Now 63, Kwame Ajamu,
who changed his name
from Ronnie Bridgeman
while in prison, was
convicted in 1975 of
murdering a Cleveland
salesman based solely
on the testimony
of a 13-year-old boy.
Though just a teenhimself, Bridgeman was
condemned to die. His
sentence was reduced
to life in prison in 1978,
and he was paroled
in 2003, but he lived
under the cloud of his
conviction. In 2014 the
witness testified in
court that his originalstatement had been
false. That testimony
helped exonerate three
people: Ajamu, his
brother, Wiley Bridge-
man, and their friend
Ricky Jackson. Bridge-
man and Jackson were
finally released after
39 years in prison.Kwame
Ajamu
CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OH
27 YEARS IN PRISON,
2 OF THOSE ON DEATH ROW;
EXONERATED IN 2014
INNOCENT 73