CADP and Witness to Innocence Present the
Death Row "Exoneree Tour"
Please take this opportunity to hear these
men, who were exonerated after many years
on death row, tell their stories at churches,
Universities, and community centers across
the Denver Metro, Northern Colorado, and
Boulder areas.
Come Hear These Death Row Exonerees
Derrick Jamison, Randy Steidl,
and Shabaka WaQlimi will be speaking in two
separate four-day tours in September and
in October. Jeremy Sheets will be speaking
in September, and other exonerees may also
join the tour. The tour is sponsored by two
nonprofit organizations, Coloradans for Alternatives
to the Death Penalty and Witness to Innocence.
In September, Randy
Steidl, who spent 17
years behind bars, 12 on death row and 5
serving a "Life Without the Possibility of
Parole" sentence, will be speaking in Denver,
Lakewood, Sterling, and in Aurora. October
will bring Derrick
Jamison, an innocent man
spent nearly 20 years on Ohio's death
row for a crime he did not commit, will be
joined by Shabaka
WaQlimi of Charlotte, who
spent 13 years on death row in Florida before
being exonerated. They will speak in Denver,
Fort Collins, Aurora, and Boulder.
See
photos of the death row exonerees tour.
Why You Must Attend These Events
"Our
hope is that this tour will give a face to
the individuals who have been told they will
die at the state's hand, even though they
are innocent of the crime," said Lisa
Cisneros, executive director of Coloradans
for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, which
is organizing the tour.
Kurt Rosenberg, executive
director of Witness to Innocence, said that
regardless of a person's position on capital
punishment, he or she will learn a great
deal from hearing one of these courageous
individuals speak. "Their stories invariably
have a transformative impact on audiences."
Cannot Attend in Person? Watch the Videos
The Regis University Media Services Department
has posted video interviews with Derrick
Jamison, Shabaka WaQlimi, and Randy Steidl
to the University's iTunes U site. The videos
of Regis' Peace & Justice Studies program
interviews are available for free public
viewing for academic and educational purposes.
Only the free cross-platform iTunes application
is required for viewing. View
the video interviews.
Hear These Exonerees Speak
Randy Steidl
Randy Steidl was an average, hard-working
guy from a small farming community in southern
Illinois. When questioned about the 1986
murders of newlyweds Dyke and Karen Rhoads,
Randy assumed the police were questioning
many people in the area. He did not know
either of the victims but cooperated with
the police and gave a corroborated alibi
for the night of the murders. It was a shock
when he and a friend were arrested, tried,
convicted, and sentenced to death within
90 days.
Learn how Randy, pictured to the right,
became the 115th person to be exonerated
from death row.
Derrick Jamison
When James Suggs, an eyewitness to the robbery
and murder of a Cincinnati bartender, was
shown photo arrays of suspects by police,
he identified two men - but neither of
them was Derrick Jamison.
There were also
multiple contradictions between physical
descriptions of the perpetrators given by
witnesses and Derrick’s actual appearance.
This information was withheld from Jamison's
trial, and as a result, an innocent man spent
nearly 20 years on Ohio's death row
for a crime he did not commit.
Shabaka WaQlimi
Shabaka WaQlimi came within 13 hours of
being executed by the state of Florida for
a crime he did not commit. He spent 13 years
on death row due to the false testimony and
a personal grudge from someone he turned
in for robbery.
Shabaka was exonerated after
the 11th Circuit Court ruled that the prosecution
knowingly admitted false testimony.
Jeremy Sheets
Jeremy Sheets was sentenced to death for
the 1992 kidnapping and murder of a young
woman in Omaha. The strongest evidence that
led to his conviction was a taped confession
by Adam Barnett. Barnett, who later committed
suicide, received a substantial plea bargain
for his testimony against Sheets.
Learn more
about why the Nebraska Supreme Court overturned
Jeremy's death sentence in 2001.
Exoneree Tour Events
Learn firsthand about the common errors
in our criminal justice system, and the frightening
ease with which innocents can be imprisoned
or even executed by mistake. All of the following
events are free and open to the public.
September 2010 Events
- Sunday, September 19 - 11:00 a.m.-12:00
noon
Glennon
Heights Mennonite Church, 11480 W. Virginia
Ave., Lakewood, CO 80226
- Monday, September 20 - 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Regis
University Chapel , 3333 Regis Blvd., Denver,
CO 80221
- Tuesday, September 21 - 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Northeastern
Junior College, 100 College Ave., Sterling,
CO 80013
- Wednesday,
September 22 - 7:00 p.m. Get
PDF with Details.
Colorado Cure, 400 Corona St. (ACLU office),
Denver, CO 80218
- Wednesday, September 22 - 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Saint
Michael the Archangel Catholic Church,
19099 E. Floyd Ave., Aurora, CO 80013
October 2010 Events
Get JPEG with
All October Details.
- Sunday, October 17 - 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Parkview
Congregational Church, 12444 E. Parkview
Dr., Aurora, CO 80011
- Monday, October 18 - 12:00-1:30 p.m. Get
PDF with Details. Or
Get JPEG with Details.
Naropa University, 2130 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder, CO 80301
- Monday, October
18 - 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Nothern Colorado Cure, 2733
Council Tree Drive (Library
Community Room), Fort Collins, CO
- Tuesday,
October 19 - 7:00-8:30
p.m.
Regis University Chapel , 3333 Regis Blvd.,
Denver, CO 80221
- Wednesday, October 20 - 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Sturm College of Law DU Campus, 2255 E. Evans Ave., Denver, CO 80210
- Thursday, October 21 - 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Bookery
Nook, 4280 Tennyson St., Denver, CO 80212
For more information, e-mail lisa@coadp.org
