Witness to Innocence – Special Miami Event

Co-sponsored by FADP. Please attend this Miami reception to support the work of Witness to Innocence. Special Guest Herman Lindsey is Florida’s 23rd exonerated Death Row survivor. He will tell his riveting and inspiring story of being arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit and how the horrific experience inspired him to speak out for criminal justice reform, abolishing the death penalty, and reforming Florida’s juvenile justice system. Herman recently returned from Italy where he met with the Ministers of Justice of nations around the world to discuss criminal justice reform. He was recognized as a “Hero for Death Penalty Abolition”.

He will be joined by Magdeleno Rose-Avila, Executive Director of Witness to Innocence, more fondly known throughout the human rights community as “Leno”. Leno has a long history of civil and human rights work, which led him many years ago to become involved in the movement to abolish the death penalty. In 1998, Leno joined with Sister Helen Prejean, one of the founders of WTI, to develop and launch the Moratorium Initiative, which became one of the most effective strategies to reach out to politicians and the public on the issue of abolition. While working for Amnesty International in Atlanta, he organized the largest meeting of national leaders in the African American Community on the death penalty, including Coretta Scott King, Reverend Joe Lowery, the National Black Police Association, Congressman John Conyers, and many others. He also worked with Cesar Chavez and other leaders of the historic United Farm Workers Union.

Witness to Innocence (WTI) is the only national organization in the United States composed of and led by exonerated death row survivors and their family members. The mission of WTI is to abolish the death penalty by empowering exonerated death row survivors and their loved ones to become effective leaders in the abolition movement. WTI actively challenges political leaders and the public to grapple with the reality of a fatally flawed criminal justice system that sends innocent people to death row. WTI also seeks ways to support death row survivors and their loved ones as they confront the challenges of life after exoneration.