Man freed after nearly 27 years in jail for '91 killing; another man admits guilt

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Buffalo News

Man freed after nearly 27 years in jail for '91 killing; another man admits guilt

By Aaron Besecker By Phil Fairbanks | Published 10:00 a.m. September 19, 2018 | Updated 18 minutes ago

When Valentino Dixon wakes up Thursday morning, a free man for the first time in 27 years, only one thing will be on his agenda.

Making breakfast for his 90-year old grandmother.

"It's the greatest feeling in the world," Dixon said of his newfound freedom Wednesday. "We've been waiting 27 years for this."

After more than two decades in prison for a murder he didn't commit, the Buffalo man was exonerated after someone else confessed to the fatal shooting of 17-year old Torriano Jackson in 1991.

When Dixon stepped out of the courthouse, his friends and family, some of whom he hadn't seen in 27 years, erupted in applause and yelled "yeah, yeah, yeah." Dixon responded by hugging his mother Barbara and daughter Valentina, and telling the crowd, "I love you."

Read more: https://buffalonews.com/2018/09/19/man-who-repeatedly-confessed-faces-charges-in-1991-buffalo-killing/

---

Now for the strange part:

Prisoner freed after Golf Digest investigation uncovers flaws in trial

https://www.democraticunderground.com/11682432

SupersedingHat Retweeted:

https://twitter.com/Popehat

What a wild story: a prisoner serving 39 years to life started making drawings of golf courses. The drawings made their way to Golf Digest, which wrote about him, then realized his conviction was sketchy, then investigated, and now he's free

Link to tweet

A WRONG RIGHTED

For Valentino Dixon, a wrong righted

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/for-valentino-dixon-a-wrong-righted-murder-charge-vacated-by-court-after-serving-27-years-in-prison

With an investigation Golf Digest helped open, an Erie County court vacated Dixon's murder conviction after he had already served 27 years in jail

By Max Adler
4 hours ago

After 27 years in prison, a man who loves golf walked free today. Not only that, he was given back his innocence. Of course, the state can regift innocence about as capably as it can 27 years.

Nevertheless, the Erie County District Court in Buffalo, N.Y., has vacated the murder conviction of Valentino Dixon, 48, who was serving a 39-years-to-life sentence—the bulk of it in the infamous Attica Correctional Facility—for the 1991 killing of Torriano Jackson. On that hot August night long ago, both were at a loud street party with underage drinking when a fistfight over a girl turned to gunfire.

But before we dive into what really happened, a quick refresher on why golfers might care extra about Valentino Dixon. Six years ago, Golf Digest profiled (1) this inmate who grinds colored pencils to their nubs drawing meticulously detailed golf-scapes. Although Dixon has never hit a ball or even stepped foot on a course, the game hooked him when a golfing warden brought in a photograph of Augusta National’s 12th hole for the inmate to render as a favor. In the din and darkness of his stone cell, the placid composition of grass, sky, water and trees spoke to Dixon. And the endless permutations of bunkers and contours gave him a subject he could play with.
“The guys can’t understand,” Dixon has said. “They always say I don’t need to be drawing this golf stuff. I know it makes no sense, but for some reason my spirit is attuned to this game.”

It took about a hundred drawings before Golf Digest noticed, but when we did, we also noticed his conviction seemed flimsy. So we investigated the case and raised the question of his innocence.
....

(1) https://www.golfdigest.com/story/golf-saved-my-life-valentino-dixon

[iluvtennis]

1. Heartbreaking, how do you get back 27 years of your life. And this guy is so POSITIVE...

When Valentino Dixon wakes up Thursday morning, a free man for the first time in 27 years, nnly one thing will be on his agenda.

Making breakfast for his 90-year old grandmother.

"It's the greatest feeling in the world," Dixon said of his newfound freedom Wednesday. "We've been waiting 27 years for this."

After more than two decades in prison for a murder he didn't commit, the Buffalo man was exonerated after someone else confessed to the fatal shooting of 17-year old Torriano Jackson in 1991.

-----
After all he has suffered, he's still a good human being with a positive spirit.

[OnlinePoker]

2. Sadly, this was talked about here 14 years ago.

He would have been 34 at the time.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x82912

First comment in the thread.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. Thanks. That was an old thread. NT

[burrowowl]

4. K&R

I hope he gets some compensation.

[Judi Lynn]

5. This man is an unbelievable study in character, super-human goodness, transcendence.

If only some people with the ability to do it would recognize his unbelievable strength, and positivist, and arrange a lifetime membership to an extraordinary golf club, where he would be cherished as the unique person he is, or has become.

What a phenomenon.

Meanwhile, the people responsible for stuffing him away in prison need to be dealt with appropriately.

[Bengus81]

6. Boy...the DA ain't letting go of it.......

NOW he says yes he should be released but he brought the gun to the party where the person was later shot so he's basically still guilty.

But...BUBBA in his FORD 350 could bring his bang bang to a party exercising his Guberment rights but not that black guy eh?? That DA should be kicked FUCKING out of office today.