Interview
I Spent 12 Years In Jail For A Murder I Did Not Commit! Raphael Rowe
- Raphael Rowe anticipates permanent uncertainty regarding his son's current life status and living situation, including whether he is a grandfather, while acknowledging the mutual fear that may hinder relationship rekindling and the possibility that the son may never seek contact.
- He expects to eventually present his prison diaries to his son, though he recognizes they may hold little value compared to his published book, and holds a firm belief that his son will eventually approach him to develop a relationship despite this not having occurred yet.
- Rowe anticipates a future free of imprisonment following the European Court of Human Rights' unanimous decision to re-examine his conviction, which he views as the catalyst for overturning the conviction and securing compensation from the Home Office.
- He expects to receive no apology from the courts or the criminal justice system generally, noting a single apology from a senior police officer approximately one and a half years prior, and remains resolved never to forgive those who conspired to imprison him.
- Upon release, he expects to struggle with basic decision-making and face persistent psychological scars regarding trust, stemming from years of deprivation, while maintaining that the anger felt regarding his ordeal will not negatively impact his behavior toward others.
- Rowe plans to utilize his "Rehumanize" foundation to partner with decorating firms and donate materials like paint to prisons, aiming to teach prisoners skills for post-release employment and encourage policymakers to rethink prison purposes and provide education.
- He expects his platform to include work with the BBC to support diversity efforts and a Netflix show to educate the public about the prison system, alongside plans to assist traumatized prisoners in other regions by teaching self-sufficiency methods like food cultivation.
- Rowe expects to continue his journalistic work inside prisons to engage with diverse characters and maintain that he would not erase his 12 years in prison as it shaped his current identity, skills, and relationships.
- He expects that the "light at the end of the tunnel" is accessible to prisoners who use their time constructively rather than passively, and recalls that he never experienced love until age 32 with his wife, Nancy.
- He acknowledges that walking out of the courtroom years ago prevented him from learning about his son and accepts this as an uncorrectable mistake that contributed to the current separation.