The Running for Innocence team was quite literally born inside the visiting room at MCI Norfolk. It was there, in the fall of 2012, that I first learned about MCI Norfolk’s rich history of supporting runners inside the wall by offering a socially beneficial outlet to engage and promote mind, body and heart health. And it was also there that I first learned that Victor Rosario – who I was representing at the time and who has since been fully exonerated – had become a long-distance runner while incarcerated, running his first full-length marathon in 2013 by completing 76 laps of the inner perimeter track at MCI Norfolk. Victor’s marathon story inspired me to participate in my own first marathon, the NYC marathon, which took place on the first Sunday in November in 2014. Even more remarkably, Victor’s release from MCI Norfolk in July 2014 – after his conviction was overturned by a Superior Court judge – occurred in time for him to help me train for that event. In that training process, I came to appreciate how critically important Victor’s running journey had been as a vehicle for surviving what would ultimately be a 32-year incarceration, the majority of which he served at MCI Norfolk. And I also came to appreciate how our shared love of running, and our commitment to supporting others with the challenges of fighting their wrongful convictions and with the many hurdles associated with successful reentry, could be aided by the establishment of a mission-driven running team.
With Victor’s help, the Running for Innocence team developed into a unique community of runners united by a common desire to engage in healthy running habits, raise money and awareness for the problem of wrongful convictions, and welcome newly released men and women who experienced long-term incarceration. Our team eventually found a home with the 5K run organized by the Battlegreen Run Foundation, which takes place annually on the first Sunday in November in Lexington, MA, coincidentally the same day as the NYC marathon. Every year, our team has welcomed more newly-released men and women into our ranks, and together we have successfully raised thousands of dollars to support innocence and reentry work across New England. Funds raised by the team have also helped support more than two dozen innocence case investigations. Some are still ongoing, while others have produced key evidence that supported successful motions for new trial and subsequent exonerations.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the team's creation. In those years, runners of all ages and abilities have joined us to participate in over a dozen running events. Each year, we have the privilege of welcoming newly freed men and women into our ranks, many of whose cases benefited from the funding raised by these events. Each year, I have lifted up the story or voice of at least one person who I am personally fighting to bring home. In 2019, I dedicated my race to my dear friend Ray Champagne, who achieved his freedom the following year, only to have his life in freedom after 45 years behind bars was tragically cut short on July 12, 2022 in a motorcycle accident. I will forever hold Ray in my heart, and I treasure that he gained his freedom and had the opportunity to join the Running for Innocence team and to partner with two other exonerees, Victor Rosario and Sean Ellis, to build the Exoneree Network.
I am dedicating my run this year to two wrongfully convicted men, James and Brian, both of whom I am still actively fighting to free. While I cannot yet share the details of their cases, and it may still be quite some time before I am in a position to do so, I will hold them both in my heart as I run the 10K on Nov. 3, 2024. I am also privileged this year to be joined once again by my younger daughter, Izzy -- now a highschool senior at Concord Academy -- who is participating in the 5K along with classmates and fellow members of the Prison Justice Project.
There are many worthy causes to support, but I hope that you will consider lending your support to this one by making a donation, however large or small.
Warmly,
Lisa
