In March 2004 Ryan Ferguson was arrested for the 2001 murder of local sports reporter Kent Heitholt in Columbia, Missouri. At the time of his arrest, Ryan was an ordinary 19 year old college student who had never been in trouble with the law. But overnight Ryan's world was turned upside down. Held on a staggering $20 million bail, Ryan found himself the victim of a seriously flawed justice system
and an ambitious local Prosecutor and misguided police force who indulged in breathtaking legal misconduct. Despite two majorly flawed 'witnesses' (both of whom would later recent their testimony under oath), DNA and physical evidence from the crime scene that didn't match Ryan and substantial evidence that proved his innocence, Ferguson was convicted of Kent Heitholt's murder and sentenced to 40 years in prison. Thankfully Ryan was not alone - and so the Free Ryan Ferguson campaign began. Ryan's family dedicated their lives to proving their son's innocence, digging up significant additional evidence that the Columbia PD had missed. NBC's Dateline and CBS's 48 Hours repeatedly followed Ryan's case, shining an invaluable spotlight on this staggering injustice. Attorney Kathleen Zellner, an expert in appealing wrongful convictions, took on Ryan's case pro bono and doggedly fought for her client. And a social media campaign, led by this page, rapidly grew into a huge online army. Finally, after numerous heartbreaking delays and failed appeals, justice was served. On 11/12/13 Ryan Ferguson became a free man after losing 9 years, 8 months and 2 days of his life to the Missouri justice system. Since his release Ryan has appeared on Dateline, the Today Show, Good Morning America, This Morning and Katie Couric to share his experiences. Meanwhile MTV's Andrew Jenks is directing a documentary movie following Ferguson's story to be released in 2014. Ryan is determined to use his devastating experiences for good, using his large social media following to educate people about the criminal justice system, the thousands of other cases of wrongful convictions across the US and world - and many other causes close to his heart. Ryan is also on a mission to share his incredible personal journey, the lessons he's learned along the way, and how he emerged - stronger than ever - after an almost decade long ordeal. This is only the beginning of Ryan's inspiring story...
For anyone wishing to contribute to a fund set up for Ryan to help him rebuild his life, checks may be sent to:
The Ryan Ferguson Release Fund,
PO Box 7249, Columbia, MO 65205
Ryan is available for speeches and media appearances. For more information please contact [email protected]
COMING SOON: Watch out for a brand new Ryan Ferguson website in Spring 2014...
04/17/2022
The last person to see Kent Heitholt alive presented major descrepensies in the stories he gave to police about that fateful night, and placed himself at the crime scene during the time of the murder. Despite all this, he was never considered a supect in the murder.
Watch the video and consider signing the petition to open up the investigation into Mike Boyd: https://chng.it/vFDCPQSZ2c
