The Mississippi Justice Project Presents
The Roger Rice Story
Sometimes dreams do come true; especially if we work hard and sacrifice to make it happen. A child growing up in America can be anything he/she wants to be. For a young American, potential for achievement is all but unlimited -- it only requires hard work, perseverance and dedication.
Roger Rice always knew he wanted to be an Artist; more than that he knew he would be an artist. His dream did come true when, in December of 1991, he was awarded his Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Mississippi. Briefly life was exactly what it should be; what had once been only a distant dream was now a reality.
The dream of a lifetime, it turned out, would only last for less than six months. Roger was arrested for a crime he had not committed, he was tried and convicted in a court that suppressed all exculpatory evidence while permitting obvious false testimony by state's witnesses. Testimony (False) was the only "evidence" the state had to offer but it was acceptable to the court.
Roger was represented by an attorney who slept through much of the proceedings and failed to put up any real defense. His fate was settled before the trial began.
The state's prime witness was a young girl who was the pawn of adults who told her what to say and how to say it. She, too, was a victim being exploited by those who were there "to Protect and To Serve". She has, since becoming an adult, admitted both publicly and privately, that the whole trial was based on lies and that she was told what to say. She lives in another state now and has twice agreed to return to Mississippi and tell the truth in a sworn deposition; she was supplied with air-fare each time but backed out at the last minute.
Sometimes dreams do come true -- but, they can be so fleeting! Roger's dream of a career as a successful artist is as distant now as it ever was. Barely six months after receiving his Master's Degree, Roger entered prison. He is still there and, unless he gets the miracle he is praying for, he will be there for many more years.
Innocent of any wrongdoing but wasting his life in prison -- it could be any of us!
Provided and maintained courtesy of the volunteers at
This page was last updated on: January 29, 2005
Please Sign Roger's Guest Book
... and leave a comment!
