“Fifteen Years Stolen: A Texas Mother’s Fight to Expose a System That Never Saw the Truth”
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By Tracy Ann McCurry — Ink & Evidence Magazine
In the heart of West Texas — a region that prides itself on justice, integrity, and strong family values — a devastating failure unfolded. It is a story not of crime, but of corruption; not of guilt, but of manufactured narratives; not of justice, but of a system so broken that the truth never stood a chance.
I know this story well. I lived it.
For fifteen years, I sat in a prison cell for a crime I did not commit. My conviction was crafted from false reporting, racial bias, withheld evidence, and a court-appointed attorney whose loyalty was never mine to begin with. He had represented my older brother — the original informant in my case — and never disclosed that conflict. In Midland, Texas, where relationships and reputations shape outcomes far more deeply than the law itself, that conflict became a death blow to my defense.
I was never given a fair trial. My attorney fell asleep during proceedings. Key witnesses were removed or silenced. Evidence sat hidden for nearly two decades. And my child — the only person who truly knew what happened — was denied the opportunity to speak.
His voice could have changed everything.
But no one ever heard him. I continue sharing The truth, because it was withheld from my all female jury.
#WhatHappenedToJustice #JusticeSystem #CriminalJustice #BelieveTheVictim #JusticeForSurvivors
