A recent arti­cle in The Nation by David Love, the Director of Witness to Innocence, under­scored the impor­tant role of peo­ple like Kirk Bloodsworth and Shujaa Graham (pic­tured), who were once on death row and now have been freed. These and many of the 140 oth­er peo­ple who have been exon­er­at­ed from death row have trav­eled the coun­try, speak­ing to leg­is­la­tors, stu­dents, church groups, and the gen­er­al pub­lic about the risks of exe­cu­tions. Bloodsworth’s efforts in Maryland have received wide atten­tion. Shujaa Graham, also a Maryland res­i­dent, was exon­er­at­ed from death row in California after the state Supreme Court over­turned his death sen­tence because the pros­e­cu­tor had exclud­ed African Americans from his jury. He was lat­er acquit­ted in a re-tri­al. Both Bloodsworth and Graham recent­ly attend­ed the sign­ing of the death-penal­ty repeal bill in Maryland.

(D. Love, ​“Exonerated Prisoners Are Winning the Fight Against the Death Penalty,” The Nation, May 13, 2013). See Innocence.

Citation Guide