Innocent man and the cop who framed him are now the best of friends
In 2005, Jameel McGee of Benton Harbor, Michigan, was on his way to see his baby son for the first time when a police officer accused and arrested him of dealing drugs. McGee said he was framed—and he was right.
Andrew Collins, the arresting officer in the case, later admitted to falsifying the report and ended up spending a year-and-half-in-prison for that and a number of other crimes.
While behind prison, the faith of the men deepened, but McGee was still struggling to forgive. He was eventually exonerated after spending four years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
“I lost everything,” he told CBS News. “My only goal was to seek him when I got home and to hurt him.”
McGee would soon get his chance.
Upon returning to Benton Harbor, he was walking with his son in a park when he saw Collins. “The moment I lad eyes on him, all the anger and hate I had felt in prison came rushing back.”
He walked up to Collins and stuck out his hand: “Remember me.” Collins recognized him immediately and apologized.
McGee started to squeeze Colllins’ hand when he heard God say loudly, “Let me handle this. Let it go.”
And he did. He let the anger—and Collins’ hand—go.
Several years later, the two would end up ironically working at the same cafe together.
Today, the two have become the best of friends.
They’ve even co-authored a book on their unlikely friendship, “Convicted: A Crooked Cop, an Innocent Man, and an Unlikely Journey of Forgiveness and Friendship.”
In October, they appeared together as keynote speakers at the Indiana Criminal Justice Association Fall Conference.
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