Mancos Woman Helps Exonerate a Man After 25 Years in Prison. They Both Discuss the Case

KSJD | By Austin Cope

Published June 9, 2017 at 10:15 AM MDT

Desmond Ricks and Claudia Whitman celebrate Ricks' exoneration last week

The community of Mancos has an unlikely connection to Detroit, Michigan. Detroit resident Desmond Ricks was exonerated from a wrongful 25-year prison sentence last week with the help of Mancos resident Claudia Whitman. Whitman runs the non-profit National Capital Crime Assistance Network out of her home in Mancos. Claudia Whitman and Desmond Ricks talked to KSJD's Austin Cope about the case, their reactions to the exoneration, and what's next for Desmond. Click the links below to listen.

desmond_ricks_edited_for_web.mp3

Interview with Desmond Ricks

Note: Claudia Whitman is married to a member of KSJD's Board of Directors.

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Austin Cope

Austin Cope is a former Morning Edition host for KSJD and now produces work on a freelance basis for the station. He grew up in Cortez and hosted a show on KSJD when he was 10 years old. After graduating from Montezuma-Cortez High School in 2010, he lived in Belgium, Ohio, Spain, northern Wyoming, and Himachal Pradesh, India before returning to the Cortez area. He has a degree in Politics from Oberlin College in Ohio.

See stories by Austin Cope