Maya Moore left the WNBA to help Jonathan Irons revoke his sentence.
8 min read
WNBA star Maya Moore fell to her knees when, after 22 years in prison, Jonathan Irons left the Jefferson City Correctional Center as a free man on Wednesday.
“At the time, I just felt like I could rest,” Moore told Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America.” “I mean I have been standing and we have been standing for so long. It was an unplanned moment where I felt relief … it was a moment of worship to fall to my knees and be so thankful that he did.”
“I am absolutely elated and grateful to be here right now,” said Irons.
The basketball star, who won four WNBA championships with the Minnesota Lynx and a WNBA MVP title, walked away from the game at the height of his career to focus full time on helping Irons overturn his conviction.
“When I walked away two springs ago, I really wanted to change my priorities so that I could be more available and present to introduce myself to things that I felt were more important than being a professional athlete,” said Moore.
Moore and Irons formed a close friendship in 2007, before their freshman year at the University of Connecticut, when they met him through a prison ministry involving their extended family in Missouri.
When Irons was 16, an all-white jury tried him and convicted him as an adult of burglary and shooting at the home of Stanley Stotler, 38. Irons maintained his innocence while in prison, saying he was misidentified during the lineup.
After years of fighting, a Missouri judge overturned Irons ‘conviction in March, saying there were problems with the way the case had been investigated and tried, including a fingerprint report that would have proven Irons’ innocence, which defense team was not delivered
While Irons, now 40, spent most of his life in prison for a crime he did not commit, he said he has no resentment towards the man who misidentified him, and said Stotler is also a “victim.” .
“I think at some point, if not, maybe later, he will be hit with a lot of guilt,” said Irons. “I want to let him know that he has a safe place to rest because I forgive him. I don’t blame him or blame him in any way.”
Irons wants to help others in the same situation.
“I want to be able to communicate and help other people. I want to advocate for the less fortunate. I want to help people with their cases. I want to talk about positive change and be part of the rebuilding process from where we are now because there is much more to come. on the horizon and I see it, “said Irons.
As for Moore, she is not sure if her future will bring her back to the basketball court, but for now she will enjoy a break.
“For the first time in my adult life, I am trying to live in the moment,” said Moore. “I really haven’t been able to have the fullness of the rest I wanted … now is the time to take a break and then see what the future holds, perhaps sometime next spring.”
For those looking to join the fight for criminal justice reform, Moore offers some advice.
“The first step for anyone is … I would say you meet someone who is not exactly like you and who does not come from the same background as you, educate yourself and then keep showing up,” said Moore. “Finding ways to introduce yourself to people and your voice will come out of that relationship and your quest to see people who are not exactly like you.”
Irons hopes his story will inspire others to keep fighting.
“We shouldn’t give up. We must move on,” said Irons. “Right now I want people to have hope for this story because we are in dark times. And we have to keep going. We have to keep the faith.”
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