May 2, 2014
For years, six people sat on death row, wrongly convicted of heinous crimes like rape and murder. But DNA, confessions, and other evidence would prove they were innocent. Now, their voices are shared as the South Puget Sound Community College Drama Program presents The Exonerated, beginning May 22.
The Exonerated, a play by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen-Spring, is culled from interviews, letters, transcripts, court documents, case files, and the public record. Their stories move between first-person monologues and scenes set in both courtrooms and prison, painting a picture of just how badly some cases can go in the American justice system.
We meet Kerry, a sensitive Texan brutalized on death row for 22 years before being exonerated by DNA evidence; we meet Robert, an African-American horse groomer who spent seven years on death row for the murder of a white woman before evidence emerges that the victim was found clutching hair from a Caucasian attacker; and we meet Sunny, a bright-spirited hippie who, along with her husband, spent 17 years in prison for the murder of two police officers—while another man confessed and was ignored by the courts.
The play runs from Thursday, May 22 to Sunday, May 25, and again from May 29-June 1 at the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts Black Box Theater. All performances begin at 8 p.m., except the May 25 and June 1 performances, which begin at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12 for the public, and $10 for military, students and seniors. SPSCC students, staff and faculty get in free with their ID. Tickets will be available online at OlyTix.org or by calling (360)753-8586. More information is available online at spscc.edu/entertainment.
