Free after nearly a quarter-century: ‘I’m really lost at this point’
CHESTER — Under an overcast sky just spitting rain, James Kluppelberg walked out of prison Thursday for the first time in nearly a quarter-century and into a world of uncertainty.
He had nowhere to go. His wife had divorced him years ago, and for the most part, he had lost touch with his three children. He had never met his three grandchildren. His brother and three sisters were lost to him as well. His mother died from cancer in 2004. He had $14.17 in the pocket of his gray sweatpants, all that remained of his prison account.
“I’m really lost at this point,” Kluppelberg said, as he stood outside the Menard Correctional Centerjust minutes after he was released, his hands folded across his stomach, his voice calm. “I don’t even know what’s going to happen tomorrow morning.”Kluppelberg, who had been convicted of setting a March 1984 fire that killed a woman and her five children, was released after Cook County prosecutors went to court on Wednesday and unexpectedly dismissed the case against him while lawyers continued to mount their case in his defense.When attorney Karl Leonard of the law firm Winston & Strawn telephoned him with the news later that afternoon, it set Kluppelberg on a sleepless jag. He sat on his bunk, read his Bible and listened to the country music he loves on the radio in his cell. And he waited.
“Until I walked out, I still had doubts it would happen,” he said.
Now 46, Kluppelberg was 18 when the fire happened and a 22-year-old contractor when he was put in prison. Sentenced to life in prison although the prosecutors had sought the death penalty, Kluppelberg maintained his innocence in spite of the horrific nature of the crime. With the steep stone walls of Menard behind him, Kluppelberg described a prison existence that was monotonous and, at times, violent and dangerous. He said he read voraciously to relieve the boredom and educate himself, turning to news magazines such as Newsweek to keep up with the world and Popular Science to satisfy a scientific curiosity. He called himself a “CNN junkie.”
What turned the case was the advancement of science, particularly in what is known about how fires behave. The indicators of arson that authorities cited to win Kluppelberg’s conviction have since been debunked. Many are considered just myths in spite of the sway they once held in courtrooms.
Like many inmates, he studied his case constantly, looking for new ways to prove his innocence. He took correspondence courses as well and, he said, became an ordained minister.
“You get to see what technology looks like,” he said of an outside world he viewed only on television. “You just don’t get to use it.”
- Sources:
- http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-free-after-nearly-a-quartercentury-im-really-lost-at-this-point-20120531,0,4999583.story
- http://www.chicagotribune.com/videogallery/70235596/News/Wrongfully-convicted-man-released-after-serving-24-years
- https://www.facebook.com/innocenceproject
- Why is Montana so keen on sending innocent men up the river? Why won’t they even admit that in all of the inmates that have been within the prison system or are now in the system that there has not been some mistakes or misconduct? Why won’t they even take a look? Are the officials that pompous or that arrogant, or just that plain corrupted for money they don’t want too because they know that there are inmates that have been wrongfully convicted or placed under a bogus label? Think Montana, think! This could be you at some point at the rate Montana is going.
It seems to me the one judge in Illinois that said after several inmates were released after 7 years, was on target when he said : “ The only thing appropriate is for you cops that framed these guys is for you to spend the same amount of time in jail they did”.
It is the only thing that will stop this madness.
Oh that needs to happen here in Montana, all the way from the top to the bottom. And also with those that work within DOC that blackmail inmates.
It’s happening to me right now and I don’t know what to do about it. Before the county attorney took issue with me, i had a clean record with only minor traffic violations. He had officers charge me with a felony. It went to trial, i was ended up with a misdemeanor from it. Subsequently while awaiting trial for that, i was charged with another felony, which is set for trial in August. I don’t have the money for a good attorney, so I am using a public defender. Since then, the county attorney charged me with a felony, and noticed he was going to charge me as a persistent felon. I HAVEN’T EVEN BEEN CONVICTED OF ANY FELONY. Those were dismissed. NOW, I am being charged with another felony, ‘Failure to Render Aid’ supported by him saying I failed to call 911. I CALLED THREE(3) TIMES AND HAVE THE SUBPEONA RESULTS TO PROVE IT, but he decided to charge me while my PD is on vacation.
What the hell do i need to do? This attorney is railroading me because he knows i am broke, trying to dig my way out of a bankruptcy and trying to survive. I have a TBI and he is trying to get me locked up and I am not sure why. Do I need to contact the Attorney General’s office or who? Thank you for any insight or email me please mm.xx.cd@gmail.com
If it’s here in the state of Montana unfortunately too many people have found out that the Attorney General’s office does not help. The Governor’s office turns the head also and just sends out an apology letter but he cannot do anything. They tell you to go through the motions of filing what you need to file. That this is how their system works. They say it with a big smile on their face. We will pass your message along.