Bristol Resident Betty Anne Waters, Whose Story Became a Hollywood Movie, Will be Honored by CCRI

When Betty Anne Waters’ brother, Kenneth, was convicted in 1983 for a murder he did not commit, she vowed to prove his innocence and set him free.

Waters spent 18 years fighting for her brother. Starting with only a GED certificate, she put herself through college and law school to become his attorney. She re-examined mistaken witness testimony, revealed misconduct by law enforcement and used her legal qualifications to release new DNA evidence from police files that cleared Kenneth’s name. The story of her quest even was made into a Hollywood movie, “Conviction,” starring Hillary Swank.

On April 1, Waters and three other Rhode Islanders will be inducted into the Community College of Rhode Island Alumni Association’s Society of the Knights. This honor is presented to CCRI alumni who have been active as community leaders, attained personal and professional success, provided volunteer service to the college community and have brought honor upon themselves and the college.

Today, she is not a high-flying attorney, but a manager and co-owner of Aidan’s Pub in Bristol, where she also lives. She speaks at presentations across the country about the plight of the wrongfully accused and does pro bono legal work on their behalf with The Innocence Project, an organization dedicated to exonerating innocent people in prison using DNA evidence.

Waters began her quest to free the innocent man in her family in 1985. In that year, her brother lost an appeal of his case and became suicidal at the prospect of spending his life in jail. The Waters family was devastated. Waters vowed to return to school, earn a law degree and fight to free him – a promise that was meant to give her brother hope.
“It was a promise I made to keep him alive,” she said. “My brother had a lot of faith in me.”

But going to college was a difficult prospect. Waters had no education beyond a GED certificate and had two children to take care of. She decided that the Community College of Rhode Island would be a good option for a nontraditional student like herself and she enrolled in 1986.

“I loved CCRI. I think I was very nervous about being an older student but I felt very welcomed here,” she said. “I think it gave me the start that I needed and the confidence I needed to go on … I think the people here made it very easy for me.”

After graduating from CCRI in 1989, Waters went on to Rhode Island College and then graduated from Roger Williams University School of Law in 1998. It was while attending law school that she heard about The Innocence Project and realized it could help with her brother’s case. Using the organization’s resources and her skills and privileges as a newly minted lawyer, she could finally start making the progress that led to her brother’s release.

Kenneth Waters was released from prison in March 2001. “It was just a formality,” Waters said. “They say, ‘You’re free to go’ and they take the cuffs off. Eighteen-and-a-half years, gone.”

Tragically, Kenneth Waters died just six months later in an accident, but Betty Anne Waters said her brother lived with great joy in the time he spent after his release. “I remember the first fresh air with him outside with me. I’ll never forget the feeling.”

The April 1 fundraising event at Quidnessett Country Club in North Kingstown will begin with a cocktail hour at 6 p.m. and include hors d’oeuvres, the induction ceremony, dinner and entertainment. Other Society of the Knights honorees are:

• Sen. Hanna M. Gallo ’76 and ’81 of Cranston
• George K. Loftus ’79, president and CEO of OSHEAN Inc., of Newport
• Richard W. Rose ’82, assistant U.S. attorney, of East Providence

Also that night, two women will receive the Honorary Alumni Award for their service to the college, Alumni Association and the Foundation:

• Mary K. Baker, assistant to the director of administration at CCRI, of Johnston
• Jennifer Bramley, principal of Bramley Communications, of Providence

Tickets cost $75 each. Event proceeds will provide financial assistance for students through programs such as book awards. To register, to attend or to sponsor the event, visit www.ccri.edu/alumni.

To learn more about The Innocence Project, visit www.innocenceproject.org.