(edit - Nito was not feeling the earlier photo)
I don’t remember hearing his story when it was happening - maybe because we didn’t live in California yet and I missed the 20/20 episode, - but DeWayne McKinney, a man who served 20 years in Orange County prison for a 1980 robbery-murder at a Burger King that he did not commit, who was then released, moved to Hawaii and turned his settlement money into a successful ATM business, died this morning in a scooter accident. What first caught my eye about this story was the accident because Janay, our frolaborator, recenctly returned from Honolulu and had a scary scooter accident but thankfully was ok. But then realizing that ‘you don’t hear about black men turning their lives around like this’ really hit me.
The story of DeWayne McKinney was apparently discussed around Hollywood to turn his journey into a feature film - I wonder where this leaves things. Not for the entertainment value, but for the message of turning ones life around no matter what cards you’ve been dealt. Obviously not everyone wrongfully convicted (especially black men) gets to walk away, let alone with $1 million dollars from the police, BUT he did, and he moved to Hawaii (a man after my own heart!) and kept life happening. I love that message and hope it is a movie one day.
For more on his story, check out these articles by ABC News (20/20).
R.I.P.
