About John
INNOCENT MAN
John is the first to admit that he has committed other crimes in his past, but nothing close to harming or inappropriately touching a child.
When he was arrested based on Alyssa’s allegations, John was in police custody for a bar fight the night before. The cop who came to take John to Jefferson Parish was shocked. The cop knew John from John’s work as a tow truck operator. He also knew John was “no angel” — as John says — but even he couldn’t believe John was wanted for child abuse.
While awaiting trial, a judge granted John temporary release so he could go to his sister’s funeral. One of his sisters wondered if he wanted to run from the law. But John believed in the legal system because he believed in his innocence. He insisted on standing trial.
“John told me he believed in the system. They cannot convict an innocent man, he said.”
- John’s sister Mary
BROTHER, FATHER, GRANDFATHER
Orphaned as a young boy, John was raised by his sisters. Some of them went bankrupt paying John’s legal fees.
John has four kids who grew up with their dad only accessible at the other end of a prison phone.
He has five grandkids to whom he sends small trinkets he handcrafts using what little materials he is allowed access.
Alyssa’s younger sister, Rachel, also considers him like a grandfather to her own kids.
RESILIENT MAN
John has lost countless loved ones since he was a kid: his parents, his brother, and several sisters, including one who passed away while John awaited trial.
John has endured the toughest prison conditions in the country. Early on behind bars, John overcame addiction and has been sober for more than two decades.
At his current prison, John is a trustee. He is trusted by the prison administration and works everyday outside prison walls.