Indianapolis, IN
One year after exoneration: Leon Benson returns to Indianapolis for 'Rebirth Celebration'
INDIANAPOLIS — It’s an incredible story we first brought to you a year ago.
Leon Benson was exonerated from prison after being wrongfully convicted of murder more than 26-years-ago. On Friday, he returned to Indianapolis for a “Rebirth Celebration.”
“I feel so blessed after coming out of this. I could almost cry tears of joy, I’m trying to save them,” said Benson.
Benson was filled with emotion ahead of Friday’s “Rebirth Celebration” at the Indianapolis Liberation Center.
WRTV
“I was in the womb of prison for 25 years, so I was rebirthed. To come back here and to see this, I really feel a deep sense of home,” he said.
On March 9, 2023, Benson became the first person exonerated with the help of the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office Conviction Integrity unit.
Benson’s first-degree murder conviction was vacated by a Marion County judge after a joint re-investigation by the University of San Francisco School of Law Racial Justice Clinic (USFCA) and the Conviction Integrity Unit.
“This is an anniversary. I was liberated, exonerated. Exempt. This is restorative justice,” said Benson.
WRTV
At just 22-years-old, Benson was wrongfully convicted for the 1998 murder of Kasey Shoen, who was shot five times while in his car in the 1300 block of North Pennsylvania Avenue.
According to the USFCA, the case against Benson rested on a cross-racial identification made in the near darkness from 150 feet by a frightened white newspaper carrier and the equally questionable identification by a man from the neighborhood with a history of mental illness and who held a grudge against Benson.
PREVIOUS | Man released from prison 25 years after murder for wrongful conviction (wrtv.com)
“A voice came to me and said ‘Leon, Kasey Schoen is gone, his family don’t have him. I know you’re innocent, but you are becoming selfish right now in your own pain. You got a chance even though you in the lowest part of the prison,’” Benson said Friday.
10 of Benson’s nearly 25 years in prison were spent in solitary confinement, but even as he talked about his time behind bars on Friday, Benson was anything but bitter.
WRTV
“You can’t be bitter if you’re grateful, they just don’t co-exist,” he said.
This message fills the pages of his new book launched at Friday’s celebration Letters of Gratitude: I Am Because We Are” (Iskra Books, 2024).
“I wrote the letters of gratitude three months before I got out,” Benson said. “I had to put that in a book to let people know that I acknowledge you. That I didn’t do that alone.”
Benson says he’s grateful, for so many that stood by his side — his sister, children, his mentors behind bars, and Kasey’s sister, Kolleen Schoen-Bunch, who still supported Benson through her own family’s pain.
“It’s getting justice for Kasey so he can rest in peace because he hasn’t for 25 years since the wrong person was charged,” said Schoen-Bunch. “We just want justice for everyone. We can’t give back to Leon what was taken from him, but we can try to make his life better.”
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A better life now with a bigger mission.
“I would be less than who I am if I didn’t come put a light on it and represent those people who are still out there. Those brothers that are behind walls, that’s yelling out, that’s not being heard, who has been invisible. I’m no longer invisible. My chain is gone,” said Benson.
Friday’s celebration also included a panel with Benson and others, including Schoen-Bunch; Kelly Bauder of the CIU; family members of the incarcerated; Benson’s daughter, Kelly Bluitt; along with academics, lawyers, and community organizers involved in his case.
WRTV
Benson’s monograph also launched Friday.
His book is available at all major retailers.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana State Police have arrested a man in connection with two attacks, including one deadly, near Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis earlier this month.
29-year-old Michael Willis is facing two counts of attempted murder. Police say that the attacks happened on June 19 and June 26, both happening on N Senate Ave. near Monument Circle.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by News 8, on June 19, Willis was walking in the area near Monument Circle around 2 a.m. when he approached a person laying down and repeatedly stomped on them. Police say that this first victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition.
The first victim died on Sunday due to their injuries sustained from Willis’s attack, documents say.
Police also say that on June 26, Willis attacked a different person at the same location near Monument Circle. Police believe that the second victim was repeatedly kicked and stomped on while they were lying down as well. This second attack also took place around 2 a.m.
Indiana State Police detectives shared surveillance photos of Willis from the attacks with other police agencies in an attempt to identify him. Police say Willis was identified by a Greensborough Police Sergeant after Willis had asked the sergeant to use his cell phone.
Police then approached Willis and detained him. Police say that when Willis was detained, he was wearing the same clothes that were seen in the surveillance footage of both attacks. Officers also noticed blood on Willis’s socks.
In an interview with detectives about the July 26 attack, Willis at first said that he was only “nudging” the victim. Police say that according to Willis, he was trying to wake the victim up because he was concerned about them.
Later in the interview, Willis admitted to attacking both victims. Willis said that he was frustrated that he had been homeless and unemployed for around the past 6 months. According to police, Willis also said that the people in the area were “mean and rude” to him.
Police say that Willis told detectives that he was the only person involved in these attacks.
Willis is currently in custody of the Marion County Jail.
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana is under a heat advisory with temperatures in the 90s throughout the week.
Many cooling centers will open throughout the state for those that need to find relief from the heat. Hoosiers looking to find cooling centers in their area can contact Indiana 211. To learn more, call 211 or (866) 211-9966.
Avaliable cooling centers can also be found by clicking here.
Marion County
For those living in Indianapolis, Indy Parks has several cooling centers across the city.
Those Cooling Centers are:
- Broad Ripple Park Family Center
- Brookside Park Family Center
- Christian Park Family Center
- Frederick Douglass Park Family Center
- Garfield Park Burrello Family Center
- Krannert Park Family Center
- Grassy Creek Environmental Education Center
- Pride Park Family Center
- Rhodius Park Family Center
- Riverside Park Family Center
- Stanley Strader Park Family Center
- Washington Park Family Center
- Windsor Park Family Center
- Watkins Park Family Center
- Thatcher Park Family Center
For addresses and hours of operations of these cooling centers, click here.
Beech Grove will also have two cooling Centers for residents starting Monday, June 29. Those hours and locations are:
- Beech Grove Senior Center, 602 Main St
- 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Friday
- Hornet Park Community Center, 5245 Hornet Ave
- 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., Monday through Friday
Other Central Indiana Cooling Centers
For addresses and hour of operations of cooling centers below, click here.
Marion
- St. Martin Community Center
- Grant County Family YMCA
- Grant County Rescue Mission
Kokomo
- The Kokomo Rescue Mission
- The Excel Center in Kokomo
Peru
- Community Resource Center
- Miami County Courthouse
- Miami County Health Department
- Miami County YMCA
- Peru City Hall
- Peru Public Library
- Peru Schools Administration Building
INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — The National Weather Service out of Indianapolis has issued a Heat Advisory for all of Central Indiana and a High Heat Warning for parts of northern Indiana. The Advisory and Warning will go into effect at 12 PM on Monday and will run through 8 PM Thursday.
WRTV
A Heat Advisory means that temperatures in the 90s with dew points in the 70s, will lead to Heat Index values reaching 106. Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses.
Stay cool:
Drink plenty of fluids, check up on relatives and neighbors, and stay in an air-conditioned room when possible. If outside for extended periods of time, make sure to take frequent breaks in the shade as much as you can.
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