Jamie
Madrigal
"A Voice They Tried to Silence "
Jamie Madrigal is a man unjustly imprisoned in the state of Ohio—first sentenced to death, then condemned to spend the rest of his life in prison, not because of guilt, but because he dared to win.
In 1996, Jamie was sentenced to death in a case he later challenged and overturned on appeal. But what should have been a legal victory became the beginning of a darker story. In 2005, as he prepared for a new trial, he became the target of political retaliation. In a separate and unrelated cold murder case from 1995, Jamie was falsely implicated and sentenced to 126 years to life. Prosecutors—determined to preserve their reputations and prior capital conviction—buried exculpatory evidence, ignored confirmed alibis, and silenced the truth in order to protect their power.
Jamie has now spent almost 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
But behind prison walls, Jamie has never stopped fighting—not only for his freedom, but for his voice.
Through writing, prayer, and an unshakable belief in justice, Jamie transformed his pain into purpose. In isolation, he began documenting the failures of the system that condemned him. He reflected on his life, his faith, and the broken machinery that continues to claim innocent lives. He wrote letters, legal arguments, and deeply personal reflections that grew into a quiet but unrelenting form of resistance.
Today, Jamie’s story is told to the world through the voice of his mother, in the book Malicious Prosecution – The Cost of Prevailing on Appeal. The book exposes not only the prosecutorial misconduct and legal injustice that destroyed her son's life, but also the spiritual bond between a mother and a son who refuse to give up on truth—even when the system has.
Jamie Madrigal is more than a case number. More than a prisoner. He is a writer. A son. A father. A man of faith.
A symbol of the devastating cost of a justice system that punishes the innocent to protect its own mistakes.
And most of all,
Jamie is still here.
Still fighting. Still believing. Still writing.
IMAGES CREDIT: toledoblade.com