Good News Thursday: Innocent man released from prison after 43-year wrongful conviction, deaf football team inspires many with 12-0 success on way to championship game

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Innocent man released from prison after 43-year wrongful conviction

Kevin Strickland is released from prison after serving 43 years for a crime he did not commit. (Good News Network)

Kevin Strickland, an innocent man who served 43 years in prison for a triple murder he did not commit, was finally released and received $1.65 million from a GoFundMe set up by strangers.

Strickland was arrested after eyewitness Cynthia Douglas was pressured to pick him out of a lineup, although no evidence ever linked him to the crime. Douglas later wished to recant her testimony but died before she was able to, prompting a re-examination of Strickland’s case.

“Look forward. Don’t allow yourself to be a prisoner of the past. You are now in charge of your life. Live boldly!” William Elliot said to Strickland, who donated $100 to Strickland’s GoFundMe.

Deaf football team inspires many with 12-0 success on way to championship game

A high school’s varsity football team in Riverside, California is inspiring many through their success as an all-deaf team. (Good News Network)

The Cubs, a high school varsity football team from Riverside, California, has gone undefeated all the way through to the state championship game for the first time in their school’s history. The coach and all 23 players are deaf.

The Cubs are taking the season one practice and game at a time, beating hearing schools as they do not play in a hard of hearing league. Though the Cubs fell short in their final game, they are continuing to inspire many— even receiving congratulations from the NFL Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.

“We can do anything. Deaf people can do anything, we’re not this stereotype that’s out there,” Cubs running back Enos Zornoza said.

Jaguar population increase shows conservation strategies are successful

Conservationists and ecologists work to preserve wildlife, increasing the jaguar population in northern Mexico, Central America, the Amazon Basin and northern Argentina. (Good News Network)

Mexico’s national strategy aiming to protect the jaguar population has proved successful, as there has been an increase of 800 jaguars in just eight years. Ecologist Gerardo Ceballos of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and a team of ecologists created a plan to preserve wildlife corridors and sanctuaries, advocate for helpful laws and avoid or resolve conflict with livestock owners.

Other wildlife and ecosystems, in addition to the jaguar population, are benefitting from these efforts.

“This is very important. They are connecting science with conservation plans. It can be a good model for researchers — not only working with jaguars, but all the other big cats or other species that are critically endangered,” jaguar researcher Ronaldo Gonçalves Morato said.

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