My name is Morgan James Kane better known as Jamie to my friends. I was born on the Isle of Man on the 21st February 1954. Soon after I was sent to an orphanage in Canada but while still as a baby I was taken illegally into America. As I got older I believed I was an American and that the person who brought me into America was my mother. Eventually she became very unwell and documents recently uncovered report that she was pressurized into agreeing to sell me to a wealthy family. I was given a new name and new date of birth by the man who claimed to have adopted me. His name was Dr Charles Wetmore. He told me that this is how adoption works. I was too young to question this or know the reason why this happened.
Later I discovered it was to cover up the disappearance of a missing boy called John Raymond Frey AKA John Raymond Wetmore. John Raymond had been officially adopted by Dr Wetmore two years before but suddenly disappeared. There are no official records of what happened to John so my guess is that something bad took place. I didn't know it at the time but I was John Raymond's replacement.
For the first few days of my fake adoption I was kept inside the house and was allowed no contact with anyone accept Dr Wetmore and his wife. Almost overnight Dr Wetmore moved his small family with me included from Phoenix Arizona to Fresno California. Nobody in Fresno knew anything about the missing child John Raymond or what he looked like so Dr Wetmore got away with it.
As an adult I moved away from the Wetmore household as soon as I could and wanted to reclaim some of my heritage. I had been told from a young age that I had been born on the Isle of Man and that my real name was Morgan James Kane. Martha had told me ancient myths and legends about the Isle of Man and as a biker I had tattoos that were mostly in tribute to the isle of my birth. I had planned to return there and try to find my birth family. By 1979 I began to use my real name and began the lengthy process of officially changing all the documents in the name of John Raymond Wetmore to Morgan James Kane. I had not realised that this would become a massive problem for Dr Wetmore. People would begin to ask questions about the original boy called John Raymond Frey. Unfortunately for me Dr Wetmore had very powerful friends and was determined to keep me quiet.
Beyond the shadow of prison bars it is only now that the truth can finally be told. I has spent half my life and two thirds of my adult life in prison for the murder of Stanley Kearns, a crime I did not commit.
I spent 34 years in some of the most notorious Californian prisons including San Quentin, Folsom and the Deuel Vocational Institution.
There was no evidence whatsoever against me except my own admission. To find out why I took 'The Deal' and spent more than half my life in Prison click 34 YEARS IN PRISON
Until the last few years many of the details of my early life were a mystery to me. I was however told from a young age that I had been born on the Isle of Man. I have now been able to learn more because researchers who were investigating my case uncovered additional evidence and documentation that revealed the truth.
It has become apparent that the reason I was sent to an orphanage in Canada was that my grand parents had a reputation to uphold on the Isle of Man and I was sent away in the attempt to avoid a scandal. I was to fall from the frying pan into the fire.
Life can be unfair but I do not have time to complain. I will not let the injustice of the past define my future. After a lifetime away from the place of my birth, I am now home and enjoying life. I am doing my best to make a positive contribution to the community in which I now live and I especially enjoy doing voluntary work for several charities.
What ever happens in life stay true to yourself, "Hold Your Mud", and one day things will get better.
Click on Morgan James Kane for more about how and why Jamie Kane was sent to America.
Read how Jamie survived those years in prison. His book is available from good bookshops and via Amazon. Click on 34 YEARS IN HELL While in some of Americas toughest prisons Jamie came face to face with with notorious convicted murderers such as Tex Watson and Charles Manson. This true life crime story is told from a personal perspective and reveals that despite injustice and harsh prison conditions there can always be hope for a better future.
Here are some more links to prison stories and what Jamie is doing now that he is free and living in a country he had only read about.