Back in uniform, back in the game. Nevest Coleman back with the White Sox grounds crew after 23 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. pic.twitter.com/X0alRPq0Rc
— Judy Wang (@JudyWangWGN) March 26, 2018
It’s been over two decades since former White Sox grounds crew member Nevest Coleman was a free man, free to hug his family, free to eat a White Castle hamburger, and free to go to work at Comiskey Park. Today, Nevest Coleman, 49, is free to do all those things after being released from prison when DNA evidence finally proved him not guilty of rape and murder of an Englewood woman in 1994.
“The past in the past now. There’s no more anger, upset, frustrated, or nothing. Because, you know… when I was in there, I was miserable. But now, I’ve got my loved ones behind me, and standing by my side. That misery is gone now.”
Just finding out about this news has given me more anger than Mr. Coleman now harbors. It’s hard to believe anyone could be so gracious about a state taking away half their life and holding them behind bars.
Why on earth should it take Cook County, IL 23 years to do a DNA test that could prove the innocence of Nevest Coleman? I’m sure someone has an answer for that question. The answer may never please me, but as Nevest Colamn says, “The past is the past… that misery is gone now.”
This attitude is quite humbling. If only I could have the same attitude as Nevest Coleman, a member of the White Sox grounds crew for the 2018 season and hopefully, for many more years to come.
Watch the entire WGN TV news story on Nevest Coleman here.