Like a slow steady rain or a fresh coat of paint, life has sometimes offered us the chance to begin anew, but a wrongly convicted man from Franklin has been wondering why the state won't offer him clemency for a crime someone else committed.
"The last six years, it's all been starting over," said Randall Mills.
At 62, there were other ways Randall Mills had envisioned spending his golden years. Painting the inside of a church was never part of his retirement plan, but then again, being sent to prison was never part of his life plan.
"I did 11 years and three months for a crime I didn't commit," he said.
In 1999, authorities said Randall raped a 12-year-old. He was convicted a year later, but in 2011, DNA evidence exonerated him of a crime he always denied committing.
"You think when you're exonerated that your life will fall back where it was, but it doesn't," Randall added.
As if being wrongly convicted wasn't punishment enough, last week a letter from the state denied his request for clemency. He will not receive a cent from the state for the 11 years he sat in prison for a crime someone else committed.
"And we were somebody and the state took that away from us. We aren't criminals. We work just like everyone else," he said with a tone of frustration in his voice.
The state parole board sent this statement to NewsChannel 5:
“Mr. Mills’ application and all documents relative to his conviction and appeals were thoroughly reviewed. The facts and circumstances of his case do not merit a formal hearing.”
