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An Oklahoma man used pandemic relief funds to have his name cleared of murder_我的网站

一 | GREENWOOD, Ark. -- Ricky Dority spends most of his days playing with his grandchildren, feeding chickens and working in the yard where he lives with his son's family.It's a jarring change from where he was just several months ago, locked in a cell serving a life prison sentence at Oklahoma's Joseph Harp Correctional Center in a killing he said he didn't commit. After more than two decades behind bars, Dority had no chance at being released — until he used his pandemic relief funds to hire a dogged private investigator. The investigator and students at the Oklahoma Innocence Project at Oklahoma City University, which is dedicated to exonerating wrongful convictions in the state, found inconsistencies in the state's account of a 1997 cold-case killing, and Dority's conviction was vacated in June by a Sequoyah County judge.Now, the 65-year-old says he’s enjoying the 5-acre property in a quiet neighborhood of well-to-do homes in the rolling, forested hills of the Arkansas River Valley outside of Fort Smith. “If you’re gone for a lot of years, you don’t take it for granted anymore.”Dority is one of nearly 3,400 people who have been exonerated across the country since 1989, mostly over murder convictions, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. In Oklahoma, there have been more than 43 exonerations in that time, not including three new exonerations this year. The cases underscore a serious problem facing a judicial system in which many old convictions resulted from overworked defense attorneys, shoddy forensic work, overzealous prosecutors and outdated investigative techniques.The problem is particularly acute given Oklahoma's history of sending people to death row, where 11 inmates have been exonerated since 1981. The issue has pushed a Republican-led legislative panel to consider whether a death penalty moratorium should be imposed.In Oklahoma County, Glynn Ray Simmons was freed after spending nearly 50 years in prison, including time on death row, in a 1974 killing after a judge determined prosecutors failed to turn over evidence in the case, including a police report that showed an eyewitness might have identified other suspects.And just this week, Perry Lott, who served more than 30 years in prison, had his rape and burglary conviction vacated in Pontotoc County after new DNA testing excluded him as the perpetrator. Pontotoc County, in particular, has come under intense scrutiny for a series of wrongful convictions in the 1980s that have been the subject of numerous books, including John Grisham’s “The Innocent Man,” which he produced into a six-part documentary on Netflix. The most common causes of wrongful convictions are eyewitness misidentification, misapplication of forensic science, false confessions, coerced pleas and official misconduct, generally by police or prosecutors, according to the Innocence Project, a national organization based in New York.In Dority's case, he said he was railroaded by an overzealous sheriff and a state prosecutor eager to solve the killing of 28-year-old Mitchell Nixon, who was found beaten to death in 1997.Investigators who reopened the case in 2014 coerced a confession from another man, Rex Robbins, according to Andrea Miller, the legal director of the Oklahoma Innocence Project. Robbins, who would plead guilty to manslaughter in Nixon's killing, implicated Dority, who at the time was in a federal prison on a firearms conviction. Dority said he knew he didn't have anything to do with the crime and found paperwork that proved he had been arrested on the day of the killing.“I thought I was clear because I knew I didn’t have anything do with that murder,” Dority said. “But they tried me for it and found me guilty of it.”Jurors heard about Robbins' confession and testimony from a police informant who said Dority had changed bloody clothes at his house the night of the killing. They convicted him of first-degree murder and recommended a sentence of life without parole.After years in prison, while most inmates spent their federal COVID-19 relief check in the commissary, Dority used his to hire a private investigator, he said. Bobby Staton had mostly investigated insurance fraud, but he took on the case and realized quickly that it was riddled with holes, Staton said. He eventually turned to the university's Oklahoma Innocence Project, which assigned a law student, Abby Brawner, to help investigate.Their investigation turned when Staton and Brawner visited Robbins in the maximum-security Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite, and he recanted his statement implicating Dority. “It was pretty intimidating,” Brawner said. “Especially when you're going in to meet someone who doesn't know you're coming and doesn't want to talk to you.”Brawner and Staton also learned the informant didn't live at the home where he told investigators Staton showed up in bloody clothes. When the actual homeowner testified at a hearing this summer, the judge dismissed the case.Dority's original attorneys were ineffective for not discovering the informant didn't live at the home, the judge said, giving prosecutors 90 days to decide whether they will retry him. That three months has been extended, and prosecutors have said they intend to ask the judge for more time for DNA testing. Dority, confident in his innocence, said he's not concerned about additional forensic testing.Sequoyah County District Attorney Jack Thorp and former Sheriff Ron Lockhart did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press. But Assistant District Attorney James Dunn, who is overseeing the case and was not in the office when it was originally prosecuted, said he agreed with the judge's dismissal after hearing the homeowner's testimony and learning a witness “was not credible.” “The last thing I want to see is an innocent person in prison for a crime they didn't commit," Dunn said. "Because that means the person who actually did commit the crime, or those persons, are still out there.” Meanwhile, Dority is learning to use a smartphone and the television remote control, he said. He's thankful to Staton and the Innocence Project and says his case proves others are wrongfully imprisoned in Oklahoma.“After they’ve done what they’ve done to me, I know there are people in that prison who are innocent that need to be out and need help getting out,” he said. “If they hadn’t gotten me out, I’d have been in there for the rest of my life.”。

二 | 见习记者边义婷8月18日，一辆悬挂“冀G”蓝色车牌的哈弗SUV，行驶在加拿大通往美国阿拉斯加州的公路上。

三 | 车主大远（网名），今年37岁，是张家口人，从事法律工作，副业是一名自驾游领队。

四 | 他这次旅程的目标，是开着这辆中国制造、挂着车牌的汽车，从北极圈附近的阿拉斯加出发，沿世界最长的公路——泛美公路一路向南，穿越整个美洲，到达南美洲阿根廷乌斯怀亚，再穿过德雷克海峡，乘坐轮渡抵达南极洲，全程自驾约5万公里，预计耗时7个月。

五 | 大远告诉纵览新闻，这并非他第一次跨国自驾。

六 | 在此之前，他已开着挂辽宁车牌的汽车从中国自驾中东，开着挂天津车牌的汽车穿越欧亚大陆。而这一次，他选择了家乡的车牌“冀G”。

七 | 大远开着“冀G”车牌国产车穿越美洲。受访者供图一颗“看世界”的种子大远的环球自驾梦开始于2013年，那年他24岁，在非洲一家工厂从事市场开发工作。

八 | 他开车从尼日利亚到达贝宁，完成了人生第一次跨国自驾旅行，并在心中种下了一颗“看世界”的种子。“当时我就想，我还要自驾去更远的地方。”大远说。此后10年，这颗种子一直被大远埋在心里。他在非洲生活了近3年后回国，自驾旅行的念头从未消失。2024年，大远终于迈出了关键一步。2024年2月28日，他开着一辆辽宁牌照的国产车从国内出发，穿越欧亚大陆，途经俄罗斯、哈萨克斯坦，抵达中东的伊拉克、叙利亚、黎巴嫩、伊朗等国，旅程往返2万多公里，历时半年。自驾穿越中东的旅程中，大远感受到了来自沿途国家人民的友善。经过俄罗斯时正是冬季，雪很厚，他的车轮深陷雪中出不来，是当地的一家三口拼尽全力帮他推车、挖雪。“他们的手都冻僵了，我也不会俄语，但就是这种无言的帮助，让我很感动。”大远告诉纵览新闻，他在哈萨克斯坦时也有过一次同样的经历。大远开国产车经过黎巴嫩。受访者供图大远抵达中东后，叙利亚和伊拉克当地的媒体还报道了他从中国自驾中东的故事。“因为战乱的影响，当地没什么游客，许多人没有来过中国，甚至不知道距离中国到底有多远，但他们对我很热情，说中国人很善良。”大远说。在大远离开巴格达前往约旦口岸的路上，他被多辆伊拉克军车接力护送了200公里，还被邀请在军营吃饭。大远在2024年5月2日发布的一条视频记录了这段旅程，视频中穿着军装护送他的军人用不太熟练的英文对大远说：“China，Iraq，friend。”这趟中东之旅，让大远体会到了开着中国车出国的意义。“开中国车自驾，辨识度很高，海外华人看到车牌上的汉字很亲切，让我体会到了深深的民族自豪感。”大远说。因为这次自驾经验，大远开始了开着国产车自驾出国的旅程，环游了50多个国家，还成为欧亚大陆自驾领队、中东自驾领队。一张行走的“中国名片”2026年，大远决定挑战泛美公路。这条纵贯美洲大陆的公路，北起阿拉斯加北极圈附近，南至阿根廷火地岛，全长约48000公里，跨越17个国家。“这次走得比较远，路途也比较艰难。”大远说，为了这趟旅程，他特意买了一辆国产哈弗SUV，挂上了家乡张家口的“冀G”车牌。“辽宁是我爱人的家乡，天津是我上学的城市，张家口是我最挂念的家乡。”他解释道。

九 | 签证申请成功后，大远又办理了一系列车辆相关的手续和文件。车辆从浙江宁波起运，抵达美国旧金山后，他和一位负责摄影的朋友一起开车，正式开启这次旅程。他们经过洛杉矶、拉斯维加斯、西雅图，再进入加拿大温哥华，前往泛美公路的起点，位于北极圈内的阿拉斯加。

十 | 大远告诉纵览新闻，由于挂着中国车牌，刚上路第一天，就被美国警察拦停了。“说实话当时挺忐忑的，不知道他找我干什么。

十一 | ”大远说。让他没想到的是，当地警察核对完文件后，还跟他聊起了天，讲述他在互联网上关注的汽车博主测评中国制造的车辆，警察说中国车的车轮会自己转向、会自动泊车，太不可思议了。得知大远这次的旅程后，拦下他的警察投来敬佩的目光，还把自己的警徽和一枚臂章送给大远当礼物，并把自己的邮箱告诉大远。“他说欢迎我来美国，在路上从来没见过中国牌照的汽车，希望我完成旅程到达阿根廷后，可以给他发照片。”大远说。大远开着“冀G”车牌国产车穿越美洲。受访者供图大远感叹：“自驾以来，我收到了很多善意。”在意大利威尼斯，有华人开车追了他200多公里，只为和中国车牌合影；在土耳其、法国、德国，当地人看到中国车牌都会围过来询问。最让大远感动的是，今年8月14日他在温哥华的一次偶遇。当时，他的车辆行驶了将近6000公里，需要进行保养，由于当地没有品牌4S店，他在网上搜到一家华人开的修理厂，打算去询问一下。老板来自新疆，出国20多年了，本来修理厂是不做保养的，但是看到中国车牌，便决定帮忙，还对国产汽车赞不绝口。老板帮他换了机油、洗了车，还喷上香水，却坚决不收钱。在大远发布的视频中，这位老板有些激动地说：“我在加拿大20多年了，从来没在加拿大的路上见过国产车，这个车代表的是中国，代表了中国制造，我们在海外的华侨看到你们开这个车，非常自豪，非常开心。”最后，大远还是坚持给老板付了一部分费用。“作为中国人很自豪！”大远告诉记者，是海外华人的善意和无私的帮助给了他自驾全世界的勇气。“有梦想一定要尽早实现它”这样的一趟自驾旅行，需要一笔不小的费用。大远坦言，仅车辆海运就花了5万余元，旅行中平均一个月的花销也在3-5万元。但他自己在心里算了一笔账，相比于其他物质需求，他更想用这笔钱实现自己的梦想。

十二 | 在大远看来，“看完世界，才能有世界观。自由地做自己想做的事，生命才更有意义。

十三 | ”为了这趟旅程，大远还提前在墨西哥和危地马拉学习了两个月西班牙语。目前，他唯一的担心是途经洪都拉斯等国家可能遇到入境困难，以及部分地区可能会有安全问题。他说：“我们只是这个世界的记录者和观察者，善良的人总会遇到善意。

十四 | ”大远开国产车穿越中东。受访者供图在大远这几次旅程中，并不是总充满温情，也有未知与惊险。2024年从中东返回中国时，大远要从阿富汗经帕米尔高原入境新疆，为了尽快回国，他一直在赶路，在海拔4000到5000米的高原上出现了严重的高反，他硬着头皮开了整晚，还在车里睡了两夜。“头特别疼，但我不知道是高原反应。

十五 | ”大远回忆，“后来回到家，疼得满地打滚，去医院也没检查出问题，后来才知道是高反了，当时周围全是山，除了土拨鼠什么都没有。再多睡一夜，可能命就没了。”即便如此，大远依然选择继续走下去。目前，大远和同伴正驾车驶向阿拉斯加，预计10天后抵达泛美公路的起点。如果一切顺利，他们将在2027年春节前后完成这趟从北极到南极的穿越。然而，大远的环球梦想并未止步，“完成这趟之后，我想把车运到非洲，从南非再开回挪威，从北极到南极，再回到北极。”大远将旅程经历记录下来。网页截图大远在旅途中经历了很多，他将自己的经历记录下来，发布到社交平台，收获了8.1万粉丝。