Wrongfully Convicted Man & Crooked Cop Share Story of Forgiveness

Wrongfully Convicted Man & Crooked Cop Share Story of Forgiveness
(Crystal A. Proxmire, April 26, 2016)
Warren, MI – “There are people who have walked into this service today with greater stories, greater hurt than this,” said Brett Tillander of Renaissance Unity in Warren, MI at last Sunday’s service.  “There are those of us who have walked in  here holding issues that are much less.  Whatever is going on in our lives, we can let go.”
The hurt that was shared by guests of the church that day was something that would be hard for many people to imagine.  A young man in Benton Harbor had been framed for selling drugs by a dishonest police officer.  The man was convicted based off false testimony and spent four years in prison before the truth came out and he was set free.  As he gained his freedom, the dishonest cop who set him up took his turn behind bars.  Over 50 cases were overturned because of the offier’s misconduct.  He spent 18 months in prison for drugs, lying, and theft.
The story could have ended there, but on Sunday both Jamell McGee and former police officer Andrew Collins visited Renaissance Unity to share what happened when they ended up working side by side at the same café.
Collins told the story, not to make excused but to explain how McGee’s arrest went down.  “Benton Harbor is a small town with a small department. We had 12 officers and we grew that to 24,” he said.  “I was 21, 22, 23 when this happened.  My head ended up too big… I don’t even know who that gentleman was.  I feel like when I tell that story, I’m talking about someone else.”
Collins had busted someone for possession who offered to set up a crack buy.  When the dealer arrived at a local store, Collins arrested him as well as McGee, who had been inside the store.  McGee had accepted a ride to the store from the men who were responsible, though he had nothing to do with the ounce of crack that was found in the car.
“I fabricated a police report that left no doubt that this man had delivered the crack to this other person,” he said.
“But he was really just there buying food and stuff for his son’s birthday party.”
Collins had wronged several people in his years as a police officer, and now, a decade later,  working at Café Mosaic in Benton Harbor he faces some of those people.  “It’s a small town,” Collens said.  “People come in and start to tell me about who I am.  They need to get it out and I let them… But that person is gone.  Christ says we are forgiven and we start anew.”
For McGee, the four years in prison were not just physically challenging, but mentally and emotionally exhausting.  “It was a battle between me and God.  I wanted to hold onto the anger, the resentment, the bitterness my struggle was.  I didn’t want to let go.  God said, if you give it to me, I will make it good.  If you take that problem, and you give it to me, I will take care of you.”
He resisted for years, only fixating on the day that he would get out, and find the crooked cop who had him locked up, and get his revenge.  But there was always a voice, a calling to accept life where he was, and to feel love in spite of it.  Finally one day he decided that it was time to let go.
“I woke up the next day and lived like I was at home.  I forgot about the walls and the guards.  I was approachable,” McGee said.  He talked about how he would fight with the other inmates, not get along with guards, and how he argued with his counselor about being forced into a rehab program when he did not have a drug problem. 
“When I decided to give [the worries] up for God, the very next week I was released from prison,” he said.
In 2011, two years after his release, he ended up in a job placement program where he was matched up with Collins for mentorship at Cafe Moasic.  The men worked side by side and Collins did not recognize McGee for a while, but when he did, the apologies started flowing.
McGee accepted it.  The reconciliation brought them both peace, and now they are friends.  They even travel together, telling their story and urging people to take the worries, hurts, and resentments they feel and let them go.  McGee said that the opportunity to share their story, is “a platform to spread healing.”
“If you’ve wronged somebody or someone, say I am sorry,” Collins said.
“In order to forgive, you need to forget,” McGee said.  “You don’t just forgive for their sake, or for your sake, but for the world’s sake.”
The men recently began traveling and telling others about the power of forgiveness.  They were featured in a segment on CBS News, and on Sunday they were the special guests at Renaissance Unity church in Warren.  The men inspired a large congregation by sharing their story and helping people to think about their own baggage.
Members sent them on their way with gratitude and love, plus some tickets for the men and their families to see their first Detroit Tiger’s game live.
Renaissance Unity is an advertising sponsor of oc115.com.  Learn more about RU at http://www.renaissanceunity.org/.

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