Jonathan Fleming, 51, lost 25 years of his life because of a mistake: he was convicted of murdering a friend he did not commit.
Fleming, a resident of Brooklyn, New York, was convicted in 1990 of murdering his friend Daryl Rush, a year earlier in a shooting. Throughout the investigation and trial, Fleming claimed that he was at the other end of the United States at the time of the murder - at Disneyland, about 4,000 kilometers from the scene of the murder. He also presented an alibi: plane tickets, videos, and photos from his vacation at the amusement park.
But an eyewitness claimed to have identified him as the shooter, leading the legal system to believe the following theory: he flew home from vacation, committed the murder - and returned to vacation.
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After Fleming's conviction at trial, the witness recanted and admitted that she had lied because she had been promised release from custody for a crime she had committed - if she indicted Fleming for murder.
But the new testimony didn't help Fleming: the appeals he filed did not convince the courts, and he remained locked up behind bars.
Now Fleming intends to sue the state of New York for the injustice he suffered and the many years that were lost.
In the meantime, following an online campaign, he will be able to start his life over a little more easily, after receiving tens of thousands of dollars donated by surfers whose hearts were touched by his story.
