Kansas City, MO (KCTV) — From prison to a stage at Crown Center, this week has been an emotional one for Kevin Strickland as he fights for his freedom and proves his innocence.
After a long release from custody, Strickland flipped a switch on Friday to light the 100-foot tree Mayor’s Christmas tree in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
It is one of the first of many he will experience now that a judge has ruled that his wrongful sentence should be set aside. Strickland was kept in captivity for more than 40 years. He was convicted of three murders in 1979 which he maintained that he did not commit.
Strickland was released Tuesday from the Western Missouri Correctional Center. Judge James Welsh ruled earlier this week that the evidence used to convict Strickland had been dismissed and a key witness had to be retried before he died.
“I’m still in disbelief,” Strickland said Tuesday as he stood by his lawyers.
On Friday he was the guest of honor for Mayor Quinton Lucas’ Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting. Kevin Strickland, who grew up in Kansas City, never attended the event.
“It’s an experience I’ve never experienced in my life,” said Kevin Strickland. “What was it like last year? There are no words for that. It’s a memory I’m trying to get out the back door.”
Strickland as a free man watched fireworks over Mayer’s Christmas tree. He spent Thanksgiving with his family.
Strickland’s brother, Roland Strickland, said, “What made it even more special was that I got to spend it with most of my family and most of all with God and Kevin, who will be forever Didn’t happen.”
Strickland began her Christmas season with an invitation to the Mayor’s Christmas tree lighting at Crown Center.
“I was honored to receive it,” said Kevin Strickland.
Chief Security Tyrone Matthews was originally supposed to be the mayor’s special guest, but was canceled due to schedule changes.
Strickland would not receive any compensation for the time lost while imprisoned.
There is no statute in the state of Missouri to indemnify a person wrongly convicted of a crime, unless they have been acquitted via DNA.
A GoFundMe account has raised more than $1.2 million to help Strickland adjust to life outside prison.
“He knows no other life for the past 43 years, but behind the walls of an austerity. What many of us do and take it lightly, it is not easy for him,” said Roland Strickland “I’m just there to help her whenever she needs it. I am there to support them.”
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