Samuel Elam was born February 20, 1990, and was raised on the south side of Chicago. Samuel is loved and missed dearly by his family and friends, this including his relatives. The most important relatives being his mother, father, brother, and five sisters. On September 17, 2011 (10 1/2 years ago), all of our lives were changed dramatically. Samuel was invited inside the home of Ms. Cherese Rodgers as her guest in this night of question. Unfortunately, at approximately 11:00 p.m. this night, masked men with guns invaded the home and robbed and beat Samuel along with other occupants of the home. Luckily, the police arrived during the commission of the offense which lead to the unknown masked men to flee, allowing them to escape via the back door of the home. However, when C.P.D. entered the home, Samuel was arrested due to the fact of his hairstyle (dreadlocks) being similar to the masked invaders description. Despite the fact that Samuel had no personal belongings on him, he was still wrongfully arrested and charged. Samuel had no mask, no gun, or anything that could physically connect him to this offense. Ms. Cherese Rodgers, along with two additional corroborating witnesses, have testified on behalf of Samuel's innocence. Ms. Rodgers has emphasized to the courts under oath that no only was Samuel her invited guest, but also that she bared witness directly to the fact that Mr. Elam was robbed and beaten right beside her. To his dismay, the courts have wrongfully convicted Samuel of this crime that he was actually a victim of. They also have yet to rectify this egregious act by reversing his conviction through appeal and post conviction petition.  Samuel, his family and loved ones now rely on your help to bring awareness to this injustice and advocate for Samuel's immediate release through his currently pending clemency petition. We are praying Gov. J.B. Pritzker grants him relief, commutes his sentence to time considered served, and order that he be released immediately. Samuel has lost his Grandmother, his Great Grandmother, and Auntie/God Mother during this wrongful incarceration. His Father is a surviving pancreatic cancer patient and high risk diabetic who desperately needs his son home, along with a long list of family and friends who misses him dearly. Additionally, despite Samuel enduring the most troubling and harsh conditions of serving time in maximum security prisons in I.D.O.C. (Menard and currently Stateville Correctional Center), he has achieved multiple college course credits and certificates, as well as mental health and personal development courses. Please help support this cause for him and his family.