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Last Updated:May 22, 2004

An audible cry of anguish came from the back of the courtroom. There was crying. But my son did not move. Tears welled up in his eyes, but they did not fall. He continued to look straight ahead.

The jury was polled and my son did not divert his eyes from straight ahead. He remained standing there, motionless, with wet eyes and iron-control as the jury left, and the judge left, and some of the spectators left.

I wondered for several weeks what was going through his head... afraid to ask. I could only imagine what it must be like for him-- knowing he was innocent and yet knowing he was going to prison.

An odd bundle of contradictions made up that day in court. The pre-sentencing report recommended parole, but the judge, stating that he may not agree with the jury, felt obligated to honor the jury's recommendation of 5 years. The prosecutors felt he was "dangerous" and should be locked up while appealing, but David was allowed to stay out on his original bond-- a bond which had carried him through four and a half years of post-ponements. We wondered what the point was of even having a pre-sentencing investigation if the parole officer's recommendation wasn't going to be followed.

That was January of 2004. It is now May and my son told me what was going on in his head that day. He was staring straight ahead-- at the flag. He was trying to make sense of what happened.... trying to understand what that flag meant to him. It's suppose to stand for justice, for freedom and liberty. But what does it mean to those who have been raped by the justice system?

Two years ago, I crocheted an American Flag afghan. (To see a photo, visit www.mocure.org and click on the "True Stories" link on the left side.) At the time, I did not know what I would do with the flag. When the governor of Illinois commuted and exonerated death row prisoners from their death sentences, I knew what I wanted to do.

The reasons for giving Governor Ryan this flag are two-fold:

1. To publicly honor his courage, his sense of fairness and justice, his bravery to call attention to a broken system

2. To publicly make a statement to all officials-- especially to those in my own home state--

A. that a determined Missouri woman wished to call attention to the plight of the poor and innocent

B. that the American Flag stands for Justice and Liberty for ALL Americans, not just the privileged few

C. that all officials, including Missouri officials, are not above making mistakes

D. that all officials all over the country have a duty and responsibility to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to convict the right persons for the crime they are accused of-- even to the extent of how police conduct investigations and eye-witness identifications-- and to put in place procedures that will help prevent an innocent person from being convicted

E. that the appearance of justice is not justice itself; that to pass the buck is "unacceptable behavior" in the name of justice

F. that no American wants to see methods used by police that continue to imprison innocent people