“You got to pick sides. And I got one side, and that side is justice,” Leon Benson said after traveling from Detroit to attend Vernon T. Bateman‘s art opening at the Skyline Club of Indianapolis on July 18. Benson, who served 25 years falsely incarcerated until his liberation in 2023, was the first person exonerated by the Marion County Conviction Integrity Unit.
“You think I’m gonna leave my brothers that I spent 25 years with in those cages to rot, when I know first-hand what it look like? Nah, I can’t do that,” he said.
“You got to pick sides… and that side is justice”
Join Benson and the movement to exonerate Vernon T. Bateman and all of our people the state wants to rot in those cages. Go to FreeVernon.Org, sign the petition, share his story, and get involved!