Read and Write with Natasha Wrongfully Convicted: Deon Patrick Documents 21 Years Behind Bars
Imagine being just 20 years old when police force you to confess to a double murder you didn’t commit.
Then imagine spending the next 21 years of your life behind bars, with no hope of release.
This isn’t fiction; it’s the reality Deon Patrick lived before his exoneration in 2014.
In this powerful conversation, Deon shares how Chicago police built a false case against him and seven others, including a 15-year-old with borderline intellectual disability.
One of the most shocking parts? His co-defendant, Daniel Taylor, was already in police custody at the time of the murders, yet authorities fabricated evidence and hid documentation that could have freed them decades earlier.
When Deon was imprisoned, his daughter was just eight months old and his son eleven months old. He watched them grow up through brief visits, powerless to guide them. Even after a $13.4 million civil judgment, Deon says:
“I still can't remove some of the barriers I have within myself and in my head that have happened in my life.”
The prosecutors and police responsible for this miscarriage of justice faced no consequences.
As Deon puts it:
“They’re still collecting their pension. They just as arrogant as they were back in 1992.”
Today, Deon documents his story through advocacy and co-authorship. Alongside three others who were wrongfully convicted in the same case, he wrote "The Hazel Boys: The Trials of Four Innocent Men"—a memoir and a vital teaching tool for law students and the public alike.
For anyone still fighting for their freedom, Deon offers simple advice:
“Never give up.”
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