Thomas Raynard James was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1991 and spent 32 years in prison. With the help of the Figgers Foundation and Attorney Natalie Figgers, he was exonerated, and freed in 2022.
The Figgers Foundation has set another example of humanity and community support by helping and serving the man who spent three decades in prison for a crime he never committed. Thomas James was arrested in 1991 for a murder that he had never committed. After spending 32 years of his life in prison, he was freed from prison with the help of the FIggers Foundation and Freddie’s wife, Attorney Natalie Figgers.
It all began on January 7, 1990, at approximately 7:20 p.m. There was a home invasion in an area of Miami called Coconut Grove. Two men entered a residence, and one of the victims was shot inside the residence and died as a result of that gunshot. It was a botched robbery, and the police got the names of the invaders. They act on the name that they were given, and everybody assumes that the person who committed the crime went to jail the day before the crime.
So, he couldn't be the one who committed the crime, and policy wrongfully charged Thomas James with the murder when he was in court for another situation. He was incarcerated for 32 years, and he made all the efforts to justify himself. He told everybody of his innocence, but no one listened to him. Thomas James says, “Just imagine that you’re being charged and eventually tried and then have been convicted for a crime that you do not know of; you have nothing to do with it.”
The person who took his story got a job with the Figgers Foundation. He met Freddie Figgers and realized that Freddie was the right person who could fund James’s defense. The person went to the supervisor with the story, who felt the pain and wondered what it would be like to be incarcerated for something that someone hadn’t done. Freddie Figgers took the story to his wife, Attorney Natalie Figgers, who became curious based on the limited facts.
Natalie and James had a discussion. She asked him questions, which he answered. After that, James sent the paperwork to Natalie when she was eight months pregnant. Even though she kept on maintaining her oath of office, as she was loyal to her profession, she realized that it would be an injustice to ignore someone who was wrongly convicted. Even when she was in labor, she dealt with the labor pain and paperwork side by side. “To this very day, Natalie is recognized by me, and she knows this as my hero, and she will forever be my hero because she listened when nobody else did. She acted when nobody else would. She's done when nobody else would,” says Thomas James.
Natalie fought for him and brought him out of prison. For the first time in three decades, someone heard his cries and took action. In addition to helping him end the conviction, the Figgers Foundation also helped him thrive and establish him back in society. “I want to tell the world what Natalie Figures, Freddie Figures, and the Figures Foundation, individually and collectively, have done for me. They gave me my life back that had been stolen and taken from me, and then they aided and assisted in helping to restore my life," said Thomas James.
The Figgers Foundation helped him take back his freedom and his life that was stolen. They provided him with humanitarian aid and everything he needed to thrive and flourish in modern society. He was provided with a mobile phone and a tablet to live a more productive life.
“That’s just the way they are. So, it's not always. It's a given that they will have a foundation that does the things that they do," said Thomas James.