After 18 years in prison, the Fairbanks Four settle into life as free men

FAIRBANKS — At last year's Alaska Federation of Natives Convention, the Fairbanks Four were a cause for protest. This year, they are a cause for celebration.

On Wednesday night at the Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks, they were featured guests at a community potlatch to welcome AFN and its annual convention, last held in Fairbanks in 2013.

The four men — George Frese, Kevin Pease, Eugene Vent and Marvin Roberts — are now free after spending their adult lives in prison for a killing they say they did not commit.

Back in 1997, Fairbanks police identified the four within hours as suspects in the beating death of 15-year-old John Hartman.  At jury trials, each was convicted of murder.

But there were always doubts. University of Alaska Fairbanks journalism students generated new leads. A team of defense lawyers led by Bill Oberly – a one-man Alaska Innocence Project – followed threads that led to a mini-trial in 2015 with new evidence pointing to their innocence. A witness said he was with a different group of young men who attacked Hartman.

Last October in Anchorage, hundreds of AFN delegates raised four fingers in a protest urging Gov. Bill Walker to free the men. A judge in December 2015 approved a settlement between the men and the state in which they went free but also agreed not to pursue claims of wrongful conviction.  The agreement said the convictions were properly obtained but recognized that if the cases were retried, the state might lose.

[What life is like now for one of the Fairbanks Four]

"It was a compromise, just as every settlement is," Assistant Attorney General Cori Mills said in an email Wednesday. "Many in the community and around the state are standing up in support of the four individuals. We hope that the community support in addition to state resources that are available to all who are in need will help them start their lives anew."

Addressing the crowd of nearly 2,500, Vent spoke to the struggles that now face the four men. "I've been out for 10 months," he said. "I'm a 36-year-old dealing with life issues that an 18-year-old should be dealing with."

[Fairbanks Four released from prison under settlement with state]

No one has been charged anew in Hartman's death.

"There is nothing easy about the prior case and settlement, and there is nothing easy about any future case," Mills wrote. "John Hartman's murder was a tragedy, and almost 20 years later, there is nothing that is going to lessen the terrible incident that took place or the grief of the family, friends, and community."

In the audience, Fairbanks resident Tonya Brown struggled to maintain her composure during a prayer for the four men. "We need changes in the legal system for things like this not to happen in the future," she said.

"I have a strong desire for justice, for some sort of resolution. This kind of injustice has gone on for so long. It impacts people's lives, not just those that are incarcerated but their families too."

Throughout the evening, the four men were surrounded by an adoring crowd. Caroline Cannon, from Point Hope, weaved her way through the rows of chairs to embrace Roberts.

"I don't know them personally but I had to show them my love," she said. "I know how the system is, there's injustice to this day. I admire these young men. There's hope for our people."

At the potlatch, Alaska Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth smiled as she watched Frese speak. In her previous role with the law firm Dorsey & Whitney, she was among the attorneys who worked to free the men.

"We always knew everything was going to be all right," Frese said. "We just didn't know when."