According to an independent report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, as of the end of 2015, 54% of state prisoners sentenced to more than one year were serving time for a violent offense. Similarly, 15% of state prisoners at year-end 2015 had been convicted of a drug offense as their most serious infraction. In comparison, 47% of federal prisoners serving time in September 2016 were convicted of a drug offense. However, the United States justice system is not without its flaws. As of February 2020, a total of 2,551 exonerations are listed in the National Registry of Exonerations; and the total years these exonerated people spent in jails before their acquittal adds up to 22,540 years. Such is the case of Lacy Hutchins, who is challenging the justice system based on wrongful conviction and incarceration.
Lacy Hutchins is an inmate at Telfair state prison in Georgia, serving a life sentence without parole and thirty years recidivist running concurrently. Lacy’s story trended on the local news platforms and social media after being wrongly accused of a drug charge even though the drugs were not found on him or around him. According to the Georgia native, he was done wrong by his country (Chatham county).
From the happenings during his trial appears to be an underrepresented individual who was unable to fully pursue his defense before the court, as he had to rely on a defense attorney provided by the county. To him, he was done hard by Chatham county, and he would want nothing more than to prove his innocence and become free. Since receiving his sentence, Lacy has been on a mission to not only prove his innocence but to wrestle for his freedom from incarceration. He has since been using social media to his advantage and putting the tool to good use. The #FreeLacyHutchins is another way he is mounting pressure on the state and pushing for a retrial.
To execute his case and freedom, he has a GoFundMe page with the tag Lacy Hutchins, the proceeds from which he will use to retain the services of a lawyer. Also, as part of his drive to secure his freedom, Lacy has a petition at change.org, and he hopes the reading public will sign in on behalf and sign in support the petition.
On why this presser is necessary, Lacy said, “I am trying to reach out to a target audience of people who are simply willing to hear me out, but I am trying to reach out to Kim Kardashian/Meek and to other celebrities who are with the prison reform act.”
Therefore, he described himself as not a brand but as a citizen who is building a large platform to attract public attention and put pressure on the justice department to reopen his case file for a possible mistrial.
Contrary to some opinions in some quarters, Lacy does not want his efforts to be mistaken for clout or trying to be in the trends because according to him, he is simply fighting for his freedom.
“I want to live my life without worrying about getting harassed by law enforcement agencies because they think or feel like I’m doing something wrong in the community,” he said.
According to Lacy, he is hopeful that he would become free sooner than later, and once he can do that, he would focus his attention on building his brand, a plan he has had in the pipeline for more than ten years now. And with the social media on his case now, he believes he has an excellent foundation to reach millions of people.
Lacy is committed to securing his freedom and making people realize that justice has been obstructed in his case. He wants to be a beacon of hope and change to other wrongfully incarcerated persons.
Visit the Free Lacy Hutchins website to learn more about his case and to get involved.
