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2022 Family Gathering Program

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Fall 2022 Family Gathering Program indd 1 9 22 2022 1 10 48 PM

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About Us Board of Directors Centurion is a national nonprofit 501 c 3 organization based in Princeton NJ with a mission to vindicate the wrongfully convicted Founded in 1983 Centurion was the first organization in the world established to investigate claims of factual innocence and help victims of wrongful convictions secure their freedom Centurion takes on the most challenging cases specifically those with no DNA evidence available to prove our clients innocence We provide investigative and legal support engage experts when needed and navigate the court system on behalf of our clients at no expense to them or their families Upon release from prison Centurion provides Post Release Support services to help our clients achieve a level of stability and ultimately thrive We connect exonerees to services in their local communities that can help them secure jobs housing and medical and psychological care while providing them with emotional and financial support to pay for food and personal items travel and medical expenses and housing until they become self sufficient Support Us Please continue to support our fight to free those who are wrongfully imprisoned and provide the essential post release support to those who have regained their freedom To donate Text FAMILY to 844 977 3311 Rob Mooney Chairman Rob Connor PhD Vice Chairman Charles Crow Esq Mary Catherine Cuff P J A D Jozelyn Davis PhD Treasurer Jim Floyd PhD Kate Germond John Grisham Kenneth Javerbaum Esq Willlem Kooyker James McCloskey Richard Miles Edwin Pisani CPA Stephen Pollard CFP Kathy Vik Corey Waldron Staff Corey Waldron Executive Director Paul Casteleiro Legal Director Kate Germond Senior Advocate Investigator Janet Baxendale Intake Analyst Volunteer Development James Cousins Attorney Case Investigator Pam Feig Post Release Support Coordinator Christina Fran ois Assistant Legal Director Rosemary Kay Bookkeeper Alan Maimon Case Investigator Madison McCoy Administrative Support Gene Truncellito Case Development Manager Tyler Spikes Exoneree Support Kimberly Weston Case Development Manager Laila S Wilson McCoy Mgr of Organizational Initiatives Planning Volunteers Follow Centurion Centurion Freedom for the innocent CenturionFree centurion freedom Centurion 2 Fall 2022 Family Gathering Program indd 2 3 Molly Cherin Lori Freedman Marilyn Jerry Carol Kientz Andrea Lauber Fidelis Machado Jock McFarlane Alan Medvin Michael Regan Hannah Shostack Laura Sinderbrand Trish Traverse 3 9 22 2022 1 10 48 PM

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Celebration of Freedom Honoring Larry Walker Larry Walker spent 38 years wrongly imprisoned for a Philadelphia murder he did not commit His conviction was the result of a misidentification by an eyewitness a flawed police investigation and incompetent legal representation at trial The detectives investigating the murder completely ignored a second eyewitness who told the police officer responding to the scene of the shooting that she knew the shooter who was not Mr Walker from a bar he frequented and then justified their failures by falsely testifying at trial that she could not be found and was incredible Proving it takes a team to free an innocent man and that elections do matter Centurion Investigators Alan Maimon and Jim McCLoskey investigated the case and Legal Director Paul Casteleiro and attorney David Rudovsky of Kairys Rudovsky Messing Feinberg Lin handled the litigation Together the Centurion team was ultimately able to get the newly created Conviction Integrity Unit CIU of the Philadelphia District Attorney s Office to give them access to old case files In the files the evidence of the police misconduct in the investigation was uncovered Finally after nine years pursuing every possible avenue in May of 2021 Mr Walker s conviction was vacated with the consent of the CIU but only on the condition that he plea nolo contendere to a reduced charge of manslaughter Left with the choice of walking free and being united with his family or staying in prison while the issue of the misconduct of the police wound its way through the Courts Mr Walker understandably chose freedom knowing he would walk out of prison as he walked in an innocent man He was welcomed home by his extended family including his supportive daughter son and grandchildren who stood by him and fought for his freedom for nearly four decades Mr Walker can now watch his beloved Philadelphia sports teams from the comfort of a living room rather than the confines of a prison cell He was there when his granddaughter opened her college acceptance letters and he is reconnecting with old friends who always believed in his innocence 4 Fall 2022 Family Gathering Program indd 4 5 Ricky Birch Shawn Henning Co defendants Shawn Henning and Richard Ricky Birch spent 30 years in prison for the brutal murder of a man in New Milford CT that they had nothing to do with Mr Henning was 17 when he was wrongfully convicted Mr Birch was 18 The State s case against them was predicated on the idea the two teenage burglars committed an incredibly bloody murder without leaving a single drop of forensic evidence at the crime scene or in their supposed getaway car The State was able to convict the two young men using coerced snitch testimony inconsistent statements from friends and family members of the two men and falsified testimony from detectives and a well known forensic expert Centurion Attorney Jim Cousins and attorney Craig Raabe of Izard Kindall and Raabe began working on behalf of Mr Henning in 2012 They partnered with Mr Birch s attorney Andrew O Shea of Kirshbaum Law Group and began a contentious struggle with the State to free the two innocent men Mr Henning s and Mr Birch s battles for justice took them through habeas trials appeals to the Appellate Court and the CT Supreme Court which vacated their convictions in a unanimous decision and eventually sent their case back to the CT Superior Court The State relentlessly tried to conjure evidence even unsuccessfully trying to coax former cellmates to say that the two men had confessed to them New DNA tests were conducted on more than one hundred different items using more advanced technology than previously available those results further confirmed that neither Mr Henning nor Mr Birch had anything to do with the victim s death Finally on July 10 2020 Mr Henning and Mr Birch were exonerated when a judge of the CT Superior Court dismissed all charges against the two innocent men Free now for more than two years they are rebuilding their lives with support from their families friends loved ones and the Centurion team 5 9 22 2022 1 10 48 PM

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Thank you Ben Spencer Ben Spencer was wrongly convicted for the 1987 murder of a young business executive in Dallas Texas Thirty four years later he was finally freed through the combined and collaborative efforts of Centurion Dallas attorneys Cheryl Wattley and Gary Udashen and the Conviction Integrity Unit CIU of the Dallas District Attorney s office Ben was convicted based on the false testimony of three eyewitnesses who claimed to have observed Ben and his co defendant Robert Mitchell deceased in 2003 exit the victim s vehicle after abandoning it in a neighborhood alley Additionally a career criminal falsely testified that Ben confessed to him in the county jail Centurion s investigation established through irrefutable new forensic evidence that because of the darkness of the night and the distance between the eyewitnesses and the victim s car it was physically impossible for them to have made their purported identifications One of them went on the record and fully recanted his testimony and another confided to a friend that he lied to get the reward money Not only that but the DA s CIU investigation uncovered hitherto suppressed evidence that the primary eyewitness received secret payments in excess of 10 000 in exchange for her testimony On top of all that the jailhouse witness admitted he fabricated his confession story as a way to avoid significant state prison time for his own pending crimes Based on this new evidence plus a strong evidentiary case naming the real perpetrator the Dallas DA joined forces with Ben s defense team and filed a habeas petition asking the Dallas court to order his immediate release and recommend to the high state court Court of Criminal Appeals that his conviction be vacated on March 12 2021 On that date Ben walked out of jail into the arms of Debra his wife who steadfastly stood by him all those years and his son B J who was born 34 years earlier three months after his father was arrested 6 Fall 2022 Family Gathering Program indd 6 7 Centurion is truly grateful for all of you in attendance this evening and for those who have donated to the 2022 Family Gathering Tremendous thanks to the supporters listed below for their generous purchase of Freedom Justice or Table Sponsor level tickets This support provides Centurion with additional resources to continue our fight to free the innocent from wrongful imprisonment Table Sponsors Charlie and Lynn Crow Jozelyn Peter Davis Ann Bernie Flynn JaZams David and Karen Miller Mary Ann Munson The Yedlin Group Justice Supporters Michelle Philip Burgess Mary Catherine Cuff William Wolf Jim Floyd Ken Tema Javerbaum Willlem Kooyker Freedom Supporters Margaret Cardner Robert Hendrickson Richard Hepburn Mercy Ingraham Jennifer Kushinka Debbie Jack Morrison Rosa Patrick Mulleady Julius Rosenwald III Rhonda Schaffler 7 9 22 2022 1 10 48 PM

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We are currently working on behalf of 21 innocent individuals who have yet to be freed With your support we will continue to fight for their freedom and for justice for many more men and women for decades to come Please continue to support our fight to free those who have been wrongfully imprisoned Text FAMILY to 844 977 3311 or Scan to DONATE DONATE Via PayPal Enter FG2022 in the note section You may also donate by check made payable to Centurion Envelopes are available on the table or mail to Centurion Attn Development Dept 1000 Herrontown Rd Princeton NJ 08540 8 Fall 2022 Family Gathering Program indd 8 9 22 2022 1 10 48 PM

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Thank you for joining us tonight as we honor and acknowledge four 4 incredible men who spent decades in prison for crimes they did not commit Larry Walker Shawn Henning Ricky Birch and Ben Spencer We also celebrate all 67 men and women that Centurion has freed from wrongful imprisonment since our founding in 1983 It is our privilege to spend time with these courageous men and women their families and the community of investigators attorneys and advocates who helped fight for their freedom Tonight s Schedule 6 00 PM Cocktail hors d oeuvres reception 7 00 PM Celebration of Freedom main ballroom Welcome Corey Waldron Centurion Executive Director Congratulatory remarks John Grisham Board of Directors Honoring Larry Walker Jim McCloskey Centurion Founder Board of Directors Sherena Robinson Larry Walker s daughter and Larry Walker Honoring Shawn Henning James Cousins Centurion Attorney Case Investigator Andrew O Shea Attorney and Shawn Henning Honoring Ricky Birch Andrew O Shea Attorney and Ricky Birch Honoring Ben Spencer Cheryl Wattley Attorney Jim McCloskey Centurion Founder Board of Directors and Ben Spencer Closing Remarks Corey Waldron Dancing immediately following the presentation Dinner Menu Appetizer Westin House Salad Bread Basket w butter Entr e Duet of New York Strip Steak with Saut ed Wild Mushrooms Caramelized Onions and Grilled Salmon with Pinot Grigio Fennel Sauce served with chef s selection of starch seasonal vegetables menu card indd 1 Vegetarian options available upon request Dessert Chocolate Mousse Cake Trio Creamy New York Cheesecake 9 22 2022 3 41 37 PM

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The 67 men women Centurion has helped free listed by the year they were released from prison Jorge De Los Santos July 1983 Wayne Eastridge June 2005 Milton Hernandez Jan 1986 Nick Sousa June 2005 Rene Santana Feb 1986 Michael Damien June 2005 Nate Walker Nov 1986 Herbert Sims June 2006 Jimmy Landano July 1989 David Alexander Dec 2006 Joyce Ann Brown Nov 1989 Harry Granger July 2006 Damaso Vega Nov 1989 Johnny Briscoe July 2006 Clarence Brandley Jan 1990 Kevin Williams Oct 2006 Matt Connor March 1990 Walter Lomax Jan 2007 Gregory Benson Jan 1991 Willie Green March 2008 Charles Dabbs Aug 1991 Darryl Burton Aug 2008 Clarence Chance March 1992 Marcus Washington Sept 2008 Benny Powell March 1992 Richard Ray Miles Oct 2009 David Milgaard April 1992 Louis Thomas Jan 2011 Eddie Ryder Sept 1993 Barry Beach Dec 2011 Edward Honaker Oct 1994 Frank O Connell April 2012 Earl Berryman July 1995 Cathy Watkins Oct 2012 Richard Johnson Dec 1995 David Bryant April 2013 Steven Toney July 1996 Milton Scarborough Aug 2013 Paul Burricelli Jan 1997 Mark Schand Oct 2013 Geronimo Pratt June 1997 Richard Lapointe April 2015 Kerry Max Cook Feb 1999 Jule Letemps Feb 2017 Ellen Reasonover Aug 1999 Lamonte McIntyre Oct 2017 Ed Baker Dec 1999 Billy Ray Davis Nov 2017 A B Butler Jan 2000 Dominic Lucci Dec 2017 Danny Brown April 2001 Mark Jones Dec 2017 Clarence Moore July 2001 Kenneth Gardiner Dec 2017 Michael Austin Dec 2001 Michael Shannon Feb 2018 Timothy Howard April 2003 Ralph Lee April 2018 Dennis Halstead June 2003 Shawn Henning July 2020 John Kogut June 2003 Kevin DeSalle Sept 2020 John Restivo June 2003 Ben Spencer March 2021 Gary James July 2003 Larry Walker May 2021 James Driskell Nov 2003 menu card indd 2 9 22 2022 3 41 37 PM