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“The Amazing Race” contestant Ryan Ferguson has an amazing back story.
Ferguson, who is competing with friend Dusty Harris, served 10 years for a murder he didn’t commit.
After the death of Columbia Daily Tribune editor Ken Heitholt in 2001, Ferguson’s friend Charles “Chuck” Erickson told investigators that while he didn’t have memory of that night, he was having dreams that he committed the murder. Erickson eventually confessed to the crime and implicated a then 19-year-old Ferguson.
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— Photo: Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty Images
According to TooFab, there was no physical evidence at the scene linking the two men but Erickson’s testimony and a claim from a janitor was enough. Erickson took a plea deal while Ferguson remained that he was innocent and was sentenced to 40 years in jail.
“Making a Murderer” attorney Kathleen Zellner helped overturn his conviction in 2013. Erickson and the janitor both recanted their testimonies and the courts ruled that prosecutors withheld evidence.
Erickson is still working on having his conviction overturned.
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Ferguson later hosted MTV’s “Unlocking The Truth ” in 2016 about others who have been wrongfully convicted.
“I feel for the other people who are still experiencing what I experienced. That’s always my first thought and last thought,” he told the podcast “Reality Life With Kate Casey” earlier this week.
“Just knowing that we have a criminal justice in America and it is not functioning properly. There’s no accountability for police and prosecutors when they do the wrong thing. My prosecutor is now a judge! It’s mind boggling.”
“The Amazing Race” producers later reached out to Ferguson about auditioning for the show.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, I love ‘The Amazing Race,’ I watched it in prison. I was stuck in a cell, a little cage for 10 years, do I want to explore the world with my best friend? Sure, why not,” he added.