From Death Row to Freedom: Voices of Innocence

A Chaplain’s Forum event at Lehigh University will bring two former PA death row inmates to campus to talk about their wrongful convictions and imprisonment.  The talk will be held on October 14th at 4:00 p.m. in the Lehigh University Humanities Center, 224 W. Packer Avenue.y.  The Lehigh visit is a part of a two-week series of public appearances throughout Pennsylvania by wrongfully convicted survivors of death row.

 

William Nieves, found innocent and released from Pennsylvania’s death row only two years ago, and Ray Krone, a Pennsylvania resident who was the 100th person in the United States released from death row after being found innocent, will be sharing their gripping tales with those in the audience.  The tour is organized by Pennsylvania Abolitionists United Against the Death Penalty and is co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Council of Churches, the Pennsylvania Prison Society and the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.  The Progressive Student Alliance is co-sponsoring the Chaplain’s Forum on the Lehigh campus.

 

Opportunity will be provided to ask questions of the speakers, and information will be available at the presentation on all the issues related to the use of the death penalty in the United States, especially in Pennsylvania.

 

The issue of the death penalty has received much recent attention in the press lately.  The United States Supreme Court recently ruled on jury discretion in capital case sentencing, several United States District Courts have declared the federal death penalty unconstitutional, and the PA Senate Judiciary Committee had recent hearings on the issue of executing mentally retarded inmates.  This is an opportunity for anyone interested in the issue of the death penalty, whether a supporter or opposed to it, to put a human face on one the most serious problems involved with capital punishment, wrongful conviction and the possibility of executing an innocent person.

 

The “Voices of Innocence” program will continue with an evening event at First Presbyterian Church, 333 Spring Garden Street, Easton at 7:00 p.m., Monday evening, October 14th.

 

NOTE: A Press Conference with the presenters will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, October 14th at the Lehigh University Humanities Center, 224 W. Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, prior the Chaplain’s Forum presentation of “Voices of Innocence.”  Contact the Chaplain’s Office at 610-758-3877 with questions or requests for further information.