PEORIA, AZ — For eight years, Eugene Johnson has worked hard to keep his life on a good path.
According to the National Registry of Exonerations, Johnson was exonerated in 2016, spending nearly two decades in prison for a murder charge in Ohio. The Ohio Innocence Project took on their case.
In 1996, he and his two friends were convicted of murdering a teenager in Cleveland. The three were known as the ‘East Cleveland Three’ and would all eventually be exonerated.
“It's been some ups and downs. It ain't all been cookies and cream, but I’d rather struggle in society than rather be in prison for a crime I didn’t commit,” Johnson told us as he sat in a chair getting ready for dental work.
Johnson moved to Arizona about four years ago, wanting a new start.
On Saturday, he was one of about a dozen people getting free dental work from Arrowhead Dental Group, which was taking part in the Smile Generation Serve Day.
Every year, participating dentists help give free care to those who may otherwise not get it.
“Usually on a day like this, I try to take care of the more expensive stuff. Like crowns or extractions, if there are infections. Try to treat that,” said Larry McIver, a general dentist with the Arrowhead Dental Group. “This is only one of my best days to practice dentistry because you feel like you’re giving back to the community because the community has given you so much.”
While getting free dental work is only one aspect of getting care in his life, Johnson’s continuing his fight to move on from a difficult past.
“At first it was hard, but I've been home eight years. Like I said, it's been some struggles. But if you got good people around, you got faith in God, you can make it through anything,” he said.
