Innocent Man Jailed on Murder Charges Shares His Story with Nebraskans

By: Laura Berry Email

Updated: Thu 6:25 AM, Feb 07, 2013

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Raising money by telling tales, True Stories Live! held it's second show Saturday night at Lincoln's Haymarket Theater. The theme of the event was "second chances."

Eight storytellers shared tales, some sounding stranger than fiction, to raise money for the Lincoln Community Foundation's Veterans Support Services.

One of the participants, Curtis McCarty, shared his story of serving more than two decades on the death row of an Oklahoma prison for a crime he didn't commit. McCarty was accused and convicted of the 1982 murder of Pamela Kaye Willis of Oklahoma City in 1986.

"In 1985 I was falsely charged with first degree murder, prosecuted in 1986, given the death sentence for the first time and spent the next 22 years fighting for my life," said McCarty.

In 2007, McCarty was exonerated by D.N.A. evidence. At the time, McCarty was a resident of Oklahoma, but when he came to Nebraska to testify against the death penalty, he decided to stay and make Lincoln his home as he started his life anew.

Seven others shared their stories. More than a thousand dollars was raised for the Lincoln Community Foundation's Veterans Support Program.

Heineman Vetoes $44.6M From State Budget