Speaking of Justice is the Life After Exoneration Program�s public outreach and education program that brings the issue of wrongful conviction and the on-going injustices following exoneration to schools, community groups and places of worship. Audiences are astounded by what they hear from the exonerated, but the stories are true and unfortunately the experiences described are common amongst the exonerated community.
It's extremely difficult for the wrongfully convicted to prove their innocence. The few who succeed want to share their story. The exonerated know they have left many innocent people behind in prison and that others are at risk of sharing their fate. Their stories guide audiences through a criminal justice system that failed and will continue to fail others unless underlying flaws in the system are corrected.
Speaking of Justice provides everything needed to take diverse audiences on a riveting journey. Events take many shapes and each is tailored to the host's audience and venue. Popular programs are:
- Dynamic presentation and interactive discussion with an exoneree about the events leading to their wrongful conviction and the challenges they face afterwards.
- Discussion with the Life After Exoneration Program staff about the underlying problems causing the on-going injustice.
- Screening of After Innocence an award-winning documentary film on the struggles of seven exonerees.
- Post-film discussion with a local exoneree & expert on wrongful conviction and exoneration.
- Local exonerees read excerpts from the award-winning compilation, Surviving Justice: America's Wrongfully Convicted and Exonerated.
- Audience discussion.
After Innocence tells the dramatic and compelling story of the exonerated innocent men wrongfully imprisoned for decades and then released after DNA evidence proved their innocence. The film focuses on seven men and their emotional journey back into society and efforts to rebuild their lives. The men are thrust back into society with little or no support from the system that put them behind bars. While the public views exonerations as success stories - wrongs that have been righted - After Innocence shows that the human toll of wrongful imprisonment can last far longer than the sentences served.
As After Innocence demonstrates, the exonerated need a tremendous amount of support to regain a foothold in our society. The Life After Exoneration Program is depicted in the film as a bridge for the wrongfully convicted, assisting in their transition from prison to life on the outside. After Innocence speaks to the desperate need for services like the Life After Exoneration Program and how those who are wrongfully convicted continue to suffer the consequences of their unjust imprisonment.
In Surviving Justice: America's Wrongfully Convicted and Exonerated, thirteen exonerees describe their experiences the events that led to their convictions, their years in prison and their new lives outside. Each life story is a stark account of our criminal justice system's flaws. Sidebars interspersed throughout the book offer context for their cases and the broader problem, with information on the causes of wrongful convictions and the obstacles exonerees face in jail and in society after their release. For more information and to order please go to Voice of Witness at www.voiceofwitness.org.
Speaking of Justice is a program that also allows host organizations to directly aide exonerees through speaker fees and provides an opportunity for them to connect with their community.
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