Kwame Ajamu

Author

Kwame Ajamu, formerly known as Ronnie Bridgeman, was just a teenager in Cleveland, Ohio, when he became a victim of wrongful conviction due to false eyewitness testimony and police misconduct. Along with his brother Wiley Bridgeman and friend Ricky Jackson, Kwame was wrongfully sentenced to death for the 1975 murder-robbery of Harold Franks, despite the absence of any physical or forensic evidence linking them to the crime. The sole evidence against them was the coerced testimony of a 13-year-old boy named Eddie Vernon, who later admitted to lying under police pressure. Kwame Ajamu spent 28 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. In January 2003, he was released on parole, but the stigma of the wrongful conviction remained. In 2011, a detailed examination of the case by Cleveland Scene magazine revealed numerous inconsistencies in Eddie Vernon's testimony. On December 9, 2014, Kwame Ajamu's conviction was vacated, and the charges against him were dismissed. After 39 years, Kwame was fully exonerated. Since his release, he has dedicated his life to advocating against the death penalty and supporting other wrongfully convicted individuals.