Do Right Thing, McKinney Urges

DeWayne McKinney brought a room full of future lawyers to their feet Wednesday as they applauded his message: Do what’s right, even when it’s difficult.

“Stand on the truth regardless of what others may think or say and regardless of your career,” McKinney, 39, told about 200 law students at Western State University College of Law in Fullerton. “Truly understand the position you’re in: Eventually you will determine someone’s fate.”

McKinney’s own destiny was changed by police officers and lawyers in 1981, when he was arrested and convicted of a murder he didn’t commit. Sentenced to life in prison without parole, McKinney spent 19 years in county and state institutions before another group of lawyers, headed by Orange County Assistant Public Defender Denise Gragg, discovered new evidence that pointed toward his innocence. They fought for his release, which finally came Jan. 28.

Western State professor Brent Romney, director of the Criminal Law Practice Center, brought Gragg and McKinney to campus to share McKinney’s story of suffering and redemption.

“Law students need to experience the impact that the law can have on people’s lives,” Romney said. “The law is not just an exercise. It’s important that we understand it, not only in our minds but in our hearts and stomachs as well.”

McKinney seemed to be speaking from the heart as he described life in prison and how he survived it.

“To be placed in such a situation was unbelievable,” he said, “but I always believed there had to be a reason. I always felt that, in the end, the truth would prevail, that it would only be a matter of time in which I would be dealing with a process that eventually would come to an end.”

His one-hour speech also addressed the topics of prison gangs and the racism that drives them, of separation from family, of learning to rely on himself for emotional sustenance. And he told how he avoided succumbing to bitterness and hatred.

“I refused to accept it,” McKinney said. “I was determined not to let people see me as what they had labeled me.”

The students listen intently, rising in a standing ovation when McKinney’s talk ended. At a reception afterward, they crowded in to shake his hand and hug him.

McKinney’s story “was absolutely devastating,” said Jennifer Seltzer, 24, a second-year student who wants to be a prosecutor. “His positive attitude in light of his experience is shocking. As a prosecutor, I will make sure to look at things from an objective standpoint and not make snap judgments.”

Denice Fischer, 32, said McKinney’s story brought tears to her eyes. “It will make me more sensitive,” she said.

Andreas Grothues, 37, said the story is an important one for future lawyers to hear. “Students have to learn that it’s real people we’re dealing with,” he said. “This is a good reminder that you can make a real difference in some people’s lives.”