Posted on Tue, Apr. 22, 2008
Adjusting to freedom
In January when I talked to John White, he was still getting accustomed to living outside prison walls.
The Georgia Innocence Project discovered DNA evidence that exonerated White, and on Dec. 10, 2007, he was released from Macon State Prison. The same DNA test results that exonerated White fingered James Edward Parham, who was in the same lineup in which White was identified by a 74-year-old woman as the man who raped her on Aug. 11, 1979.
When I met White, he said he was happy spending time with his wife,looking at the stars at 4 a.m., and eating fried okra to his heart's content.
And today he seems to be doing more of the same.
"I don't get too much sleep, so at night I sit on the balcony and look at the stars," he said.
White goes to bed late and gets up early, a habit he developed in prison, he said.
New lifestyle
I've heard other former inmates talk about getting accustomed to the freedom to get up in the middle of the night, if hungry or thirsty.
"I got used to that as soon as I got home," White said. "It was a privilege I hadn't indulged in in a long time, but it didn't take getting used to."
During his midnight raids on the refrigerator, ice cream is not safe. Butter pecan is his lifelong favorite, but he has a newfound fondness for banana split ice cream, he said.
White spends much of his time working on the leather accessories he makes and sells. When his wife, Mary, is not working, the two spend a lot of time at Piedmont Park, a place he loves.
The couple moved from Manchester to Atlanta.
Long-range goals include opening his own shop, but right now he's just concentrating on making items specially requested by people who hear about or see his work.
He recently returned from San Francisco with members of GIP. They attended the National Innocence Project Conference. The conference centered on what each project was doing and future plans, White said.
The conference also gave exonerees the opportunity to interact. What they all seemed to have in common, White said, was trying to get their lives back on track.
Getting involved
"A few of them are doing some things I had been talking about doing -- getting out in the community and doing some positive things, like talking to youth groups," White said.
White said he's had the opportunity to tell his story at a couple of church events in Manchester. Today GIP scheduled him to meet with some students at Mercer University in Macon. And at 6 p.m. April 29, he'll be guest of honor at a reception/fundraiser at Columbus Technical College for GIP. (Call Gloria Strode at 706-563-2923 for more information.)
Having responsibilities is one of the things White said he's having to get used to.
His wife, Mary, said having her husband at home also took some getting used to. They celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary Valentine's Day.
Contact Kaffie Sledge at 706-571-8585 or ksledge@ledger-enquirer.com
