The next step: Joshua Kezer thinks about what to do now after nearly 16 years in prison

On the 40-mile ride to Columbia, Mo., from the Jefferson City Correctional Center on Wednesday, Joshua C. Kezer paused in conversation with his mother to stare out the window at someone walking two small dogs.

"Look at those dogs. ... I get to own one of those," Kezer said slowly.

Less than a week ago, Kezer left behind nearly 16 years of incarceration when he walked out of the doors of the prison where he'd spent nearly all of his adult life, freed from a 1994 murder conviction after a judge declared there was sufficient evidence showing he'd been wrongfully convicted.

After spending the last decade and a half having every choice taken away from him, the 34-year-old says one phrase keeps coming to mind when asked what he plans on doing now.

"Change the world. Why not?" Kezer said.

ELIZABETH DODD ~ edodd@semissourian.comKezer uses a cell phone for one of the first times in his life talking to his aunt after his first meal as a free man at the Lone Star Steakhouse in Columbia.

In past interviews he has said he would like to travel, visit churches and hear preachers whose work he's admired from afar over the years.

He's expressed interest in speaking about his experiences at lawyers conferences and to at-risk youths, and in exploring the possibility of helping with an innocence project.

For now, he is staying in the guest bedroom of a friend's house in Columbia and has a job offer to do painting and wallpaper work.

Darryl Burton, who knew Kezer while both men were incarcerated at Jefferson City, has been free since August after his conviction in a 1984 killing was tossed out.

Having his freedom back after 24 years in prison has been wonderful, Burton said, but he has struggled to find employment, unable to explain away more than two decades without any work history or references.

"They don't give you anything but a handshake and a farewell," he said of leaving prison.

Burton said he was recently offered a job working at a staffing agency for health-care providers but hasn't heard yet about when he can start work.

Missouri's statute for compensating those who have been shown to have been wrongfully convicted entitles the individual to $50 per day for each day served following a conviction. Two dozen states have similar statutes.

But neither Kezer nor Burton is entitled to any compensation under the law, because it only applies to those proved innocent through use of new DNA testing, said Eric Ferrero, spokesman for the New York-based Innocence Project.

Of the 10 people exonerated in Missouri since the statute was enacted, only three are known to have received compensation under that law, Ferrero said.

Because DNA tests excluded Kezer before his original trial, and his conviction was thrown out due to suppressed evidence, testimony and misrepresentations of fact to the jury that a judge agreed would have changed the outcome of the verdict, a civil rights lawsuit would be the only way he could receive money from the state, Ferrero said.

"We know that Josh is interested in pursuing some sort of civil suit to get monetary compensation for his 16 years of incarceration, but we have not really discussed that with him yet," said Steve Snodgrass, attorney for Kezer.

Jane Williams, a former social worker whose diligence helped find Kezer the legal representation he needed to get his case for exoneration heard, said friends of Kezer's are working on setting up a fund at a local bank for those wishing to donate.

While in prison, Kezer earned his GED and several certificates in various subjects and worked several jobs.

At the time of his release, he had $76 in his prison account. Kezer said he regretted not being able to spend the money on food.

"I was going to buy my celly a whole boatload of groceries before I left," he said, using a slang term for cellmate.

In the past week, Kezer's struggled with adjustments -- getting used to riding in a car again, learning how to use the Internet, talking on a cell phone for the first time. They're all things Burton said took a lot of time for him.

"Cell phones -- you have to have a master's degree to work them," Burton said.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

388-3635

Joshua Kezer talks about his future

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