For nearly seven years, Brad Bishop’s life was defined by the walls of a jail cell.
Arrested at age 15 and charged as an adult for the murder of his abusive step-grandfather, Bishop spent six years, six months and 15 days in jail without bond.
It all would come to an end March 5, when a Richmond County jury found Bishop, now 21, not guilty of all charges.
“After listening to six days of evidence of longstanding, documented abuse, and hearing about how multiple state agencies failed to save this child when he needed them most, a jury finally stepped in and saved Brad,” said his defense attorney, Jennifer Cross.
Cross has set up a GoFundMe to help Bishop with basic needs as he begins life as a free man.
Spending such formative years in custody have left Bishop, whose parents abandoned him as an infant, with numerous needs.
After he was moved from a juvenile detention center to the county jail when he was 17, Bishop had to endure the riots, fights, deaths and unsafe conditions common at the jail. He was denied opportunities to further his education, and his last grade completed was eighth, Cross said.
Bishop was released with no identification, birth certificate, social security card, clothes or toiletries, Cross said. He had no phone, housing, transportation or insurance, she said.
“Please consider donating to support Brad, to help him succeed after experiencing years of injustice,” Cross said.
Some 103 donors had contributed $6,200 to Bishop’s fundraiser as of Monday.
