Ex-convict thanks UC law students

Students at the University of Cincinnati got a first-hand account of 23 years behind bars Thursday from the same man four of them helped to free from a prison sentence he received more than two decades ago.

Gary Reece, 45, was charged during 1979 with the rape and attempted murder of Cleveland resident Kim Croft. Reece served 23 years of a 75-year sentence before students working with the Ohio Innocence Project at the UC College of Law reviewed the case and found enough evidence to persuade a parole board to grant Reece parole.

Reece was released from prison Feb. 22.

"Forty-eight hours ago I was in a prison outfit in a jail," Reece said as he opened his presentation dressed in new gray suit and blue tie, a stark contrast to his old prison clothes.

Before a crowd of nearly 200 people, Reece talked about his life in prison, his struggles to convince a parole board that he is innocent and his subsequent release from jail.

During his incarceration, Reece lived in an 8-foot by 6-foot cell with a "toilet right next to my bed," he said.

After years in prison, Reece said, he is having some difficulty adjusting to his newfound freedom.

"It gets to the point after being in prison so long, you can't even make a bowel movement unless someone's in the room," he said.

While behind bars, Reece said he encountered an environment many people would deem unlivable.

"There were roaches in the bread, we had nasty tomatoes and hard spaghetti," Reece said about the food conditions in the Cuyahoga County Jail. "There was once even a snake in the salad."

However, while jail time ate away at his body and mind, Reece said he found a new connection in his life: God.

"God is with me now. I learned that in prison," he said.

Reece's other saving grace, the Ohio Innocence Project, began helping him after they received letters about his situation.

For Reece, the project is a group with which he will be forever connected, he said.

Reece also expressed his utmost praise for the four UC law students involved with his release.

Those students, Megan Maag, Alison DeVilliers, Marion Haynes and Fred Sowar, said they share an equal sense of connection with Reece.

"Gary will be a big champion of the cause," said Sowar, who will work on other cases with the group. "He'll be working with the innocence project in the future."

The opportunity to take part in something like freeing a wrongfully accused inmate is an extra special rush for Maag, a senior law student.

"Working with Gary was fun. It was something I never thought I could do in law school," she said.

Reece urged the law students gathered in front of him Thursday to help free at least one wrongfully imprisoned person during their time in school.

"There is nothing better you can do for anyone but give them your time," he said.

With his new freedom and extra time, two days after his release, Reece said he is looking forward to the rest of his life.

Although he hasn't made any solid plans yet, he said he will move to Amelia.

"I can't wait to make my life in Cincinnati," he said.

Reece won't be alone while he is making that life; he had someone waiting for his release.

Reece met his wife, Rita, while he was in jail, through letters and visits, and he proposed in a prison meeting room.

She said Reece's homecoming was one of the best days of her life, but anticipation welled up to nervousness.

"I was scared when he came home. We didn't know what [Croft] was going to do," she said. "But we had banners and flags all saying 'welcome home.'"

Not knowing what Croft, who told police in 1980 Reece raped her, will do is a worry that has been tucked into the back of the minds of both Reece and his wife, they said. But an impending lawsuit by Croft hasn't seemed to dampen his spirits.

Croft operates a Web site that calls for Reece's return to prison. Reece declined to comment about the site, saying it would be "bad form to answer questions about someone who is sick."

Croft claims that during the rape she died and was brought back by Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Now, however, no Web site is going to dampen Reece's spirits, he said.

"I feel euphoric, surreal; I feel like dancing like no one is watching," Reece said.