Sentenced to Life for False Confession

       Jason Hicks was sentenced to life in prison for a False Confession he made because he was scared and incarcerated for the first time, Jason, a vulnerable learning disabled and emotionally impaired teenager, fell prey to the environment of the Maximum Security section of the Ingham County Jail in Michigan; where boasting and putting up false airs of bravado are as common as the blue sky. In Jason's effort to fit-in and build up a phony facade for his fellow prisoners, he foolishly wrote 2 unreliable false confession in what would become known as the Bennigans Notes Evidence, written in bizarre, scrawled penmanship uncharacteristic of Jasons normal handwriting and not a genuine representation of his true feelings which was later supported by a Forensic Polygraph Examiner and former F.B.I agent whose purpose was to either reinforce or discredit the contents of the Bennigans Notes Evidence and whether or not Jason harbored any true knowledge that his co defendant would harm anyone during the commission of the robbery, the results of the polygraph confirmed that the contents of the notes were discredited. These notes were presented by another inmate to the police in an attempt to get a lighter sentence on an unrelated matter.
       Evidence showed that Jason planned the robbery of the restaurant and set it up so that a cohort of his would go into the restaurant at closing time, display a weapon, ostensibly get money from the safe, then quickly leave.
       No evidence was presented that Jason, in the planning of the robbery, intended or hoped anyone would be shot or killed, in fact, there was no real evidence that Jason, who was a passenger in the getaway car, ever knew for sure whether his cohort was carrying a loaded or unloaded weapon before he went into Bennigans.
       Jason was not the shooter; in fact he was not even in the restaurant at the time of the robbery and subsequent shooting yet received Life in prison without the possibility of Parole. The third defendant who also stayed in the car with Jason at an adjacent parking lot received 8 to 20 years.
       Jason's court appointed Attorney never asked the court for a physiological evaluation even though Jason had a well documented history of learning disabilities and emotional impairments. In fact the court appointed attorney stated he was only there to see that Jason's rights were not violated.
       The law states that a defendant does not have to prove his innocence, but rather the prosecutor has to prove that a crime was committed, in this case the prosecutor portrayed their own theory and persuaded the jury to believe that theory, Jason was not afforded the opportunity to prepare a proper defense because he simply did not know the law and did not have the finances to retain an attorney who did.
       We need your voice in this quest for Justice for Jason and it is our sincerest hopes that you sign our petition for a new trial and thank you for taking the time to read about Jason's Story, please feel free to visit Jason's facebook at:   http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100001505624743&v=wall&ref=ts