Meet Adam Bentley Clausen
"A boy's troubled youth led to a man in prison forever..."
Adam moved from the Mid West to the East Coast at the age of 10.
He struggled to "fit in" throughout most of his youth.
On November 29, 1975 I was born into the loving arms of proud first time parents Jack and Anna Marie Clausen. Unfortunately, their marriage wasn't meant to last and they were divorced by the time I was six. My mom and I then moved just a few miles north into the city of Racine, Wisconsin so that we would be closer to nearly all of our family and friends. Most weekends I either stayed with my dad or visited my aunts, uncles or grandparents homes. We were very fortunate to have such a supportive network of family and friends to help us through that difficult period.
A few years later when my mom was awarded her Masters Degree she was also presented with a lucrative job offer out on the East Coast. After careful consideration she accepted it and we moved over 500 miles cross-country to the town of Marlton, NJ just outside of Philadelphia. It was definitely a dramatic change for us both but it also felt like the beginning of a great adventure. At first glance our future in New Jersey seemed incredibly bright and filled with opportunity.
By the fall I had begun the fourth grade at a local parochial school that was attached to our new church. Not only was I the "strange new kid" from the Mid West but i was also quite shy and spoke with a slight lisp. The standard issue brown and peach school uniform couldn't mask my awkwardness and insecurity. Nearly all of the children, as well as a few of the teachers, were unwelcoming at best and plainly cruel at worst so I kept to myself. Thankfully learning came easily because school certainly wasn't any "fun" for me.
At home in our beautiful new neighborhood the older kids were much more vicious than the ones at school. Each day when I got off the bus they'd come out to attack me with sticks, stones, snowballs, bottles and anything else they could get their hands on. It was an absolute miserable existence for me and I was desperate to return "home" to Wisconsin. I spent a great deal of time alone behind a locked door waiting for summer to arrive.
Retreating to Wisconsin each summer to spend time with my dad and the rest of the family helped me to get through those first few rough years in New Jersey. It wasn't until last one summer when I was nearly drowned by a couple of the neighborhood bullies that things finally began to turn around for me. That near death experience was the spark I needed to light the flame in me. From that day forward no one was able to intimidate or bully me ever again and my life immediately began to improve.
Steadily my confidence grew and my natural athleticism was able to shine. The success I achieved on both the court and the field quickly captured the attention of my coaches, teachers, peers and even their parents. Suddenly everyone wanted to acknowledge me and I didn't know how to deal with all of the accolades. I could have been more gracious but some wounds simply refused to heal and thus I remained suspicious of everyone's true intentions toward me.
My athleticism helped to open numerous doors for me both socially as well as scholastically. The most notable was my invitation to attend an esteemed college prep high school. At that time it was my dream to eventually play ball for a reputable collegiate program. Choosing to enroll at Bishop Eustace Preparatory set me on the right track toward achieving that goal.
Three years later my junior year wasn't going quite as I had planned. There was an assistant coach who's son I'd been competing against since the seventh grade that seemed to be prohibiting my progress by keeping me on the sidelines. I appealed to the head coach but with no success. After that our relationship quickly deteriorated and the assistant coach became increasingly more confrontational. Realizing that i was in a no-win-situation I decided to walk away from the game I loved. It was not only the most difficult decision I ever had out make but it would also turn out to be one of the worst.
When school administrators asked me not to return for my senior year I was devastated. As a transfer student I was "athletically ineligible" for the entire school year. Without the constant structure and routine of school sports I lost all focus on my future. Thoroughly depressed i began drinking nearly every day and suffered from extreme bouts of insomnia. My mental and physical health both rapidly declined as a result of my new undisciplined lifestyle. Family and friends attempted to intervene and reign me back in but I was already to far gone by then.
A few months prior to my high school graduation I was arrested. Instead of heading off to college that Fall I was headed up-state to receive a very different type of education. By time I was eventually released, three and a half years later, everything in my life had changed. I had lost a child, a girlfriend that I had planned to marry and basically everyone else that I'd previously considered a friend. No matter where I went everyone already know who i was, what I'd done and where I'd been for the last few years. I felt like a complete social leper.
Searching for a fresh start I ventured across the bridge and into the city (Philadelphia). Over there not everyone knew my personal history and most of the time they were much less judgmental when I did try to explain it to them. After a couple of years the city began to feel like my new home. Finally I had found a place where I genuinely feel like I fit in.
Right about that time when I began feeling like I might have escaped my past, my past came looking for me. A couple of guys that I had met in prison started hanging around and never moved on. In the course of a few weeks we racked up a number of felonies where, thankfully, no one was seriously injured. Inevitably the authorities caught up to us and both of them decided to testify against me in exchange for leniency. Instead of "sharing" this life sentence with me they were both sent home to their families.
Clearly I made some very serious mistakes throughout my youth but never have I done anything that might warrant the 213 year sentence which I received. For over a decade now, I've sought out and exhausted every possibly remedy to this injustice. Few options still remain which means your support has become more crucial than ever. With your help I still hope to someday have an opportunity to return home to my loved ones and possibly start a family of my own.
You can begin showing your support right now by reading through all of the pages on this site and then leaving a comment on my blog or following me on Facebook and/or Twitter. After that you can periodically revisit the "Help Adam" page to learn more about what new remedies and initiatives we're currently working toward and how you can continue to show your support. I want to thank you for taking this opportunity to learn a little more about me. Your current interest and any future efforts on my behalf are genuinely appreciated.
If you'd like to know more about the specific events leading up to Adam's life long incarceration, please read "Adam's Story."
With Gratitude,
Adam B. Clausen
A few years later when my mom was awarded her Masters Degree she was also presented with a lucrative job offer out on the East Coast. After careful consideration she accepted it and we moved over 500 miles cross-country to the town of Marlton, NJ just outside of Philadelphia. It was definitely a dramatic change for us both but it also felt like the beginning of a great adventure. At first glance our future in New Jersey seemed incredibly bright and filled with opportunity.
By the fall I had begun the fourth grade at a local parochial school that was attached to our new church. Not only was I the "strange new kid" from the Mid West but i was also quite shy and spoke with a slight lisp. The standard issue brown and peach school uniform couldn't mask my awkwardness and insecurity. Nearly all of the children, as well as a few of the teachers, were unwelcoming at best and plainly cruel at worst so I kept to myself. Thankfully learning came easily because school certainly wasn't any "fun" for me.
At home in our beautiful new neighborhood the older kids were much more vicious than the ones at school. Each day when I got off the bus they'd come out to attack me with sticks, stones, snowballs, bottles and anything else they could get their hands on. It was an absolute miserable existence for me and I was desperate to return "home" to Wisconsin. I spent a great deal of time alone behind a locked door waiting for summer to arrive.
Retreating to Wisconsin each summer to spend time with my dad and the rest of the family helped me to get through those first few rough years in New Jersey. It wasn't until last one summer when I was nearly drowned by a couple of the neighborhood bullies that things finally began to turn around for me. That near death experience was the spark I needed to light the flame in me. From that day forward no one was able to intimidate or bully me ever again and my life immediately began to improve.
Steadily my confidence grew and my natural athleticism was able to shine. The success I achieved on both the court and the field quickly captured the attention of my coaches, teachers, peers and even their parents. Suddenly everyone wanted to acknowledge me and I didn't know how to deal with all of the accolades. I could have been more gracious but some wounds simply refused to heal and thus I remained suspicious of everyone's true intentions toward me.
My athleticism helped to open numerous doors for me both socially as well as scholastically. The most notable was my invitation to attend an esteemed college prep high school. At that time it was my dream to eventually play ball for a reputable collegiate program. Choosing to enroll at Bishop Eustace Preparatory set me on the right track toward achieving that goal.
Three years later my junior year wasn't going quite as I had planned. There was an assistant coach who's son I'd been competing against since the seventh grade that seemed to be prohibiting my progress by keeping me on the sidelines. I appealed to the head coach but with no success. After that our relationship quickly deteriorated and the assistant coach became increasingly more confrontational. Realizing that i was in a no-win-situation I decided to walk away from the game I loved. It was not only the most difficult decision I ever had out make but it would also turn out to be one of the worst.
When school administrators asked me not to return for my senior year I was devastated. As a transfer student I was "athletically ineligible" for the entire school year. Without the constant structure and routine of school sports I lost all focus on my future. Thoroughly depressed i began drinking nearly every day and suffered from extreme bouts of insomnia. My mental and physical health both rapidly declined as a result of my new undisciplined lifestyle. Family and friends attempted to intervene and reign me back in but I was already to far gone by then.
A few months prior to my high school graduation I was arrested. Instead of heading off to college that Fall I was headed up-state to receive a very different type of education. By time I was eventually released, three and a half years later, everything in my life had changed. I had lost a child, a girlfriend that I had planned to marry and basically everyone else that I'd previously considered a friend. No matter where I went everyone already know who i was, what I'd done and where I'd been for the last few years. I felt like a complete social leper.
Searching for a fresh start I ventured across the bridge and into the city (Philadelphia). Over there not everyone knew my personal history and most of the time they were much less judgmental when I did try to explain it to them. After a couple of years the city began to feel like my new home. Finally I had found a place where I genuinely feel like I fit in.
Right about that time when I began feeling like I might have escaped my past, my past came looking for me. A couple of guys that I had met in prison started hanging around and never moved on. In the course of a few weeks we racked up a number of felonies where, thankfully, no one was seriously injured. Inevitably the authorities caught up to us and both of them decided to testify against me in exchange for leniency. Instead of "sharing" this life sentence with me they were both sent home to their families.
Clearly I made some very serious mistakes throughout my youth but never have I done anything that might warrant the 213 year sentence which I received. For over a decade now, I've sought out and exhausted every possibly remedy to this injustice. Few options still remain which means your support has become more crucial than ever. With your help I still hope to someday have an opportunity to return home to my loved ones and possibly start a family of my own.
You can begin showing your support right now by reading through all of the pages on this site and then leaving a comment on my blog or following me on Facebook and/or Twitter. After that you can periodically revisit the "Help Adam" page to learn more about what new remedies and initiatives we're currently working toward and how you can continue to show your support. I want to thank you for taking this opportunity to learn a little more about me. Your current interest and any future efforts on my behalf are genuinely appreciated.
If you'd like to know more about the specific events leading up to Adam's life long incarceration, please read "Adam's Story."
With Gratitude,
Adam B. Clausen
