Funks SwabbieThe story of Clarence Moses El does not begin with a courtroom or a grand legal battle. It begins in a quiet neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, during the summer of 1987. It begins with an accusation that grew from uncertainty, fear and confusion, then hardened into a conviction that would shape the next three decades of an innocent man’s life. The tragedy lies not only in the injustice he faced, but also in the ordinary way it unfolded. A mistake took root slowly, supported by fragile assumptions and an early loss of objectivity. When the mistake was finally exposed, almost thirty years had already passed.
To understand the gravity of the case, one must return to the night everything began. It was an ordinary warm evening. A woman went out to spend time with three men she knew. They drank, socialized and returned home separately. Hours later, the woman was attacked in her apartment by an unknown man. The assault was brutal. Her facial bones were broken, and one of her eyes was permanently damaged. The violence left the community shaken, and the police began an immediate investigation.
During the first set of interviews, the woman stated that she believed the attacker was one of the three men she had spent the evening with. The police followed that line of inquiry without hesitation. It seemed like a reasonable starting point. Yet within days, the narrative changed. The woman returned with a new claim. According to her, the identity of the attacker had come to her in a dream. She named a man who had not been with her that night, a man who lived nearby, and who had no connection to the earlier events.
The name she gave the police was Clarence Moses El.
There was no physical evidence against him. No witness placed him near the scene. No forensic link existed. Despite all this, the dream statement became the cornerstone of the accusation. Clarence was arrested. He insisted he was innocent, but his words carried little weight in the wave of certainty that followed. Within months, the case moved into a courtroom where a jury was asked to choose between a man’s testimony and the dream-inspired identification of a victim in deep distress.
They chose the latter. Clarence was convicted and sentenced to forty eight years in prison. He was thirty two years old when he entered the Colorado correctional system. The judge’s words echoed behind him as he walked into the facility that would become his home for nearly three decades.
THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED
Life in prison demanded adjustment. Clarence moved through the days carrying a quiet belief that he would someday be heard. He spent long hours writing letters and filing motions. He learned the structure of the law and the significance of every document connected to his case. While the world outside changed, he followed news reports about DNA testing, a scientific development that was transforming justice for many wrongfully convicted men and women.
In the mid 1990s, Clarence contacted the Innocence Project, a nonprofit known for using DNA testing to challenge flawed convictions. They reviewed his case and agreed that the untested physical evidence could clarify what had happened on the night of the assault. A judge later approved a motion that allowed the biological samples, including the rape kit, to undergo modern testing.
Before the testing could occur, the evidence was destroyed. The boxes had been clearly labeled with orders not to discard them, yet they were thrown away during what the police later described as a misunderstanding in communication. The only pathway to scientific proof was lost forever.
The destruction of the evidence carried a weight that Clarence felt deeply. It was as if the last piece of objective truth had been erased. He described that moment as one that nearly broke him. Even so, he continued his efforts. He read court rulings, searched for legal precedents and wrote letters to anyone who might listen.
Years passed. Then decades.
A LETTER THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
In 2013, a message arrived that altered the course of the story. The letter came from a man named LC Jackson. He was one of the three men who had spent the evening with the victim in 1987. Jackson was serving a sentence for a separate crime involving rape. In the letter, he wrote that he wanted to bring what was done in darkness into the light. He spoke about the woman, the night of the assault and his own involvement.
Although he maintained that the interaction had been consensual, his admission placed him at the center of the events that had originally triggered suspicion. It was the first time anyone other than Clarence had acknowledged being with the woman that night. The confession was significant enough for lawyers to request a new hearing.
Clarence’s legal team presented the letter along with other supporting information. They argued that the credibility of the original accusation was now severely weakened and that a new trial was necessary. In December 2015, Judge Kandace Gerdes reviewed the case and ruled that the conviction should be vacated. Clarence was allowed to post bond and step outside the prison for the first time in almost thirty years.
He was sixty years old. Outside the jailhouse stood friends, supporters and three of his grandchildren, whom he was meeting in person for the first time. He spoke softly to reporters, saying he was grateful to sit in a real chair, to feel the air without restrictions and to return to his family after so long.
THE LEGAL BATTLE CONTINUES
Even after his release, the case was not fully resolved. The district attorney at the time maintained that the conviction had been justified and that the dream identification was only one part of the evidence presented. Clarence’s attorneys argued otherwise. They insisted that the absence of physical evidence, combined with the unusual nature of the accusation, should have raised concerns long before a trial took place.
As the scheduled retrial approached in 2016, the legal community and the public followed developments closely. This time, the arguments were examined more thoroughly. The jury reviewed the original claims, the destroyed evidence, the confession letter and the broader context of the case. After careful consideration, they found Clarence not guilty. His name was cleared. The verdict confirmed that he had been wrongfully imprisoned.
Yet exoneration alone could not repair the lost years. Clarence had missed his children’s childhoods. He had lost opportunities, relationships and experiences that could never be replaced. The acquittal was a milestone, but the long path of rebuilding his life had only just begun.
THE FINAL CLOSURE
The end of the legal story arrived in 2024. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced that the state would not oppose Clarence’s petition for formal exoneration. Under Colorado law, wrongfully convicted individuals are entitled to financial compensation. The state calculates the amount at seventy thousand dollars for each year of imprisonment. Clarence had served twenty eight years, which amounted to approximately two million dollars.
He explained that the compensation was not merely financial. It offered him a way to regain pieces of his life that had been taken from him. It meant stable housing, access to healthcare and a chance to care for his grandchildren. Above all, he said it restored a sense of wholeness.
The acknowledgment by the state closed a long and painful chapter. It recognized the harm he had endured and the injustice that had shaped nearly half of his life.
A LEGACY THAT REACHES BEYOND ONE CASE
The story of Clarence Moses El is now part of a larger conversation about wrongful convictions in the United States. His case prompted renewed attention to the handling and preservation of forensic evidence. It highlighted the dangers of relying on questionable forms of identification. It showed how deeply flawed processes can become when early assumptions overshadow the need for careful examination.
For many, Clarence stands as a symbol of endurance. He held on to hope in circumstances that would have crushed many others. His experience reminds the public that justice requires vigilance, transparency and humility.
Today, he speaks of peace and gratitude. He values the simple acts of daily life that many take for granted. He continues to spend time with his family and rebuild his story on his own terms. He often says that returning home surpassed nearly everything lost.
His journey explains how a single moment of uncertainty, left unchecked, can shape decades. But it also shows how truth can eventually prevail when people choose to look deeper and listen more carefully.
Funks Swabbie
