First Father’s Day (Again)
Every father remembers their first Father’s Day. It’s often a euphoric day filled with appreciation and love. Family members shower the new parent with gifts and often cook their favorite food. For that first-time father, it can also be a day of disbelief. For some, it is hard to believe that they are now fathers－that they are responsible for another life. They relish this opportunity. But what happens when that responsibility is taken away from that father due to no fault of their own? This is what happened to Kerry Robinson after he was wrongly convicted and served eighteen years in prison for a crime that he did not commit.
When Kerry found out he was a father for the first time, he was overjoyed. In a recent interview, Kerry said, “I was ecstatic. I was jumping through the ceiling because that’s what I wanted. I was ready for fatherhood. I can brag on myself because my kids’ mother didn’t have to do anything but nurture the children. I did everything else.” Unfortunately, a few years after his son and daughter were born, Kerry was wrongly convicted of a crime based on inaccurate and overstated forensic evidence and on false testimony from an incentivized co-defendant. Because of this, Kerry missed eighteen Father’s Days following his conviction in 2002.
After being fully exonerated in 2020, Kerry’s priority was to spend time with his kids. For him, this was a new type of first Father’s Day that he had been looking forward to for a long time. This Father’s Day would not be celebrated in June but any time that he could be with his kids. One of those days was January 10, 2020, shortly after his release. For the first time in nearly two decades, Kerry had the opportunity to celebrate with his daughter for her birthday. For him, he says that, “It was something special. I really just wanted to spend time with her. We pretty much went to the mall and watched Madea movies.”
Kerry is no longer looking to the past but is optimistic about what the future holds for him and his kids. He wants to fully be able to create a better life for his son and daughter and leave a legacy for them. “I’m looking forward to getting a place for me and my kids. I’m trying to get in the position now to be able to put down on a home and to have something in our name. I want to leave it to them, in case anything happens to me.” He also looks forward to being able to impart wisdom to his kids and share the knowledge that he has learned so that they can live a better life.