Three wrongly convicted with Missouri ties -- Josh Kezer, Darryl Burton and Dennis Fritz -- spoke about their experiences yesterday in Columbia. They stressed that, even though they were freed, they still suffered problems because of their time in prison -- and the government, which sent them away, didn't really help them adjust back to real life.
Missouri provides $50 per day to former inmates exonerated by DNA evidence, but neither Burton nor Kezer could collect because they weren't cleared by DNA. Kezer noted that people on parole are eligible for benefits that he cannot receive, such as job training.
In this photo taken on Jan. 28, 2010, Josh Kezer speaks to a group of kids, in Columbia, Mo. Kezer was released from prison last year after a Cole County judge ruled that prosecutors improperly withheld key evidence from his defense attorneys. He was accused in the 1992 death of a southeast Missouri nursing student. (AP photo/L.G. Patterson)
