TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Crotzer Discusses Wrongful Imprisonment

Tribune file photo by COLIN HACKLEY

Alan Crotzer, seen with his wife Quebella in May, spent more than two decades behind bars for a crime he didn't commit.

ADVERTISEMENT

By RAY REYES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 9, 2008

TAMPA - Two men who spent 421/2 years in prison between them for crimes they didn't commit said faith in religion and family got them through the harrowing reality of life behind bars.

Alan Crotzer of St. Petersburg and Larry Bostic of Fort Lauderdale spoke at the University of Tampa on Thursday about their experiences and the efforts of a small nonprofit group that helped prove their innocence. About 30 people attended.

"I lived through a lot of stuff," said Crotzer, 47, who was charged with kidnapping, robbery and rape in 1981 when he was 19. "They kept me for all of my 20s, all of my 30s and half of my 40s. But I don't have to be bitter. My life has to go on."

In 1981, three armed men robbed the occupants of a Tampa apartment and raped two of them, a 38-year-old woman and a 12-year-old girl. The woman identified Crotzer from a mug shot — he had been arrested as a teenager on a minor theft charge.

Tallahassee-based The Innocence Project took up the cause of both men and used DNA evidence to prove Crotzer and Bostic did not commit the crimes.

"Thank god for DNA," said Bostic, who spent 18 years behind bars.

Last year, the state compensated Crotzer $1.25 million for his wrongful imprisonment. He now works with the state's department of juvenile justice, mentoring teens.

"I could've taken the money and left the state," Crotzer said. "But it's not about the money. It's about the kids."

Bostic, who was wrongfully convicted on a rape charge in 1988, said that when he was in prison, there were days when he believed he was guilty. He saw a psychiatrist, and was prescribed psychotropic drugs to help him cope.

The nonprofit is seeking monetary compensation for Bostic.

There are nine people in Florida and 221 nationwide who have been exonerated years after they were sentenced using DNA evidence, said Innocence Project executive director Seth Miller.

The nonprofit group has seven employees, including a full-time social worker who helps people like Crotzer and Bostic adjust to society after they are freed, Miller said.

Cell phones, Starbucks coffee and toilets that automatically flushed didn't exist when he was in prison, Crotzer said. When he got out two years ago, a friend had to show him how to use an automatic faucet in a public restroom after Crotzer spent a few minutes looking for the knobs.

"It's all good," Crotzer said. "I'm learning."

Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 259-7920.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT