Johnnie Lindsey: My name is Johnnie Lindsey and I was wrongly convicted and I spent 26 years in prison. And once I was released, my life could not begin until I had a proper ID.

It felt like I didn’t exist for a moment. With the help of a social worker, she took me to all the necessary places to get my birth certificate and high school diploma. And then I was able to go to the Texas Department of Public Society, and they issued me my ID.

Once I got my ID, I could go open up a bank account and it was like, you know, I’m alive again. Yes, I have a daughter that was born right after I was locked up. She lives in New York and I had to have ID to evne purchase a plane ticket. And I didn’t have an ID to do so. So, that was very frustrating and I was determined to get to New York. So I finally got my ID and was able to purchase a plane ticket. For 26 years, that was the first time I had seen her. And it was a reunion that no words can describe.