The Madison premiere of the award-winning documentary film After Innocence will be hosted by the Wisconsin Innocence Project at 7 p.m. Thursday, November 17, at the Wisconsin Historical Society (across from Memorial Union on Library Mall). Admission is free.
The film tells the powerfully moving stories of the exonerated — innocent men wrongfully imprisoned for decades and then released after DNA evidence proved their innocence. The film interweaves the courageous stories of seven men, who were sent to prison (and even death row) for crimes they didn’t commit. Although DNA testing eventually exonerated each from their “crimes,” the gripping emotional journeys of the seven men attempting to rebuild their lives shines a spotlight on the harrowing flaws in our criminal justice system that lead to wrongful conviction of the innocent.
Following the film, recent Wisconsin exonerees will discuss their experiences with life after exoneration. State policy makers will join them to discuss what can and should be done to support and ease the transition for the exonerated.
“Exonerations are generally viewed as success stories, but After Innocence reveals how the human toll of wrongful imprisonment can last far longer than the sentences served, while also examining the human rights issues surrounding society’s moral obligation to those exonerated,” said Keith Findley, co-director of the Wisconsin Innocence Project.
After Innocence has won numerous awards, including the Special Jury Prize from the Sundance Film Festival. It was directed by Jessica Sanders, an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker (“Sing!”), and produced and written by Sanders and Marc Simon.
The Wisconsin Innocence Project is a project in the Frank J. Remington Center at the University of Wisconsin Law School. It was founded in 1998 and is co-directed by Law Professors Keith Findley and John Pray. Under the supervision of attorneys, students investigate and litigate claims of innocence on behalf of prisoners in Wisconsin and elsewhere.
For more information, please contact Trish Daugherty pdaugherty@wisc.edu or Robin Dalton rdalton@wisc.edu, 608.262.1002
Submitted by on November 3, 2005
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