On Feb. 12, 2003, Julius Earl Ruffin walked out of jail a free man after 21 years in prison. DNA tests cleared him of the rape of a Virginia woman. The Virigina Pilot has an extensive two-part report on his case. Part one is here. Part Two, focusing on how persistence paid off for Mr. Ruffin, is here.

When Earl Ruffin entered the state prison system in 1983, he became prisoner 132087. Convicted of rape, burglary and three counts of sodomy, Ruffin was staring at five life terms. At 29, time simply stopped.

....He joined the prison all-star team, which traveled to other prisons to compete. He stayed out of trouble by keeping busy. When he wasn’t on the court, he built chairs, beds and desks in the carpentry center. He thought of the judges who would be sitting in his chairs and the college students sleeping in the beds he built.

He spent the rest of his free time in the prison law library, preparing his appeals. Without any formal legal assistance, Ruffin appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. His briefs were clear and well-written. But he lost at every turn.

And then, thankfully, it turned around. [hat tip to Howard Bashman of How Appealing.]