This Christian man spent 24 years in prison—more than two decades, perhaps a quarter of his lifetime—for a crime he didn't commit.
It would be easy to imagine Darryl Burton seething with anger at the injustice committed against him by the state. But, thanks to the inspiration he found in reading the Bible while in prison, Jesus has cleansed his heart of hatred.
After his release from jail, Burton became a congregational care pastor at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, and now preaches his deeply personal messages of hope and forgiveness—two things that he had none of while in prison, The Kansas City Star reported.
"I had neither one. I struggled with hope because I was in a hopeless situation, and I really wasn't a forgiving person," Burton told the congregation attending the 10:45 a.m. Sunday service.
"I was not always a believer — in fact I struggled with faith for many years," he said. "I had gotten away from the church until I had this unfortunate experience of spending two-and-a-half decades in prison as an innocent man."
Burton was convicted of murdering a man in St. Louis in 1984. He was released in 2008 after courts found that his prosecution had been constitutionally flawed
In his early years in prison, Burton said he became an "equal opportunity hater"—brimming with hatred for the judges, prosecutors, defence attorneys and witnesses that he thought conspired to make his life a living hell.
"I was stuck and locked in that hate for many, many years," he said. "I couldn't get beyond that."
Fortunately, someone encouraged him to read the Bible.
He said his transformation began after he read verses about loving, praying for and forgiving enemies.
Burton said his remembrance of his grandmother, a religious church-going person, also helped in his transformation. He recalled an incident when he told his grandma that he wasn't going to church anymore — that he didn't understand God and that he didn't believe in him.
Her grandmother responded by saying, "Boy, one of these days you're going to need Jesus, and I hope you remember to call on him.' "
He said her words became prophetic, something that he could never forgot.
He did call on Jesus, and He responded right away, cleansing his heart and dispelling the darkness in his mind.
"I didn't believe in miracles," he said. "But then I became one."
