Innocent Woman Was In Prison For 7 Years

By Dr. Sinclair Grey III

What do you do when you’re convicted of a crime you didn’t commit? Do you get angry? Do you throw in the towel? Do you give up hope? Do you fight for your freedom?

Well, Malisha Blyden did fight for her freedom and because of her persistence and determination, she’s now free. But she spent seven years in prison – locked up, incarcerated, and having her freedom taken away for something she didn’t do.

Blyden was convicted of a 2005 home invasion shooting. She was handed a 40-year prison term. Once again, here’s the problem – she was innocent. In reflecting after hearing the verdict, Blyden recalled, ‘it took me a while to realize they just convicted me on an attempted murder charge that I had nothing to do with.

The victim was George Peseo.

A fellow prisoner knew that Blyden was innocent of the charges. How is this so? Because she knew who the robbers were.

When Blyden told the court she wasn’t with the group during the invasion, the judge wasn’t swayed at all. The lies of witnesses coupled with sloppy investigation led to Blyden’s conviction.

Blyden was focused on proving her innocence so much so that she penned letters to Oprah Winfrey and President Barack Obama.

“Appellate attorneys eventually uncovered the truth through interviews with witnesses ignored by investigators and confessions obtained from the actual perps. As a result of their screwup, the real perpetrators avoided prosecution and now the statute of limitations has run out, said lawyer Earl Ward, who represents Blyden with David Lebowitz and Julia Kuan.”

“Attorneys for Blyden are filing a notice of claim against the city on Monday, charging false arrest, wrongful conviction, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and other civil charges.”

Blyden wants to pursue a career in fashion or business. At the moment, she is torn between the two because she feels as though she lost a lot of time with seven years behind bars. She is struggling to find work and let’s be clear, no amount of money will take away the pain.

Source: NY Daily News

Dr. Sinclair Grey III is a speaker, activist, published author of (5) books, life coach, and liberator of persons from all intellectual, social and cultural walks of life. He is a committed advocate for change. Email: drgrey@sinclairgrey.org. Follow on Twitter @drsinclairgrey. Visit his website: www.sinclairgrey.org