Having grown up and lived in Providence all of my life, I have witnessed many injustices long forgotten. This is one that is a vivid memory. I write now to call attention to a letter I wrote over 25 years ago, about an injustice in our court system that can no longer be ignored.

In 1981, as the executive director of the Opportunities Industrialization Center of Rhode Island (OIC), I wrote a letter to the Department of the Attorney General regarding John Prince, who was an active student in our program. We were made aware that John Prince was charged with a burglary in Barrington at a time that he clearly was participating in one of our classes in Providence.

OIC took re-entry or second-chance opportunities seriously during those days and was appalled to learn at that time that despite John’s claims of innocence, the letter from me and the testimony of two teachers and a number of students proclaiming his classroom presence, he was sentenced to four years in prison as a probation violator after being denied a trial.

Through an unlikely chain of events, I was recently reminded of my letter and the injustice that resulted. Reading Bob Kerr’s thoughtful June 3 column brought it all back and made me aware that the General Assembly has the opportunity to correct a flaw in the justice system by approving the “Justice and Innocence Bill.” It is ironic that John is now a spokesperson for a valiant struggle for justice, serving as the chairman of DARE and participating in important community-development efforts.

Twenty eight years later, very little has changed. For the third year in a row, the legislature has taken up the cause of reforming this regressive system that convicts probationers with very little evidence, and keeps them in prison even when they are granted a trial and acquitted. John finally overcame the obstacles placed in his way, and is telling his story across the state. He has been joined by other innocent men imprisoned in the same way throughout the years. Martin Luther King stated that “the arc of history bends towards justice.” After so long, I hope that Rhode Island will finally show this statement true.

MICHAEL S. VAN LEESTEN

Providence