LEtter from RC

I used to love Saturday morning. I loved Saturday mornings cause Mama would always cook a big breakfast. I could smell it from my room: eggs, grits, sausage, pancakes— all of that. And we always had cleaning that had to be done Saturday morning! If you had chores, you pretty much did it then. Now I hated that part, but you had to do it in order to be able to go outside or go wherever you wanted to go for the day. Mama had her lil music on and did her lil cleaning with her lil windows open and all her lil curtains drawn back. She’d be cleaning away.

Yeah, that was Saturday morning. That was Saturday mornings.

—

I eat breakfast here but I rarely ever go to lunch or dinner. I barely go to breakfast either. Breakfast starts at 4am here.  A lot of times, if I don’t ever go out to a meal, shoot, I might not even go outside for a week or two.

It’s not the big things that I miss. The small things is what gets you the most. Being able to just wake up in the middle of the night cause you can’t sleep, and run out to the corner store, and pick up a thing of orange juice to drink. Something just that small and simple. Being able to just step outside the door and just stand out on the porch. Being able to just walk up and down your street. Being able to just talk to a family member or just pull up on a family member or anybody that you care about. 

You can’t go out the door till somebody shows up and opens the door and lets you out. And when they let you out the door, they standing there over you, watching. That’s how it feels. It changes you. It’s definitely not right. It’s not right in here and it’s not right doing whatever you do that gets you placed in here. You know, it’s not worth it. It’s not worth it at all.

—

My name is RONALD COLEMAN (#655019). I’m currently locked up at Calhoun State Prison in Morgan, Georgia. I've been locked up now for 22 years and counting. First, I would like to start by saying that myself as well as my other five co-defendants are all innocent.

I'm sure that you've heard this over and over, and time and time again, however I will always claim my innocence. What I am guilty of is being in the streets doing white collar crimes (at least that is the label), none of which were violent. This is not to minimize my days in the streets, it was still harmful. I do know and understand that. I am truly sorry to those that I love and who love me whom I've hurt and disappointed over the years. 

Being in the streets is what allowed my name to even be known, which led to me being used as a scape goat for political gain. My case, from the start, was— and today— still is full of corruption, deceit, and just flat out lies. My case (I want to be clear that when I'm speaking, saying, “my case,” I'm speaking for us all) was one of the biggest cases and longest trials ever in Augusta, Georgia history. The case aired on America's Most Wanted three times.

It's hard to think back on these 22 years. I was always real family oriented. Growing up, we was always out of town for something; whether it had something to do with the church, a sport that I was playing, Dana or Dianna having to be somewhere out of town to sing, or whatever, it was always somebody doing something. So that’s how I always envisioned myself— with my family.

Even though I was in the streets and running the streets, I made it a point to always do stuff with my kids and with my family at the time. I always had Precious, Kiki, Chickenman,and Chris. I was taking them all to the park, or taking them to Chucky Cheese, or taking them to some of their friends houses. That was the kind of stuff I did. That was the kind of stuff I enjoyed doing.

The hardest thing that I’ve really had to deal with is just being away from my kids, away from my family. Watching folks have to grow up while I’m in here. I can’t raise them or nurture them the way I envisioned.

I hope to be back with my family soon. However, there is a bigger picture and even larger problem that exist in our society. Me and my friends are just a needle in a haystack of wrongfully convicted human beings. I appreciate any support you can give this case, and I would like to thank each and everyone of you for reading this.

Sincerely, RC

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