ANOTHER CASE JUST BEGINNING

THREE eyewitnesses ignored!

Rebecca Rengo-Kocher, a respected St. Louis social worker and psychotherapist, didn"t expect to run a nonprofit organization. But she also didn"t expect her testimony to be discounted in a recent court case. And she didn"t expect to see an innocent man sent to prison as a result.

Rengo-Kocher"s experience in the case of Guy Woolfolk compelled her to act by starting the Guy Woolfolk Trust Fund through Social Concerns, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of and addressing issues surrounding wrongful imprisonment. The organization helps low-income, at-risk individuals involved in cases of wrongful conviction. "I know Guy is innocent – he was sitting beside me in my home at the time the crime was committed," says Rengo-Kocher, referring to Guy Woolfolk, who was accused and convicted of a carjacking in 2003. Rengo-Kocher provided one of three alibis for Woolfolk, but he was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison despite her testimony. "I simply couldn"t accept this outcome, and I know Guy is only one of hundreds of people who face similar situations," Rengo-Kocher says. "We like to think that our justice system is flawless, but it"s not. And it"s not right to sit by and let an innocent person go to jail in America."

Social Concerns is hosting a public, educational screening of The Hurricane at 7 p.m., Thursday, August 4th at the Regional Arts Commission located at 6128 Delmar Boulevard in the Loop. The film, starring Denzel Washington, dramatizes the life of Rubin Carter, a middleweight boxer who was wrongfully convicted of murder in the 1960s. Carter was released in 1985 after nearly 20 years in prison... One Hundred percent of the money raised will go towards The Guy Woolfolk Trust Fund. Packages may be purchased by calling Kim at 314-832-2580 or Meredith at 314-726-1622.

While Social Concerns works to assist Woolfolk"s appeal, Rengo-Kocher says the organization is concerned with issues surrounding social justice and wrongful imprisonment in general. "Guy"s case inspired Social Concerns, but there is a definite need to raise awareness of these cases across the country," she says. "We don"t want another young life to be destroyed this way."

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(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)