Robert McLendon from Columbus spent nearly two decades in prison for a crime he didn't commit because of an eyewitness misidentification.
In this episode of Re-Entry Stories, McLendon explains how the combined efforts of the Ohio Innocence Project and 'The Columbus Dispatch' helped pave the way for his release.
The following transcript is lightly edited for length and clarity.
Mary Evans: Can you walk me through what the exoneration process looks like? And the reason why I ask this is because a lot of people think that once someone says, 'Okay, well, you were wrongly convicted, we messed up,' that it's essentially over, and then everything's done and finished. So, could you tell us a little bit about your experience with the exoneration process?
Robert McLendon: With the exoneration process, for one...I think people need to understand Mary...the Ohio Innocence Project are not like traditional lawyers. They don't come aboard like, 'Well, guys, either you're innocent or you're guilty.' The Innocence Project only comes aboard after you have exhausted all of your appeals and you have maintained your innocence all along. The Ohio Innocence Project and 'The Columbus Dispatch' were working in a joint effort together. They realized that guys were filing for DNA testing, and families were being denied that by the courts. So, in a joint venture, they went through all of the institutions and tried to get the three most prominent cases. Mine was...it was one of those. And when they came to interview me, they were very impressed with me and how I answered. 'The Columbus Dispatch' focused on my case a lot.
Evans: So what was it like during your incarceration while you were fighting for your freedom?
McLendon: It was...difficult. I think the difficult part for me was loss. I lost my mother, my father, my grandmother, my grandfather, and three uncles. And my mother was very... It was very difficult with my mother because she was in hospice, and I was talking to her every other day until she passed.
I think the difficult part for me was loss. I lost my mother, my father, my grandmother, my grandfather, and three uncles [while in prison].
Evans: While you were in prison, did you have any other support systems besides your mother? And if so, how did they help support you?
McLendon: I had a lot of support from family and friends. My daughter brought my grandkids down. I have four grandkids, and three of them actually grew up coming and visiting me while I was in prison. So that was important.
So the support was there...and that helped a lot. Getting visits and getting phone calls in prison. It really helped me in prison. You find yourself when you lose yourself. I actually got my G.E.D. when I was in prison, and after I got my GED, I helped 21 gangbangers and young guys get their GED as well.
Support for ReEntry Stories comes from The Montgomery County Office of Reentry and the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO.
