Detroit man wrongfully convicted of crime advocates for those in similar situation
(CBS DETROIT) - A Detroit man who spent 15 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit is now leading an effort to advocate for those in the position he was once in.
"I was arrested literally hours after this crime happened. A crime I didn't even know had taken place," said Ken Nixon.
May 19, 2005, was the day that changed Nixon's life forever. It's when he became a prime suspect in an arson house fire that killed two children in Detroit.
Police believed Nixon did it because the home was of a man he had been feuding with, a close friend who had an affair with his girlfriend.
"They totally disregarded any other evidence of other suspects," Nixon said.
Investigators' evidence was witnesses who claimed they saw Nixon throw a Molotov cocktail at the home.
Nixon proclaimed his innocence as much as he could, but the then 19-year-old was ultimately convicted to life in prison.
"I'm being forced to live in a two-man room with someone who did commit a murder, who did commit a rape or multiple of those capital crimes," he said. "And it's hard to grasp that concept that this is what my life has become and sadly to no fought of my own."
Nixon appealed the ruling but the conviction was upheld.
Fortunately, students from the Medill Justice Project at Northwestern University did an investigative piece on Nixon's case.
The Cooley Law School Innocence Project at Western Michigan University was also involved. They found that there was questionable evidence that led to Nixon's conviction, including conflicting statements from witnesses.
The Conviction Integrity Unit at the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office looked into Nixon's case and filed a motion to vacate his sentence
Nixon was released from prison on Feb. 18, 2021.
"The judge that sent me to prison was also the same judge who signed off on my release," he said.
It's a full-circle moment for Nixon that continues to shape his life now.
Today, he's the president of a local nonprofit called Organization of Exonerees. It's made up of a group of about 40 people wrongfully convicted and advocating for the release of innocent people in prison. It's a mission that takes them across the country.
He also helps exonerees transition back into society.
"My advocacy is born out of necessity. I'm doing literally what I wish someone was doing for me when I was inside," he said.
Nixon is also working in Lansing to lobby for policies that can help people who are in the position he once was in.
He believes one way the state can address the problem of innocent people in prison is to provide more funding for conviction integrity units.
In order for there to be progress, he said the state must first acknowledge that this is a serious problem and that the justice system can get it wrong.
"I think the name itself speaks to integrity. We all know there are situations that we get it wrong, and for the Legislature acknowledging that providing the funding necessary and the structure necessary and make sure a place that Michigan is a place that can hold up the justice system," he said. "But until we get to that place where the legislature is willing to acknowledge that we need to make changes. I think we are going to have a hard time."
Nixon says he's working on legislation for the Michigan Department of Corrections to provide vital documents such as a birth certificate and identification for prisoners before their release from prison.
He said MDOC did change the policy to do that, but he wants it to be written into law to help prisoners reenter society successfully.