a great way to help the Brooklyn man start his long acclimation process back into society.
The New York Daily News has a fascinating interview with Fleming, detailing what lead to him ending up in prison and how he is adjusting to being back in the real world after so long.
While nothing can give Fleming back the 24 years he spent behind bars, here’s hoping he is able to make the best of his newly-found freedom.