Exonerated In 1991, Rick Walker of East Palo Alto, CA was wrongfully convicted of the crime of first-degree murder and sentenced to 26 years to life. Walker served 12.5 years of his sentence before being exonerated of all charges in 2003. Although Walker received a check for over $300,000 for his time behind bars, initially he was unable to locate a bank that would lend him money to buy a house. Some two years after his release from prison, Walker continues to struggle to make ends meet, and knows, he will have to work the rest of his life to make up for all the lost years of income he had coming as the co-owner of his own garage.