Wrongfully Imprisoned, Years Wasted, Broken Hearts

Online, October 2, 2010 (Newswire.com) - WRONGFULLY IMPRISONED, YEARS WASTED, BROKEN HEARTS
Young local artist uses his talent to help his father who was wrongfully imprisoned for murder

Newark, NJ, - Aarion K. Jackson, 28, uses his talent as a playwright to raise funds to help free his father from prison. Eddie Kates, Aarion's father, was wrongfully accused and convicted of murder and has spent the last 20 years of his life, in a New Jersey prison, fighting for justice with help from his family and friends.

Aarion is set to launch a tour called, "Get Free" which is a multi-city theatrical presentation of Broadway style productions that are aimed at freeing the inner spirit of people. "Get Free" will begin touring in November 2010. The first show of the tour will be held in Newark, New Jersey, the same city where Kates was wrongfully convicted. "Imagine having one of your loved ones accused of a crime they did not commit. Now imagine your loved one being sent away to a prison for life, that is enough to break any heart and tear even the strongest family apart," says Aarion.

Heartbreak, pain, and suffering have become Aarion's inspiration for his theatrical writing. He has chosen to use his passion for the arts as a means to help set people free emotionally, physically, and spiritually. "Get Free" is a production that uses theater to depict how unresolved issues, in one's self and in one's relationships, can imprison and impede any individual from excelling and experiencing the fullness of life. Aarion states, "Getting free is not about escaping, it's about overcoming." The "Get Free" campaign's purpose is to educate, finance and raise awareness for those who have been confined. From unforgiveness to wrongful imprisonment, he desires to aid those whose issues have prevented them from experiencing life to the fullest.

After being falsely convicted of the murder and rape of a three year old girl, Kennedy Brewer of Mississippi was sentenced to death row in 1995. An investigation initiated by the Innocence Project in 2001 found that DNA evidence from the victim did not match Brewer but another man who was initially a suspect in the horrendous crime. Brewer was exonerated and released from prison after 12 years in 2008. Wrongful imprisonment is a reality that can happen to any individual at any time. For more than 15 years, families have turned to organizations like the Innocence Project for help. This organization is dedicated to exonerating the wrongfully convicted through DNA testing. According to their study more than a third of wrongful convictions involve police misconduct. The "Get Free" tour seeks to bring this social injustice to center stage. Funds from the "Get Free" tour will be donated to non-profit organizations like The Innocence Project and will also be used to help make Aarion K. Jackson's dream of one day seeing his father set free a reality.

Aarion's desire is for every audience member who sees one of his plays to achieve freedom in their own lives. The production invokes powerful emotion and drama that will motivate audience members to no longer be compromised by an emotionally and spiritually painful past. Aarion firmly believes, "You should not be bound by your issues, so now is the time to 'Get Free.'"

FOR INTERVIEWS OR MORE INFORMATION ON THE "GET FREE" TOUR PLEASE CONTACT KHALILAH WILSON AT (973) 277-4977 OR SEND AN EMAIL TO [email protected]. AARION IS LOOKING FOR DONATIONS, INVESTORS, PROMOTERS, AND INDIVIDUALS WHO WOULD LIKE TO HOST THIS TOUR IN THEIR HOME CITY.

###