Jonathan Irons is a survivor of being wrongfully convicted in the Missouri Department of Corrections for over 23 years. Jonathan was arrested at age sixteen and was sentenced to 50 years for the non-fatal shooting of a homeowner during a burglary. Irons’ conviction was based on unreliable eyewitness testimony and no evidence linked him to the crime. For decades, police officers hid critical evidence showing that another person had committed the crime. In July 2020, Jonathan’s wrongful conviction was overturned by Missouri courts when the concealed evidence finally came to light. In this extremely personal interview, Jonathan shares the details of his upbringing and how he continued to slip through the cracks of the educational and judicial system way before his wrongful arrest at 16. Always a source of hope, Jonathan shares insights on intervention and prevention techniques for at-risk youth, the positive impact prosecutors and judges can have on cases like his and the beauty from ashes that is his life today.
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