Look Who it Was Random video

Victim's mother works with organization to secure man's release from prison

555 views · Published 18 December 2014 · 25:49 · Indexed 24 October 2026

Channel: The Dr Boyce Watkins Black Excellence Channel · 2014 · People & Blogs

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Tim Richardson is a former inmate and activist out of Ohio who has done something extraordinary.  Tim, who served over a decade in prison in Ohio, has created an organization that has done something that no attorney in Ohio has been able to do, and that's to get a parole board to reconsider its decision and realize it's mistake. 

Tim created an organization called Epidemek, which is designed to help reformed citizens earn their civil and human rights.  The state of Ohio is known for giving Draconian prison sentences to black men, harming hundreds of thousands of families in the process.  Despite paying their debts to society, many of these individuals receive sentences that are far longer than they should be. 

Tim has worked with the mother of James Foster III, who was killed by Roosevelt Baron in 1991, to secure Roosevelt's release after 23 years in prison.  Baron was just 16 years old at the time of the homicide, and was forced to shoot the young man based on orders from a drug dealer who threatened his family. 

Ms. Foster, after hearing a sincere apology in the courtroom many years ago, has worked very hard to stay in touch with Roosevelt throuhghout the years.  She not only forgave him, she also worked with many other young people in the system to help them make better choices.  

Despite calls from the victim's mother to allow Roosevelt to be released, the state kept him incarcerated for the next 23 years.  But by working together with Richardson, they were able to bring Roosevelt home to his family.  

The story is touching, and it gives us a lot to think about.

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