You're Only Innocent Once
And Once Is Not Enough
Published on 12. March 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
202 pages
978-1-964035-64-2 (ISBN)
Description
Arrested for a crime he did not commit, Martin Terrell is sentenced to six to twenty-five years in prison - his claims of innocence dismissed because of his past.
Instead of surrendering to the cycle of recidivism, he makes a radical choice: education. While incarcerated, he earns a bachelor's degree summa cum laude and, upon release, receives a graduate scholarship to Ohio University's Scripps School of Journalism.
What follows is an extraordinary rise - from prison cell to university leadership.
You're Only Innocent Once, And Once Is Not Enough is a powerful memoir of injustice, redemption, and the transformative power of education.
More details
Person
I attended Ohio University as a graduate student in Journalism and later became the Assistant Dean for Advancement in the College of Arts and Sciences. I have held many positions of authority since leaving prison, starting with writing a chapter for a textbook while still a graduate student. "The Social, Political, and Economic Contexts in Public Relations." I was assigned to the College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio University as their Assistant Dean for Development, having been out of prison for only two years.