December 16, 2020 Ronald McKeithen walked out of prison after 37 years of incarceration. Watching this beautiful human experience freedom for the first time in his adult life has been nothing short of a miracle. Ron was sentenced to die in prison in 1984, when he was 22. 1/12

In the last 5 weeks he’s experienced so many firsts. His first suit. First Zoom. His first welcome home party that friends, including me, threw for him when he was still pinching himself to make sure freedom was real. At 58, Ron now lives in the very first room of his own. 2/12

I first met Ron in 2014 and was shocked to learn his life without parole sentence was for a single convenience store robbery. Ron was 21 at the time & had 3 prior property crimes on his record, 2 from a single incident. Alabama's habitual offender law mandated the sentence. 3/12

A dedicated public interest attorney, Carla Crowder with @AlaAppleseed argued that Ron's terminal sentence was cruel & unusual and a judge agreed. The victims in Ron's robbery supported his freedom and Jefferson County's DA, @VoteDannyCarr, did not object. 4/12

All these folks worked together to free Ron, but this is rare. Hundreds of men & women serving LWOP for robberies and burglaries have no way out. “I left too many people behind,” Ron said. “I’m not so special. There are other guys who would do just as well as me out here.” 5/12