This event is the perfect marriage of two of my passions-- running marathons and fighting injustice in the criminal justice system.  It also doesn't hurt that my family is coming along for the trip, and NYC is our favorite city!  I love running marathons because it's real, it's raw, it's not political; you can't fake the training or the execution.  Everyone is treated as equals-- everyone is running the same course in the same conditions; the elites and the average, everyday runners alike put one foot in front of the other for 26.2 miles.  These fundamental aspects of the marathon are so much the opposite of how the criminal justice system works and why it fails and can lead to wrongful convictions.  In the criminal justice system, everyone is not equal.  Innocent people fighting wrongful convictions are the ultimate underdogs, always fighting an uphill battle with the deck stacked against them.  But much like running a marathon, fighting a wrongful conviction requires relentless hard work, determination, endurance, and grit.  I'm in both for the long-haul, and I pride myself in having these traits.  When I cross the finish line of a marathon, I feel like I could move a mountain.  And that's the strength it takes to fight a wrongful conviction.

This will be my 43rd marathon overall and my 41st state in my quest to run a marathon in all 50 states + DC.  Completing this marathon will start my 10 Marathons To-Go Countdown.  But more so, I'm especially thrilled that this marathon will be the first NYC Marathon to take place since both the COVID-19 pandemic shook the world and since my most long-standing client Christopher Smith was finally freed after nearly 13 years of wrongful imprisonment for an armed robbery he didn't commit.  The decision that ultimately led to his exoneration was issued by the federal court on November 7, 2019, and the NYC Marathon will take place November 7, 2021.  I can't help but LOVE this 11/7 coincidence.  I continue to work on Christopher's case as the State seeks to retry him despite the definitive DNA evidence pointing to an alternate suspect and, as the federal court put it, the lack of any evidence pointing to Christopher as being involved in any way.  Here is a short but powerful video highlighting his case: https://youtu.be/THwEcoGlros.  He turns 40 this week just days before the NYC Marathon, and thank god, he's free to celebrate the milestone.  Many of my other clients, like Ryan Widmer, are not as fortunate.  He, too, celebrates his birthday this week, but once again, wrongfully imprisoned.

In 2003, the University of Cincinnati College of Law opened the Ohio Innocence Project.  This was a life-changing event for me personally because 2003 was the same year I was deciding where to go to law school.  When I heard about the Ohio Innocence Project, I knew that UC Law was the right law school for me.  Fast forward almost 20 years, I have been fortunate enough to work on innocence cases for my entire career as a lawyer.  And even luckier, this is how I met my husband, Mark Godsey, along with some of the strongest, kindest, most humble people-- the many exonerees and my wrongfully convicted clients who have trusted me with their lives: Christopher Smith, Clarence Elkins, Robert McClendon, Dean Gillispie, Raymond Towler, Rickey Jackson, Evin King, David Ayers, Nancy Smith, Laurese Glover, Derrick Wheatt, Ryan Widmer, and more.  To date, the Ohio Innocence Project has exonerated 33 innocent men and women.

Innocence Projects across the country operate solely on private funding.  Donations are not just helpful but necessary.  If you would like to donate to my fundraising page, please click the blue "Donate Today" box at the top of your screen on a PC or the green “Give Now” box at the bottom of your screen on a mobile device.  100% of all donations go directly to the cause.  

Thank you for your support!

-Michele