After his release in the spring of 2025, Walter Triplett Jr. wrote a few sentences that summed up what had happened to him. "On a warm April night 16 years ago, my life as I knew it ended when two men cornered and attacked my twin sister. I did as any man would have done, the only thing I could of done, and I protected my family. I threw just two punches in her defense and for that, I was sentenced to 20 years in prison."

Those two sentences contain the facts. What they don't contain is everything that happened in between.

The Night at the Bar

Walter went to a bar in Cleveland with his family on the night of April 30, 2009. A scuffle broke out, and during the chaos, an unidentified man punched his twin sister Waltonya while she was trying to break up the fight. Walter witnessed it directly. He hit two men. One of them, Michael Corrado, struck his head on the curb when he fell and never got back up.

Police interviewed three witnesses who supported Walter's version of events. Security cameras at the scene captured video footage of both altercations. Walter had recently welcomed his first child and had enrolled in college. His father told reporters at the time: "He was doing so good. I'm proud of my son. He had the opportunity to get back in the streets. But he chose to better himself."

None of that prevented what came next.

Two Convictions, One Judge, More Time the Second Time

Walter was convicted and sentenced to the maximum of 18 years by Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold. He appealed, and in 2011 the 8th Ohio District Court of Appeals overturned the conviction. The court's reason was specific: the jury had been given erroneous and confusing instructions on the legal definition of defense of others. The ruling was reversed and the case was sent back to trial court.

What happened next is the detail that changes everything about this story. At his retrial on October 11, 2011, Walter faced the same judge and the same charges. He was found guilty of both felonious assault and involuntary manslaughter. This time, Judge Saffold sentenced him to 20 years, two years more than the original sentence that had already been thrown out on appeal.

His first trial had 11 white jurors out of 12. His retrial had an all-white jury. Walter later told the filmmakers behind Netflix's docuseries I Am a Killer that he believed racism played a significant role in both convictions.

What the Numbers Reveal

A case that aired in the same Netflix docuseries offers a stark point of comparison. Jacob Dunne threw a single unprovoked punch in 2011 that killed James Hodgkinson. Dunne received a sentence of two and a half years. Walter threw two punches after watching his sister get hit, had witness support and video evidence on his side, and received 20 years.

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction records list Walter Triplett's status as "RELEASED - Judicial Release" with an admission date of October 1, 2009 and an offense of involuntary manslaughter. He served approximately 15 years of his 20-year sentence before being granted judicial release in the spring of 2025.

After Release

Following his release, Walter launched a GoFundMe to help rebuild his life. The post described the night in his own words and made clear how he understood what had happened: a man protected his sister, threw two punches, and spent the better part of two decades in prison for it.

His case remains part of the public record, documented in court filings, state corrections data, and a Netflix series that millions of people have watched. Walter Triplett Jr. was granted judicial release in the spring of 2025. He was 35 years old when he was first arrested. He is rebuilding now.