LPI Hosts “Life After Death” Panel Commemorating 10th-Annual International Wrongful Conviction Day
Two exonerees who spent a collective 80-plus years on death row talked about their long paths to justice during the panel 'Wrongful Convictions: Life After Death' hosted by the Loyola Project for the Innocent to commemorate the 10th International Wrongful Conviction Day on Oct. 2, 2023.
“Lawyers hold people’s lives in their hands, and this panel discussion is such a profound way to restore freedom, find truth, expose systemic issues in our judicial system so we can fix them,” said Interim Dean Brietta Clark in introducing the panelists.
“This year our panel discussion focuses on wrongful convictions in capital cases,” said Sean Kennedy ‘89, Kaplan & Feldman Executive Director of the Center for Juvenile Law & Policy.
The panel featured Gary Tyler and Barry Williams, two men who each spent over 40 years on death row before being exonerated. Tyler was sentenced to death at age 16 and spent 41 years on Louisiana’s death row in ‘Angola,' the largest maximum-security prison in the United States. Williams spent more than 40 years on California’s death row before his conviction was overturned in federal court and charges against him dropped.
Williams took a moment to recognize the gravity of this day. “It just goes to show you that if we are having an international day dedicated to wrongful convictions this is an issue we must be dealing with on an international level and need to address."
"The disproportionate number of black people falsely convicted is proof that racism is being practiced in the judicial system,” said Williams.
Joe Trigilio, Judy & Steve Page Executive Director of Loyola Project for the Innocent concluded the panel discussion with a message for everyone: “Not enough of us are listening to the stories of these men. Not enough community members, defense attorneys, prosecutors, are listening to the dignity and wisdom spoken here today by Gary and Barry. What I’ve learned working as a public defender for so many years, is that nobody is a disposable person.”
“I didn’t let this bad situation define me as a human being. That’s one of the reasons why I sit before you here today,” says Williams.
October 2, 2023, marks the 10th-Annual Wrongful Conviction Day, a global initiative to raise awareness about the pervasive issue of wrongful convictions and its profound impact on innocent individuals and their families. LPI’s central mission is to advocate for wrongly convicted people by empowering and training law students to provide the highest-quality of representation to LPI’s clients while advocating for systemic reform to create a fairer justice system. To learn more about LPI and their work, please visit here.
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