Innocence Blog

His First Thanksgiving at Home

Posted: November 26, 2008 3:00 pm

Since his release from Texas prison in July, Patrick Waller has been on the road to see family and friends.

He has put more than 7,000 miles on his truck, hitting the road to make up for the 16 years he lost while imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit.

Mr. Waller, 38, has driven to see his oldest son play football at Langston University in Oklahoma. Almost daily he drives from his North Dallas apartment to Oak Cliff to visit his mother.

And for his first Thanksgiving after being freed from prison, Mr. Waller planned to drive to Magnolia, Ark., to spend the holiday with his grandmother and the rest of his family…

“I know I’m blessed,” Mr. Waller said while sitting on a barstool inside the apartment he shares with a cousin. “I have a tight-knit family. We take care of one another. I’m thankful for them and the fact that they didn’t give up on me.”

Read the full story here. (Dallas Morning News, 11/26/08)