Local Author Book Signing!

Join us for a special “Meet The Author” Happy Hour featuring local author John N. Huffington this Sunday, October 27, 2024 from 4 to 6 PM at Ocean 13 Seafood and Steakhouse. This event is a unique opportunity to engage with John and hear his inspiring story as detailed in his book, “Innocent: An Obscene Miscarriage of Justice”.

Since 1973, 200 individuals have been exonerated from death row in the United States. These cases underscore the potential for irreversible miscarriages of justice in capital punishment cases. John N. Huffington is one of those 200 human beings.

In 1981, at the age of eighteen, Huffington was found guilty of a double homicide in Harford County, Maryland. He was given two death sentences plus 21 years in what became known as the Memorial Day Murders.

Maintaining his innocence from day one, John spent 32 years, 2 months, and 28 days in the Maryland Prison System, the first 10 years of his sentence were on death row. John's conviction was tainted with flimsy, unsubstantiated science and a prosecutor who withheld or tried to destroy evidence. His lost years included stints at Supermax and other sites notorious for corruption and violence. It took more than three decades, two trials, and numerous appeals before DNA evidence in the case finally helped secure John's release in 2013. Huffington finally received a full pardon from Governor Larry Hogan on January 13, 2023.

Told in his own words, this powerful true story of an innocent man caught in a flawed justice system is simultaneously heartbreaking and enraging. It's a challenge to the belief system of "innocent until proven guilty," where there is no clear line between justice and the condemned. While incarcerated John was active in creating programs for inmates and earned a bachelor’s degree in management science.

The diligence of the law firm of Ropes & Gray (more than 120 lawyers at the firm worked on Huffington’s case for 40 years) and the investigative journalism of the Washington Post uncovered key evidence proven through DNA testing to be unreliable. The case’s Harford County Prosecutor has since been disbarred for withholding this exculpatory evidence. (Washington Post: In October 2021, the Maryland Court of Appeals disbarred Joseph I. Cassilly for “various instances of intentionally dishonest misconduct.” It was only the fifth time a prosecutor had been disbarred in the United States for misconduct, according to the Innocence Project.)

John is an internationally recognized motivational speaker. He is a trainer for statewide, mandated training programs in the Illinois Police Academies, presenting Wrongful Conviction Awareness and Avoidance classes. This training is the first of its kind for law enforcement in the United States. John also serves as a consultant in workforce development and criminal justice reform. He is a vital voice in criminal justice reform.

Join us at Ocean 13 for an engaging evening filled with thought-provoking conversation and the opportunity to have your book signed by John - who is truly a remarkable figure who has transformed his harrowing experience into a powerful message of hope and justice.

Event Details:

Date: Sunday, October 27 2024

Time: 4 PM – 6 PM

Location: Ocean 13 Seafood and Steakhouse, 32nd Street, Ocean City, MD