Our justice system is one of the cornerstones of our society. It is founded on the principles of truth, justice, and fairness. But imagine, if you can, standing helpless as your loved one is wrongfully convicted. My husband was unjustly convicted of 1st-degree Felony murder and 2nd-degree reckless murder. The state provided no evidence placing him at the scene of the crime or leading up to it. Yet, the prosecution's misconduct before the jury prevailed, resulting in what we believe to be a terrible miscarriage of justice.

No prosecutor should have a lengthy relationship to any juror that sits in their courtroom, and no jurors should have relationships with each other especially a relationship to the victim...That is what happened to Michael Lester. While we are still fighting this case through motions and appeals, it should have never got this far. 

A judge has the right to overturn a verdict of guilty when the evidence is insufficient to uphold a conviction, yet they rarely use that right. 

This situation is not unique to us. The National Registry of Exonerations notes that in 2020 alone, 129 individuals were exonerated for crimes they did not commit due to false evidence, averaging almost 11 years spent wrongfully imprisoned. This is not only a tremendous personal tragedy but a reflective failure of our judicial process.

I call upon the legislative powers of our country to uphold their responsibility, preserving the integrity of our justice system by implementing a mandate. This mandate would require trial courts to dismiss cases where the burden of proof has not been convincingly met. Moreover, holding these entities accountable when they fail to uphold this standard is crucial.

It's a necessary reform, an urgent appeal rooted in personal loss and shared by many others unjustly caught in the crossfire. Please, sign this petition today, support this cause, and help bring the change that could preserve the credibility of our courts and protect innocent individuals from wrongful convictions.

We are calling for an urgent mandate to be in place to exonerate any inmate that has been wrongly charged and convicted of any crime that the State was not able to meet the burden of proof.  Calling for immediate release of Michael Lester and an investigation into all of Deputy District Attorney Will Coder Manly's jury trials.