Ricky Kidd then, now: Marking the 5-year anniversary of his release

Thursday marks 1,827 days since Ricky Kidd was released from the Western Missouri Correctional Center.

On Aug. 15, 2019, he walked out a free man after serving 23 years for a double murder in Kansas City, Missouri, he did not commit.

"One of the things I would say when I was still on the inside fighting for and believing in my deserved freedom, under the weight of life without parole for a crime I didn't commit, 'It's not where you are, Ricky, it's where you're going,'" Kidd said.

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Kidd was exonerated after 11 failed appeals.

He includes himself in a growing list of exonorees who've been able to come home.

"Christopher Dunn, Sandy [Sandra Hemme], Kevin Strickland, Michael Polite, Lamar Johnson," Kidd said. "We were not hearing about innocent cases of those individuals actually being released."

That's one of the biggest changes Kidd has noticed since getting out.

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According to the National Registry of Exonerations, there have been 58 known exonerations in Missouri since 1989.

Out of 153 exonerations across the country in 2023, official misconduct occurred in at least 118 of the cases, according to the report.

"We've been doing all these things and fighting for this cause and shouting for people to hear us — 'help these people.' It brings up emotions because that's where our journey started," said Dawn Kidd, Ricky Kidd's wife.

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Since his release, Kidd has been an advocate in the community.

He's a motivational speaker, a former member of the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney community advisory board and former executive board member of the National Innocence Network.

Kidd will soon be a published author, play writer and the star in a documentary being created about his life by Kevin Willmott.

He's not so focused on his five-year-release anniversary, rather, what else he can do from here.

"Who is Ricky Kidd? He's an American comeback story kid," he said.

Watch KSHB 41's Alyssa Jackson's full interview with Kidd as he reflects on five years of being freed.

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KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers portions of Johnson County, including neighborhoods in Overland Park, Shawnee and Mission. Share your story idea with Alyssa .