A man who was wrongfully imprisoned for 27 years for murder got the shock of a lifetime. On Saturday, he will be watching his favorite team in the postseason, thanks to Bills running back Taiwan Jones.
Jones gifted a pair of tickets to Valentino Dixon so he could watch the 13-3 Buffalo Bills host the Indianapolis Colts in a wild-card game. The 51-year-old was exonerated and released after serving 27 years at the Attica Correctional Facility in New York. Dixon was released from prison in September 2018.
He had been found guilty in connection with the 1991 murder of Torriano Jackson.
Despite a lack of evidence, Dixon was convicted and sentenced to 38 1/2 years in prison.
His prison sentence forced him to miss all of the Bills’ home games during the team’s four consecutive runs to the Super Bowl during the 1990s.
Saturday will be Dixon’s second Bills game, ESPN reported.
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“I was already kind of emotional just with everything going on in the world,” Jones told ESPN. “I was reaching out to different organizations within Buffalo to see what I could do to make a difference. When I first read his story, man, it was touching and heartbreaking. I definitely wanted to do something for him.”
“When he called, it was like talking to an old friend. Our conversation was real genuine,” Jones told ESPN. “I think what stood out the most was that he didn’t have any grudge in him. He sounded like he was just real happy with where his life is today. I was just so amazed at where he’s at emotionally and mentally.”
