Kevin Strickland leaves prison without state compensation. How to donate to his GoFundMe

When Kevin Strickland leaves prison on Tuesday after spending 42 years behind bars for a wrongful conviction, he’ll leave without a dime from the state of Missouri.

If you want to pitch in to help Strickland begin building back his life, the Midwest Innocence Project coordinated a GoFundMe fundraiser where you can donate. So far, people have donated more than $70,000, which comes to about $1,666 for each year he was wrongfully incarcerated.

Strickland will also not receive a parole officer to help find counseling, housing or work.

In Missouri, the wrongly convicted are almost always sent out of the system with nothing from the government that imprisoned them.

Without support from the state, people like Strickland need to rely on nonprofits and other people who have been released from prison to help them build back their lives, post-conviction lawyers have told The Star.

You can donate to Strickland’s GoFundMe page here.

And, here are some other ways that exonerees and advocates have told The Star that everyday people can help the wrongly convicted:

• Call lawmakers, local prosecutors and police departments to tell them you care about wrongful convictions and ask what policies they have in place to prevent them.

• Donate to the Midwest Innocence Project, which works to free innocent prisoners in five states, including Missouri and Kansas, by calling 816-221-2166 or visiting its website at themip.org.

• Donate to the Miracle of Innocence, which provides exonerees care once they get home, by visiting its website at miracleofinnocence.kindful.com.

• Donate to online fundraisers set up by lawyers for prisoners trying to prove their proclaimed innocence, like this one for Kevin Strickland.

• Donate to After Innocence, a nonprofit based in California that has assisted hundreds of exonerees across the country, including at least 18 in Missouri, with re-entry services, by visiting www.after-innocence.org/donate.