CHICAGO (WGN/CNN) – After 23 years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit, a former Chicago White Sox groundskeeper is back to doing the job he loves.
With a smile on his face and a packed lunch, Nevest Coleman reported to gate four at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“I like to be an independent person, and I don’t want nobody to give me nothing, you know? And I like to work for what I have,” Coleman said. “And just by coming to work like this here every day is a blessing.”
While watching Sox games in prison, Coleman vowed if he ever got out, he wanted to reunite with his grounds crew family.
Head groundskeeper Jerry Powe was giddy that his old friend – and now employee – is coming back.
“We were buddies back then, but now I’m his boss – it’s a little bit different now,” Powe said.
Longtime groundskeeper Harry Smith also was delighted to welcome Coleman back.
“I was jumping up and down,” Smith said. “I said, ‘Jerry, stop playing.’ He said, ‘Man, I’ll telling you, he’s coming back!’ I said, ‘Wow!’ Couldn't believe that!”
Coleman had finished work at the park when police arrested him in April 1994 for the rape and murder of a young woman.
He was a father of two young children, with no criminal record.
Last year, prosecutors dropped charges after DNA found on the victim’s clothes matched a serial rapist.
Coleman walked out of prison after 23 years behind bars, into the arms of his now-adult children.
With his slate wiped clean, the 48-year-old picked up where he left off, hoping it would be like riding a bike.
“I was in a situation where I felt comfortable here, and everybody here was family to me,” Coleman said. “The past is the past now. There's no more anger, upset, frustration, nothing. Because when I was in there, I was miserable. But now I got my little ones behind me, and standing on my side. The misery is gone now.”
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