Philanthrocapitalism
John Huffington, a falsely convicted felon who spent three decades in prison, shares his journey with host, Mathew Bishop for this episode of Philanthrocapitalism. John Huffington continues to give back to the community of re-entry citizens by assisting them in finding jobs, building a foundation for their livelihood and reaching a healthy mental state. The programs he directs are crucial to changing the poor reputations given to this community.
26:09 | 2017
John Huffington spent 32 years in the Maryland Prison System—10 of which were on Death Row—after being wrongfully convicted of a 1981 double murder. Previously, juries twice convicted Mr. Huffington of first-degree murder in the deaths of Diane Becker and Joseph Hudson. Mr. Huffington was later granted a new trial due to evidence improperly introduced by the State. The second trial took place in Frederick County in 1983. He faced the death penalty after both convictions, but his sentence was later commuted to two life terms in prison. In 2013, as the result of newly discovered DNA evidence that demonstrated that hairs discovered at the crime scene were not Mr. Huffington's, the Circuit Court for Frederick County, MD, granted him a Writ of Actual Innocence and vacated his murder convictions, and John Huffington was released from prison.
Since his release from prison, Mr. Huffington has been a tireless advocate for the re-entry community, and his work has been recognized by Baltimore City leaders, including State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby. He is now serving as the Director of Workforce Development for Living Classrooms Foundation, where he manages the workforce development department and its programming with 18 staff members and a $2 million budget. As part of his role, he manages Project SERVE, the same job-training program in which he enrolled upon being released from incarceration.