With a tap of the gavel, Kashif Hamza Hassan’s fate was decided, all set in stone. The verdict was rendered. All the disbelief, the resistance, the defense became futile.

 

On May the 30th, the doors of freedom were forever locked behind Kashif.  It was a lovely mellow afternoon, with a subtle cool breeze. Kashif was out for a stroll with his wife Nazish and their toddler giggling in the stroller. As the couple held each other's hand, ambling, promising their love to each other, imagining the beautiful future they had in store.

 

Little did they knew……bang! At that moment, the time came to a halt. As Kashif saw the smile on his wife’s face slowly fade, her body falling towards him, he didn’t even start to make sense of what had happened that his body fell numb. He started to feel his feet getting wet. Not so long after, the whole stratosphere shook, and he fell to ground rendered unconscious.

 

Waking up this morning, Kashif didn’t know that when he was admiring the view, holding his morning cup of coffee, the world as knew would seize to exist.

 

On August the 11th 2011, in Morristown, New Jersey, as the sun drowned into the horizon, it took his wife, Nazish, with it. The couple was gunned down. Multiple shots fired. The blood filled the alleyway. Nazish died on the spot. Kashif wrapped himself around the stroller,  trying to shield his then two-year-old son, receiving bullets to his back.
 

But somehow, he survived. After extensive 8 surgeries and long hours of therapy and recovery Kashif eventually, recuperated.

 

Kashif was traumatized physically, mentally, and emotionally but that was not the end. Immediately after he gained consciousness, he was trialed for orchestrating the murder of his wife. Lacking a good Lawyer and adequate evidence to prove his innocence, the judge rendered his verdict, and Kashif was declared guilty.

 

Just recently bathed in viscus red, Kashif was now laced in the revolting orange. With a broken soul, Kashif entered the prison. With his rattling handcuffs and all the inmates noticing the arrival of the ‘new-beeh' having lowered his gaze, Kashif slowly walked into his cell without budging.

 

Batman was born in a horrific alleyway, with his newfound purpose of finding his family's killers. But unlike Batman, Kashif was not a billionaire, his parents were refugees, and the killer was his friend. Asking for her help to babysit his children, Kashif hadn’t the slightest idea what was to befall him. Harboring unrequited feelings for Kashif, she had done something unimaginable. And when she got caught, she took down Kashif with her.

 

But the question that arose was, who was born in that alley? Was It the Kashif filled with rage blinded with the desire for revenge; was it the Kashif who wanted to pull through this adversity.

 

Even though so much had transpired, forever scarring Kashif, giving up was simply not the option. With his strong faith and his two boys waiting for him outside, how could he?

 

 

Saying this was Kashif’s most challenging time, would be an understatement. He felt all alone. After he was declared a murderer, all his family started to blame him too. Whenever he felt at the brink of insanity or giving up, he imagined what his boys would be going through, and the hope to reunite with them one day made him survive another day.

 

They say the prison changes you. It changed Kashif for the better. Although a lifetime was not enough to mourn about what had happened, it would not bring back his wife or alter the past.

 

There is a favorite term that goes around in the prison that “aren’t we all innocent," just like in the ‘Shawshank.' Kashif was a lot like Andy, both guilty of killing their wives, even though both were innocent. You know that even if you cry for your innocence, you’ll not get justice, but unlike Andy, there was no master plan, Kashif had made peace with his fate.

 

As an architect and Structural engineer, Kashif had acknowledged how devastating a cage prison truly was. But even with all his architectural expertise, he did not imagine an escape but rather a clinging towards hope.

 

Surrounded among the most ‘heinous’ of people: serial killers, murders, rapists Kashif initially sought to keep a low profile, but as time went on, he started to witness that many of the prisoners showcased compassion and humanity. He was baffled to see how many of the prisoners were innocent or wrongfully incarcerated for a major crime while, in actuality, they were only responsible for minor crimes.

 

Kashif decided to get his facts straight, and every day he would sit for hours in the prison library and kept finding countless cases just like his own. His research soon started to take him from one thing to another. This little hobby turned into a journey filled with revelations, and a few years passed by.

 

He didn’t just settle on his research; he kept ongoing. Kashif had not just completed his MBA (Masters in Business Administration), Masters in Criminal Justice and A Master’s of Arts Organizational Management, But also acquired diplomas in Advance paralegal studies in Criminal law, civil law, family law, business law, real estate law, and wills and trust law.

 

Using his newfound prowess, Kashif not just helped prisoners who were wrongfully accused, build their cases, but managed to gain justice and freedom for 147 prisoners and counting. To this day, Kashif uses his paralegal expertise to help the wrongfully accused without ever taking a penny.

 

Kashif had fallen, but he rose inside the prison and found his purpose. Every day he clenches to hope as he sleeps, imagining the day he will meet his sons all grown up. The endurance has made him strong and the longing for his children, grateful for the moments he awaits.

 

Kashif envisions opening a non-profit organization to carry out this work. He has started a grand scale so he can help the wrongfully accused fight injustice and offer the light of hope to them and their families.


This article is written by Madiha_Writer