I spent 36 years in prison for a crime I didn’t do. Trump’s early pardons are the right idea

For 36 years, I marked time between prison walls. With a life sentence hanging over me, I missed my son's first day of school, my daughter's wedding, my mother's funeral — all for a crime I did not commit, while the actual murderer walked free. 

What distinguishes my story isn't wrongful imprisonment — it's the rare gift of early freedom. In 2017, Missouri's governor granted clemency during his first year, rejecting the conventional wisdom that mercy is politically safest at term's end....