From Darryl "Miracle Man" Burton
Innocent: A Second Look
A Memoir of My Tragic Wrongful Conviction, Triumph and Redemption
At the age of 22, I was wrongfully accused and convicted of murdering Donald Ball, a known drug kingpin and one of my older brother Ronald’s best friends. I spent the next 24 years fighting to prove my innocence. During my struggle, I found peace and redemption in the unlikeliest of places – inside a Missouri state penitentiary called the “Walls” that can only be described as hell on earth.
But when you find yourself walking through hell on earth, the best thing – in fact the only thing – you can do is to keep on walking. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. No matter how painful your circumstances, let hope and faith sustain you. They can save you. Put this acronym in your took kit. HOPE. Hold On, Pain Ends! There is always hope.
What People Are Saying...
Darryl, as I continue reading your amazing book, I am so impressed with the quality of your writing, another gift you have.
Jim Williams
This whole book grabbed me, just like your story did at St Andrew that first Sunday you came to church. It’s an amazing book. Hard to read, and impossible not to. It’s honest, powerful, horrendous, painful, and in the end, undeniably and unbelievably, wonderful.
I can’t fathom leaving the “security” of a high paying prison job to minister to the youth for almost no “pay”, but you couldn’t fathom not. I can’t imagine living what you lived – it’s always been my worst nightmare, actually — only to come out living and preaching forgiveness and hope, but you couldn’t imagine not. I struggle with belief and faith, and then seeing you and your life, I wonder how I could ever wonder.
You listed a quote from Benjamin Franklin that I can’t forget. It said something like: “justice cannot happen until the unaffected become as outraged as the affected”. Your book, without every screaming or yelling or demanding or pleading, makes it pretty hard to remain un-outraged. I hope everyone reads it.
I know you just wanted a sentence or two — but I couldn’t do it. If you can’t pull what you need from this, let me know and I’ll send a sentence or two. Thank you, Darryl. In some many ways, for so many things.
Tracy Olivier
Innocent: A Second Look was a really eye-opening and heartbreaking account of how our legal system can fail people, especially those without the means to fight. I had read John Grisham’s book about a couple wrongful conviction cases in Oklahoma. But to read your first person account of what it’s truly like when the system fails you was just so sad and maddening that this can happen in our country. It really showed the power and responsibility that prosecutors, judge and public defenders have and how important it is that they act ethically and responsibly with real lives are at stake.
To see how you continued to fight and never gave up was am amazing story of determination and how you have gone into ministry and started Miracle of Innocence to help others who have been wrongfully convicted is one of the most inspiring things I have ever seen.
My employer is actually having their annual service and volunteer week this week and as part of it, they match charitable donations up to a certain amount for each employee. I checked today and Miracle of Innocence is one of the organizations in our database so I’ll definitely be including you when I make my contributions tomorrow to help you continue your critical work.
Mark Sinn
I just finished Innocent, a Second Look. I was completely captivated by your story and could hardly put the book down. I today took it to the Post Office to send it to my brother and sister-in-law in Baltimore, MD to read.
I have so much respect for you and cannot imagine the 24 years of your life spent in that hellhole. How you kept your sanity and focused not on “poor me” but “I can do this” is commendable.
We have somewhat of a family connection to the book. As I was reading and came to the part about Cheryl Pilate contacting you, I slammed the book shut, grabbed my phone and texted my cousin, Kae Pilate, who lives in Colorado with her husband Al. I asked is Cheryl Al’s sister? She said yes, why, is she in the news? I told her.
I had probably only met Al a time or two until a few years ago. Kae’s family has had unimaginable tragedy befall them in the last 10 years. Her parents, Forrest (my first cousin) and Beverly Ballard, lived in Stanberry, MO, about an hour and a half north of here (KC). In 2014 their daughter, Barb, died in her 40s from cancer. In 2016, their son, Bill, died in his early 50s of a heart attack. Two weeks later Forrest died. He had been in bad health for years. Beverly moved to a care facility in Stanberry. In 2022, her daughter Kim, her husband Larry and their two adult children, Karly and Nick, were traveling from Texas for a family weekend in Kansas City. On 69 Highway in Linn County, Kansas they hit a patch of ice, went down an embankment and landed upside down in a reservoir, killing all of them instantly.
Kae and Al and their adult children, Evan and JoBeth and her husband Alec are the only remaining family members of Beverly’s family.
Kae and Al were here quite a bit after that. I had several conversations with Al and knew that his sister was an attorney who helped innocent people try to regain their freedom. She also helped him a lot in dealing with Kim and Larry’s affairs after their family tragically died.
I knew of you before I read the book, as I knew you were one of the pastors at Resurrection. Were it not so far away from me (Parkville) I would probably be going there regularly. I am a member of Platte Woods UMC in the northland.
Keep on keeping on with the good work you have begun with God’s help and I hope you and LaMonte are successful in freeing many other people whose lives were nearly ruined as yours were.
God bless you and your family.
Carolee Frakes
Darryl Burton’s book “Innocent: A Second Look” is a captivating read! It tells the story of a bright young African American man living in the inner city of St. Louis, a den of drugs and violence.
After some personal bad choices, Burton returns from visiting an out of state friend to find he is falsely accused of murdering the local drug kingpin.
With an ineffective public defender, he is convicted and spends 25 years in 2 of Missouri’s notoriously bad prisons.
He experiences a personal rehabilitation from extreme anger to forgiveness. After hundreds of letters seeking justice, one judge finally set him free. The prison gate opens to a world he does not know. Good fortune finally finds him. Where is he today? A riveting amazing story.
Carolyn Ratliff
I just completed your book. I would just get so angry at all of the injustices you had to suffer, all the evil you lived through, & the denials you had to face in the courts. Praise goes to God & your mom & your grandmother for their faithful prayers. I’m so very proud to know you!
Mary Houser
This is a compelling story. It is a powerful message of grace, faith and forgiveness. The details are hard to read at times, shocking and eye-opening. I can hear Pastor Darryl’s voice as he narrates his story, making it even more real and impactful. I am humbled by not only what Pastor Darryl has endured and overcome but also by how he has emerged as a faithful follower of Christ. He is a blessing and encouragement to others.
Thank you again for ministering to my son Jackson. I am grateful for the grace you showed him and the hope you gave him.
Kim Garrett
You are a gifted writer. I have told many people how impressed I am with how well you have articulated your thoughts and memories. The cover of the book is very cleverly illustrated, too. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the book and will email you again once I finish! I am so sorry that you were wrongly convicted and imprisoned for 24 years. Thankfully, you can tell your story and hopefully, there will be changes in the “justice” system as a result of your book adaptation into a movie. You have a lot more life to live and you are definitely going to make a difference and I think you are paving the way to leave behind a legacy that you could have never imagined!!!!!!
Misty Keith
Wow! My admiration for you has only increased in this process of understanding disguised blessings that the Lord presents to us on our earthly journey. On my own journey, I faced a high dose of betrayal and persecution in my personal and political journey seeking to renew politics in Brazil for a 10-year cycle, a chat over coffee at the appropriate time. Thank you very much in advance for God’s grace in your life and testimony of converting pain and suffering into inspiration and teachings for a new generation of sons and daughters of God making contributions to the Kingdom.
Eduardo
In his book “Innocent A Second Look” Darryl Burton examines the fragility of life and the imbalance in the Justice System in the United States.
You find yourself trying to walk in Darryl’s shoes, feeling unbelief, trauma, loneliness, helplessness, fear, anger and a myriad of other gut- wrenching feelings.
This is a work that should awaken all who read it to the trials and tribulations of an innocent person caught in an unfair system, where humans do not value other humans.
Thank you, Pastor Darryl for this illuminating work.
Jerry Kemper
Your book has totally captured my attention. I love this book. You have done a wonderful job writing it. The book has gripped my heart and soul, and totally rocked my emotions. I can’t believe you went through all of this. But I know God brought you through it. No further along that I am with this book, I believe it’s a story everyone should read. Blessings to you Darryl!
Greg Baldwin
I just finished reading your book, WOW!
Some of my friends have said that once they started reading Innocent, they couldn’t put it down. I had a very different reaction. I had to put it down and read it a portion at a time when I was up to it. I found it terribly emotional both physically and mentally. I think I just earned a PHD in the “real world.”
Your book has caused me to examine the differences between privileged and blessed. I guess I am both. I grew up in a caring home and in a social environment that was based on strong values and love. I was never exposed to drugs, crime or hate. The odds were in my favor. What you went through breaks my heart. Even being innocent, you paid an unbelievable price. I have been offering prayers of gratitude that you not only made it through that nightmare, but you found God in the process and you allowed him to take over your life. I am thankful that I have you as a friend and a guide in the growth of my faith.
So, clearly, I did grow up privileged, but I am also blessed in so many ways. I am grateful beyond words and am so happy to have you in my life.
Thank you Lord for bringing Darryl to our Church home.
Doug Wyckoff
I do a lot of reading & I can usually tell within the first 50 pages or so if a particular book I’ve started is worth finishing. I started reading your book & I was hooked. I had trouble putting it down. It held my attention beginning to end although I had to work at “wading through” some of the actual “legal” documents towards the end of the book. Your book kept my attention from the time you outlined some of your challenges growing up followed by the failure of our legal system through your eventual exoneration.
The information you shared from your your youth and some of the mistakes you made certainly set the foundation for the 20 plus years that followed, starting with the false accusation.
Your description of the legal system & conditions at the Penitentiary were eye-opening. It all just defies explanation as to how something like you endured could happen in America.
As I told you in the narthex, seeing your picture with John Grisham led me to search some of his writings. I wanted to see if he had written anything complementing your story. I found & read his book “The Innocent Man”.
Given what I read in your book & that of John Grisham, I certainly walked away with a more realistic view of the legal system in America & conditions under which we make people live in correctional institutions or prisons of whatever nature.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us & God bless.
Rich
I do a lot of reading & I can usually tell within the first 50 pages or so if a particular book I’ve started is worth finishing. I started reading your book & I was hooked. I had trouble putting it down. It held my attention beginning to end although I had to work at “wading through” some of the actual “legal” documents towards the end of the book. Your book kept my attention from the time you outlined some of your challenges growing up followed by the failure of our legal system through your eventual exoneration.
The information you shared from your your youth and some of the mistakes you made certainly set the foundation for the 20 plus years that followed, starting with the false accusation.
Your description of the legal system & conditions at the Penitentiary were eye-opening. It all just defies explanation as to how something like you endured could happen in America.
As I told you in the narthex, seeing your picture with John Grisham led me to search some of his writings. I wanted to see if he had written anything complementing your story. I found & read his book “The Innocent Man”.
Given what I read in your book & that of John Grisham, I certainly walked away with a more realistic view of the legal system in America & conditions under which we make people live in correctional institutions or prisons of whatever nature.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us & God bless.
Rich
I finished your book this week. While I’ve known generally about your wrongful incarceration and efforts to win your exoneration, I had no idea what all you experienced during more than two decades and beyond.
Surviving in sub-human conditions with daily threats of violence and death and eating slop laced with maggots is beyond the pale.
The separation and isolation from your daughter and all your family tears at my heart. The corruption and injustice of our legal system that favors those of means and crucifies the poor and people of color horrifies and disgusts me to the core. Tragically, things have not changed.
All the more glory to God and your work through MOI to bring the light of justice and hope into the lives of those who are victims of this cruel injustice.
We all have our crosses to bear as you will see when you read my memoir. But my life story pales in comparison to what you have lived through. Your life is certainly testament to faith in God and the spirit of human endurance.
Ron
Innocent: A Second Look is a tough read made slightly easier by knowing how successful Darryl Burton has been in his personal and professional life. It’s an inspired and inspiring book that traces Darryl’s unique path to a God-driven life. Wrongfully imprisoned, he turned his emotions of anger and resentment into a positive, constructive energy. Darryl overcame adversity and challenges that most people would never face…or survive. Readers learn important lessons in resilience, hope and forgiveness. It’s a great big book telling a great big story of a great big life.
Constance Ward
I’m so proud to know Darryl and his ministry. I have read his book and since reading this book I realize what Daryl went through for 24 years so when I see him on Sunday at church I am proud to know someone that has gone through what he went through and come out the beautiful human being that he is and sharing his ministry.
Sharon Rusher
I knew your story was powerful. When you first shared your experience with me years ago, my first thought was “that needs to be made into a movie!” Having now read the book, my understanding of your story has changed, but my opinion on its value has not. I expected to read a prison story with a message of redemption at the end. But the book isn’t really about prison. It’s about a human and about humanity. It includes your own willingness to forgive others, but you also don’t pretend like you can walk out of a prison cell after 24 years without consequences. You were harmed by the system and being released from prison doesn’t make the harm go away. At the same time, by the grace of God, you aren’t controlled by the harm that happened – that’s where I see the redemption.
I see a movie in my mind, starting near the end of your book. You walk back into the prison years after being released, now a minister of the Gospel. The story is how you got here. How did you go from being a small time drug dealer to someone changing lives for the better? The answer, in part, is in The Walls. But, again, it’s not a story about prison. It’s a story about you and how God can work in you through a place you would never want to be.
Thanks for writing your story out. It will stay with me for a long time.
David
What an inspiration this book is. From the depths of a tiny prison cell he had hope and persisted in his goal of freedom.
Through horrors of his wrongful imprisonment came a new spirit of hope, forgiveness and the love of God. After 24 years behind bars, Darryl emerges triumphant to begin his new journey as he learned to navigate the 21st century and entered seminary to become a minister.
Darryl is always smiling and has a word of encouragement. I am honored to know him as my friend and pastor.
Jeanne Newell Morgan
“In Innocent: A Second Look, I describe the trauma, pain and suffering I endured due to my wrongful conviction, my horrific experience in one of America’s bloodiest prisons, my struggles to prove my innocence against tremendous legal odds, and the spiritual redemption God worked within me despite those terrible circumstances.”
Darryl Burton
