Death row exonerees speak out
Listen 48:59
left to right: Kwame Ajamu, Kirk Bloodsworth (AP)
Guests: Kirk Bloodsworth, Kwame Ajamu, Helen Prejan
Being sentenced to death row for a crime you did not commit is a fate most of us cannot comprehend. But this is exactly what happened to our two guests and why they are speaking out across the country against capital punishment as members of Witness to Innocence. KWAME AJAMU was sentenced to death as a 17-year-old in 1975, was released from prison in 2003 and exonerated in 2014. KIRK BLOODSWORTH was the first ever death row inmate to become exonerated based on DNA evidence. They join us along with anti-death penalty activist and author, Sister HELEN PREJAN, who is most well-known for writing the book Dead Man Walking.
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.
Brought to you by Radio Times
Radio Times
WHYY's Radio Times is an engaging and timely call-in program that tackles wide-ranging issues of concern to listeners in the Delaware Valley.
Subscribe for free
A spokesperson for DA Larry Krasner said the death penalty decision followed “extensive input” from both experts and Fitzgerald’s family.
5 months ago
Melissa Lucio faces execution. What to know about her case
Nearly half of the jurors who sentenced a woman to die for the 2007 death of her child have called for her upcoming execution to be halted and for her to get a new trial.
3 years ago
Judge halts 1st U.S. execution of female inmate in 67 years
A judge has halted the first execution of a female federal inmate in nearly seven decades, saying a court must first determine whether the Kansas woman is mentally competent.
4 years ago