OUR AID RECIPIENTS

“I was being framed for a crime that I was innocent of to protect the son of an Amherst County Deputy Sheriff.  The judge upheld the Commonwealth’s objection to the line of questioning regarding misconduct and mishandling of the case, effectively denying me the ability to defend myself against these false charges.” 

~ Timothy Wright, Jr. 

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UNCUFF THE INNOCENT would like to announce our support for Tim Wright Jr., who was wrongfully convicted of murder on October 4, 2008, in Amherst, Virginia.  We are on a truth-finding mission, currently working with investigators, forensic experts, and attorneys to uncover the full truth in Tim’s case and help him prove his innocence in court.

 

The victim was Justin Baumgardner, whose life was cut short at 19 years of age when a perpetrator shot and killed him.  Eager to convict, the authorities charged Tim after an Amherst County Deputy Sheriff’s son, who placed himself at the crime scene, made wild allegations while also claiming Tim was the killer. 

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What makes this case a particular injustice is that Tim is a Gulf War veteran who served his country in the Marine Corps and came home only to be set up a couple months later for a crime he did not commit.

 

Nothing about this case is ordinary.  It involves law enforcement's protection of a man who accused Tim but should have been the prime suspect from the start, a missing handgun, incomplete and missing forensic evidence, witnesses who changed their stories at least six times, jailhouse snitches who were given promises and deals for false testimony, and serious police misconduct.

 

Tim was arrested after an acquaintance, the son of a Deputy Sheriff, accused Tim of driving with him over 70 mph and leaning out of the passenger seat of Tim’s truck to shoot a young man, Justin Robert Baumgardner, as he was driving his own vehicle. 

 

The Deputy’s son should have been the prime suspect immediately because his statements placed him in close proximity to the victim on the night of the murder and his story of events, which changed multiple times, did not match the available physical evidence. 

 

Making wild, ever-changing allegations that shifted over the course of the investigation, the Deputy’s son first claimed that his gun had been stolen by Tim several days before the murder and that Tim had kidnapped him.  The charges resulting from those false allegations were dropped within a month when the evidence proved the charges could not be supported. 

 

But the Amherst Police Department did not let go of Tim as a suspect and proceeded to mount a biased investigation to protect the son of the law enforcement officer.  From there, the State’s case shifted as it manufactured a case around its arrest of Tim Wright Jr. despite lacking evidence to support it.

 

Tim was ultimately convicted and given life (63 years) without parole even though the evidence did not point to him.  He has been in prison for 12 years in Virginia.

 

There is no better way to truly put Tim’s wrongful conviction into perspective than to use the words of the trial judge, Judge J. Michael Gamble.  During a recorded sidebar, the judge stated, “Isn’t the cat out of the bag though?  Isn’t the issue...hasn’t the defendant put the issue on the table squarely whether there was a cover-up or ignoring of information by the police department with the implicit motive that it was a deputy’s son that was involved?”  Special Prosecutor Ms. Garst replied: “I acknowledge that, Your Honor. I fully acknowledge that.”

 

UNCUFF has taken on Tim’s case, realizing that it was built on prejudice, mischaracterization of facts, and outright lies. 

 

Among Tim’s many supporters is his wife, Danielle Laskie-Wright of Australia, staunchly advocating for him from afar.  Tim’s wrongful conviction led to an unexpected love story:  Tim and Danielle first met online during his imprisonment. 

 

To learn more about the terrible injustice of Tim Wright Jr.’s wrongful conviction and to show your support for him, visit Tim’s website at www.innocence4tim.com.  

 

You can also listen to the Mindshock True Shock Podcast on YouTube featuring Tim’s case of wrongful conviction. 

 

You can sign Tim Wright Jr.’s online petition to show support for opening an investigation into his case to help prove his innocence.  

 

Please join us in this fight to free Tim Wright Jr. so he can continue on with his life waiting for him outside prison walls!

#innocence4tim