{"product_id":"2940151095792","title":"Into Each Life Tears Must Fall","description":"Remembering Eddie Joe Lloyd\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI knew the story of your wrongful conviction before I knew you. The injustice of your time in prison tore my mind and heart into tiny little pieces. You were the first exoneree I got to meet in person. You came to New York after your exoneration, tapping your toes and snapping your smile. You had too much energy for your cane, too much curiosity for the years you missed in prison. I was amazed. And immediately loved you. You left but you sent letters-yellow lined paper filled with your beautiful prose. You reminded me to trust that you were doing all right, and so was the world. You came back to New York to meet with other exonerees, and you re-stole our hearts with your dance moves, your laugh. I was happy. and loved you more. You left but you sent e-mails-stories of your family, your heart. you reminded me to keep working hard for the exonerees and the exonerees-to-be. You came to Texas to share your story with more people. Your heart was tired, but your real heart was still dancing. You talked about your life after exoneration, and we cried. Listening to you tell your story again, I loved you so much. I knew the story of your life after exoneration. The injustice of your death tears my mind and heart into tiny little pieces. But I took out all those letters and e-mails you sent me yesterday, and you reminded me that it is possible to know the sun even when you feel the rain. Eddie, you are the sunshine of my work. Thank you for sharing yourself with us. I was so lucky to know you, even as I feel your death. I love you.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-Sarah Tofte, Innocence Project policy analyst\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWell, at first I thought he was a bit crazy, we all did. After all, he gave a false confession in a mental institution believing it was a deal with the police to smoke out the real perpetrator, who would be caught napping -his words. His letters from prison took up every line on the page horizontally and then meandered around all sides of the page, as though he would, if space and time permitted, continue to write and talk in an ascending, discursive never ending spiral. And the letters were funny, full of righteous indignation, and an indomitable spirit. We were told that when Eddie was brought to the phone for an attorney call he was forced to wear a spit mask, and was shackled like Hannibal Lechter.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo when I met finally met the legendary Eddie Joe Lloyd in the flesh, at the county jail in Detroit, a few days before his release, he exceeded expectation. He was torrent of talk, energy and wit that belied his frail body. A New York Times reporter who accompanied me to the jail, was, to say the least, flummoxed by Eddie, especially after he used a word none of us knew, and had to check in a dictionary (Eddie was right, of course).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYet I was still nervous the day of his scheduled court appearance and release about how he would react. Although the Wayne County prosecutor was joining with us and our cocounsel Saul Green Uustifiably considered on of the best and most honorable lawyers in Detroit, if not America) in a motion to vacate and dismiss Eddie's case on the grounds of innocence, everyone was nervous that Judge Townsend might deny the joint motion. After all, at the time of sentence, Townsend had proclaimed that Eddie should have been \"terminated with extreme constriction\" (meaning he should be hung) and called for the reinstatement of capital punishment in Michigan.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEddie was magnificent at the proceeding because he stayed calm. Judge Townsend, quite outrageously, insisted that the wrongful conviction was all Eddie's fault, and that Eddie had never asserted his innocence. This is plainly wrong; indeed, Eddie's proclamation of innocence at sentencing, and his compassion for the victim's family who wrongly hated him, is among the most moving I've ever read. But Eddie said nothing, which in Eddie's case was quite surprising. I didn't know what he would do at his post-release press conference, in front of the national media, and standing side by side with prosecutors.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen the time finally came for Eddie to speak, he leaned over and whispered in my ear, \"Don't worry Mr. Scheck, this is my fifteen minutes of fame and I'm not gonna blow it.\" He then calmly stepped to the microphone and said, \"DNA is God's signature. He writes no forgeries and His checks don't bounce.\" That remark brought down the house and became the quote of the week in the New York Times.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut Eddie was only getting warmed up. From that day until his big, courageous heart gave out Eddie was brilliant, irrepressible, inspirational. Yes, I know he suffered a great deal after he got out, physically and psychologically. But for us, and I speak here for Peter Neufeld and everyone else connected to our organization, the late great Eddie Joe Lloyd always made us laugh, always made us feel terrific about ourselves and the work we do. We miss him terribly, but remain g","brand":"Page Publishing, Inc.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47102460395760,"sku":"2940151095792","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940151095792_p0.jpg?v=1764007074","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940151095792","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}