Fifteen years ago I was in junior high. I was big on Pokémon, the smooth stylings of Carlos Santana and swimming as often as I could.

Fifteen years ago Floyd Bledsoe was heading into prison for the murder of 14-year-old Zetta “Camille” Arfmann, a crime he did not commit.

In late 2015 newly admitted DNA evidence proved that Floyd couldn’t have committed the crime and incriminated his older brother, Tom Bledsoe. Their father, also named Floyd Bledsoe, was thrust into the picture as well when his DNA was found on the victim’s socks, a shocking revelation for the younger Floyd.

Floyd Bledsoe was released from the Lansing Correctional Facility on Dec. 8. His brother killed himself in November, confessing to the murder in his suicide letters.

The Midwest Innocence Project has told the Journal-World that Bledsoe’s wrongful conviction might have been avoided if his interrogations were recorded.

Since Bledsoe’s release Rep. Ramon Gonzalez, R-Perry, has introduced a bill that if passed would require interrogations to be recorded.

Plenty can change in 15 years, and I’m sure that statement is even more true if you’ve been locked in prison for that amount of time.

Kate Glavin met Floyd Bledsoe while she taught writing classes at the Lansing Correctional Facility from 2011 to 2014. She has since moved to Boston, but the two have kept in touch.

Now that Floyd Bledsoe is a free man and living in Hutchinson, Glavin said, he’s working to acclimate to the outside world, which is presenting a significant challenge.

To help him move forward, Glavin established a GoFundMe account for Floyd Bledsoe. The account’s fundraising goal is $60,000; Glavin said she thought long and hard about that figure.

“I sort of felt like every number was too low for what he went through,” she said. “I felt like that was a comfortable number to help him build a savings account, to help him find some emotional support services, to help him buy some reliable transportation and for procuring housing while he looks for a job.”

Since his release Floyd Bledsoe has been volunteering much of his time at Prairie Lighthouse, an organization meant to help others transition from prison into the outside world.

He has also been able to pick up an odd job here and there, but nothing steady, Glavin said.

“He did have some jobs lined up, but they fell through for various reasons,” she said.

Although finding consistent work is tough, Floyd Bledsoe has had his hands full, Glavin said.

“He is really busy,” she said. “He has some speaking engagements, he’s working with the Midwest Innocence Project, and he’s speaking out against the death penalty.”

In the meantime he is still looking for more work, even potentially looking to use some of the skills he learned while incarcerated, Glavin said.
“I believe he has training in plumbing and electrical services that he received while in prison,” she said.

As of Wednesday morning, the account, which Glavin started on Monday, has raised $1,270 through the donations of 14 people.

While the money raised so far is short of the goal, Glavin said it’s early yet and she’s received positive feedback from the account.

Any money raised will go toward helping Floyd Bledsoe reclaim a piece of his own life and toward helping him recover from 15 years of wrongful incarceration.

“I really can’t emphasize enough that because of the nature of his situation he is really in need of emotional support services that he cannot afford,” she said.

Glavin’s GoFundMe account for Bledsoe can be found online at www.gofundme.com/floydbledsoe. Through that site Glavin said she is able to answer any further questions about the fundraising.

I report on crime and courts for the Journal-World. I can be reached by email at cswanson@ljworld.com, by phone at (785) 832-7284 or on Twitter @Conrad_Swanson.