Amy Miller’s report from the 2010 Innocence Network Conference in Atlanta, GA
Mid month, I attended the Innocence Network conference in Atlanta, Georgia. This is a gathering of attorneys, investigators, and activists who work to free innocent people from prison. At one point, I was seated in a room with 82 men and women who had all been wrongfully convicted. Some had been on death row. Others, like the “Beatrice 6” here at home, had been sentenced to a term of years after being threatened with execution.
There were 5 women. There was almost a 50/50 split between black and white. Some had been convicted on faulty eyewitness testimony, some on junk science, and some on honest mistakes by law enforcement. Some were educated people, some had never gone past elementary school. In other words, the criminal justice system had failed all these people across a wide spectrum.
This is why we are working to end a punishment that cannot take into account the mistakes made by human beings. Until our human government can get it right every time, we have to make sure there is a way to undo our errors.
This summer, NADP will be holding events across the state to raise awareness about the flaws of Nebraska’s death penalty. Watch for updates online and through this e-newsletter–and then join us as we keep going on the slow steady march towards justice.