Josh Kezer: A First Taste of Freedom

Thursday, May 20, 2010

A First Taste of Freedom

The following is a list of photos taken of me on the day of my release. That day was so much more than words could ever fully describe.

Presented below is a photo layout presented on 02/19/2009 by Emily Rasinski titled

A first taste of freedom on Stltoday.com

http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/pictures/uncategorized/2009/02/a-first-taste-of-freedom/

5 comments:

pismobMay 22, 2010 at 10:29 PM
Josh,
We watched your story on TV today. For you to forgive the girl that put you in prison was very rewarding and shows that you truly know what the love of God is all about. We are praying for you and your future. When you meet and marry the love of your life, she will be so blessed to have you. We hope that you will be richly compensated for the wrong that was done to you.
We don't know if we are related to Mischelle Lawless.
Charles & June Lawless
Pismo Beach, Calif.
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousMay 25, 2010 at 10:00 AM
Hi Josh,
Looked @ those pictures and just wanted you to know that God truly loves you. The bible says he will not give us more than we can handle. Was just reading cnn and read about another wrongful conviction http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/05/24/life.after.prison/index.html?hpt=C1
He was in prison for 35years. Can you imagine. I love the way you keep celebrating the Lord and I know His plans for you will surpass what you can ever imagine.He will restore those lost years and your latter would surpass your former.
ReplyDelete
Replies
Josh KezerMay 25, 2010 at 11:04 AM
I know James Bain. From what I've seen, he's a very humble man. Thanks for sending me this link. I'll be sure to share it with others. In fact, I'm going to post it on my link list.

God Bless.
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousMay 29, 2010 at 10:04 AM
First of all, I just wanted to say that I came across your story on Investigation Discovery channel and I was moved to the point of wanting to seek you out, and so here I am. It saddens me beyond belief when an innocent man is charged for crimes he never committed, you being just a sample of the many who struggle each day behind bars without having ever broken a single law.

Though I am not a religious person - an agnostic more than anything - your undying conviction to your faith is awe-inspiring and I'm so gad that this faith in Jesus Christ got you through the very worst. And you've come out the other side a humble man, grateful man. Others might broken under such a weight, but you remained strong. You truly are a shining example of humanity.

Because of your story, I feel compelled to do whatever I can to clear the names of the innocent, wherever they may be. Our legal justice system is broken, and it sickens me to think that there are others still behind bars for the crimes they didn't do.

Good luck with all you do, Mr. Kezer. I'll be sure to follow your blog and to keep you in my thoughts. I know this wasn't very well written and its nothing you haven't heard before - but I just felt that I had to say something to you. Take care, man.

-Andy
ReplyDelete
Replies
Josh KezerMay 29, 2010 at 1:49 PM
@ Andy

Given your position on religion, I'm honored that you have taken the time to share your support and thoughts.

I'm glad you were able to see my faith in Jesus. I so wanted that to come through.

I would think that those who lean agnostic lean that way due to a lack of experience with the love of Christ and/or a lack of knowledge. I have to believe you're not lacking anymore, so...are you still without faith?...are you still agnostic? I don't think you are.

Andy, I'm not a religious person either. My Jesus and I aren't in a religion. We're in a relationship. His love sustains me and carries me. His Lordship saves me and restores me. His saving grace has made me who I am today. Jesus is....my Lord, my Savior, my Best Friend.

I'm pleased that what happened to me has inspired others to help others. God has His ways of reaching through people to reach others for the sake of helping others. His ways are amazing...complex but amazing.

Reference the group Mercy Me and their song "This So Called Love"
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

At 18, I was arrested in Illinois and sent to Missouri on a 1st degree murder charge. At 19, I was erroneously convicted of 2nd degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive 30 year sentences. I was sentenced on the victim's birthday. The victim's name was Angela M. Lawless.

The day following my sentence, I was sent to the Missouri Department of Corrections, where my sentence was illegally reconfigured to a 60. I was illegally placed under life sentence sanctions. I did a total of 16 years, 10 of which was spent in Jefferson City's notorious "Walls", once rumored to be the largest prison in the world and a place Time Magazine once deemed "The Bloodiest 47 Acres In America".

Two days after my 34th birthday, I was released and declared "innocent". I was completely exonerated by Judge Richard Callahan on February 17th 2009 and released on the 18th.

I'm a blessed, loved and fortunate man of God.

I'm not trying to be a "good Christian" and I accept that I'm not. I'm just a genuine, authentic, messed up, jacked up, screwed up, busted up, mistake prone, "too much", love struck, silly, incurable, delivered, justified, redeemed and forgiven child of the King and follower of Christ.

I'm a public speaker.

When contacting me for an engagement, please include the following information in your invitation:

. Dates, times and locations

. Travel arrangements

. Your affiliations

. Your vision and purpose

. Why me? and Why you?

. Offered amenities and compensation

When I speak, my goal is to reach into every life listening to me. Everyone has something they're going through. Everyone has something to overcome. No matter what the circumstance, whether legal, criminal, personal, financial, physical, mental or spiritual, people have something to overcome. That's where my message comes in and tries to help. This wasn't who I was before I was locked up. It's who I am now.

What's your testimony?

Here's a snap shot of mine.

I've been beaten with fists and bats, stabbed, shot at, mobbed and ganged up on. As a teenager, I was in a Kankakee Illinois Chicagoland gang and was once addicted to several drugs and alcohol. I've had someone attempt to hit me with a car, nearly fallen to my death as a child and again as a teenager. I've known several forms and types of abuse. I've boxed, lifted weights, wrestled, done some martial arts and am proficient in street fighting. I've overdosed on cocaine and fallen asleep in my own vomit several times as a teenager. I've literally been thrown through walls, been homeless and slept in the worst places, and once, for a matter of months, faced the unfortunate and undeserved prospects of dying by lethal injection while facing charges for a murder I did not commit. I did 16 years in prison as an innocent man in the state of Missouri. I've defended myself against prison rapists and was once hospitalized for a week due to a failed attack by multiple men in the late 90's, and yet ... I'm still here! I'm still breathing! I'm a man of purpose and honor. I'm confident in who I am. I've known enough near death experiences to fill up a thesis, but it's not these near death experiences and atrocities that define me. It's my living and, more specifically, my living in my salvation in Christ that defines me and makes me who I am, and when I'm finished and it's all been said and done, I want to be forever known as a man proficient in a few attributes, as a gentle, loving, honorable and selfless man, a husband, a father and a friend that reflects more of Him and less of me.

In light of my own faults, sins and frailty, of everything I've ever learned, I've learned this more than anything; more than the Cross, I need the Lord of the conquered Cross of sin and death. I need the Life Giver. I need Jesus. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I am unashamed.

"I was crushed...so much so that I despaired even of life, but that was to make me rely not on myself, but on the God who raises the dead." 2nd Corinthians 1:8,9

joshkezer@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/joshkezer

Josh Kezer

Thursday, May 20, 2010

A First Taste of Freedom

5 comments:

Recommended Reading Material

Blog Archive