The funds from the dunk challenge also went toward the legal fees that helped free Matthew Rushin, a 20-year-old autistic Black man arrested in January 2019 for his involvement in injury-causing car accidents. Rushin originally received a 10-year sentence for two counts of malicious wounding and one count of hit-and-run. Prosecutors argued Rushin was suicidal and that the accidents were deliberate, but his mother said her son is autistic and was forced to plead guilty because he feared going to trial, according to WAVY.
As Wilkins raised funds and awareness to help Rushin’s fight for freedom, Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles-Lawson and actress Jamie Lee Curtis also raised awareness for the case.
Rushin, now 22, was released from prison this past March.
“It felt great because I always feel like if you help one, you’ve done part of your job,” Wilkins said. “That made me feel like I was sitting on top of the world.”
To celebrate the unveiling of the new sensory room, Huerter visited different stations with disabled children and participated in the activities, too.
“With KultureCity, this is the second event I’ve done with them,” Huerter told rolling out. “Being here to support Dominique, it feels like he’s involved with everything in the city of Atlanta. It’s good to be here and show support. The sensory room is going to be good.”
