My name is Shelley Davis and I started this fundraiser on behalf of Channen Smith, who has been wrongfully incarcerated since 2010 for a crime that someone else confessed to in 2017. We are raising money for Channen's legal fund to help get him home. We are running out of time to file his writ of habeas corpus. I could tell his story for him, but I think it's more effective for him to tell you himself. This is from a cover letter that he and I put together so that he can tell his story in his own words:

My name is Channen Ray Ozell Smith. I am currently serving a life plus 20 year sentence in Oklahoma. I am reaching out because I did not commit this crime. I have maintained my innocence since I was arrested on 11/17/10. In fact, another man, Arrlan Young, confessed to the crime while dying of cancer in January 2017. According to his family members who he confessed to, he knew I was wrongfully convicted and wanted to clear both his conscience and my name before he died. 

My family did not receive word of Arrlan’s confession until the summer of 2019. Arllan’s cousin was fearful of coming forward at first, thinking she might not be believed or that she might get in trouble. She eventually reached out to my sister, Shanaya, on Facebook stating she had information that might exonerate me. After that, I hired a private investigator to dig deeper into the people surrounding Arrlan. Here are some of the key highlights pointing to my innocence:

• I was in Claremore, 30 miles from Tulsa, when the shooting occurred on Oct 23, 2010. My girlfriend had picked me up 3 hours prior to the shooting and I stayed with her and her family the entire weekend (without access to a car) and got back to Tulsa 34 hours after the shooting. My girlfriend and her brother vouched for my whereabouts at my trial

• Arrlan Young had motive. He had a physical altercation the night before the shooting with the victim, Dominique Jasper, who was in an opposing gang. Dominique knocked Arrlan to the ground and kicked Arrlan in the face repeatedly. I know this because the altercation happened in the apartment complex I hung out at all the time and, along with many others at the apartment complex, I witnessed the fight that night. 

• The car that was described by witnesses the night of the shooting was a car owned by Arrlan Young’s girlfriend, Crystal Johnson.

• Since his confession, FOUR people have come forward to corroborate his confession; the two cousins he confessed to, and two of Arrlan’s friends who were in the same gang and were fighting alongside him in the altercation the night before the shooting. Henderson Porter, Arrlan’s best friend, knew of the shooting the night it happened, and Freddie Smith, another member of the gang, saw Arrlan come home the night of the shooting acting strange, wiping down a gun, and putting his clothes in a trash bag.

• I’ve NEVER been affiliated with any gang. Have I made mistakes in my life? Yes, but I am NOT a murderer

• Two of the prosecution’s main witnesses changed their stories multiple times. Carlameisha Jefferson’s testimony changed from: 

• (Oct 23, 2010) “I don’t know who the shooter was…” to 

• (Nov 3, 2010) “I was told it was Channen (nickname “Cross”) who shot me…” to 

• (Pre-trial: May 26, 2011) “I was outside when Cross walked up to us…” to 

• (Trial: Jan 8 & 9, 2013) “I was inside on my phone when Cross walked up and I heard his voice and thought I was trippin…” 

• We believe the victim's mother lied on the stand. According to one of the police reports, the victim lost consciousness during questioning and the interview had to be stopped. This was before the mother arrived at the hospital and we believe the victim never regained consciousness before he died. We need the discovery and medical records to prove this, but the DA denied our request for records, even though Oklahoma has the Open Records Act for transparency.

I'm trying to raise awareness on my case and connect with the right people who can help get me home. The OCCA refuses to look at the FOUR new witnesses who have come forward to corroborate Arrlan's confession and the court continues to rely on the unreliable eyewitness testimony of two known felons, who are both admitted liars and suspected informants, and both of whom were facing felony charges at the time of my trial.

It is tragic that a young man lost his life in 2010, but I did not pull that trigger and I do not deserve to be locked up for this crime. This is NOT justice and I need someone to help me get home so I can start to live the life that has been stolen from me since 2010.

To see more about my case, please check out my website at justiceforchannen.org, sign my petition at change.org/unchainchannen and to connect with me to discuss my case further, please email my advocacy team at info@justiceforchannen.org.

Thank you for your support.
Channen Smith

We thank you for taking the time to read about Channen's case. Channen is not a murderer. Despite being brought up in the low income area of North Tulsa, he began working and taking care of his mom and household at the age of 13. He was an Eagle Scout and a mentor to other local boy scouts. He wanted to be a pilot and had enrolled in an aviation program at Tulsa Tech. Unfortunately, his dreams of becoming a pilot have now been shattered because of his wrongful incarceration, but the Lord is not done with him and is re-writing Channen's story and giving him purpose through this experience.

• Channen now mentors those in prison.
• He ministers to other men and shows them that they don't have to make the choice of joining a gang and introduces them to Jesus through faith-based programs like the Faith and Character Program and Prison Fellowship's Academy Program.
• Channen is also co-leading a new men's group, which is focused on healing and freedom from emotional incarceration
• When he is released from prison (we are speaking in faith because we KNOW God has a plan to get him home), Channen plans to return to prisons through prison ministry and continue to pour into men and women behind bars because he knows all too well the trauma, emotional struggles, and stigma that people behind bars face every day.

Please help us to get Channen home by donating to his legal fund, signing his petition and sharing his story! We thank you in advance for your support!