Surviving Death Row event brings home gravity of miscarriages of justice
Surviving Death Row, a special event presenting the stories of two people whose wrongful convictions cost them a combined 32 years in prison, has proved popular with students and brought home the seriousness of miscarriages of justice.
Organised by Amicus, a charity representing those facing the death penalty in the US, Peter Pringle and Sunny Jacobs presented their harrowing experiences to students on 6 March 2019.
Pringle was convicted of murdering two police officers in Ireland and was sentenced to be hanged, but days before his execution had his sentence commuted to 40 years without parole. Pringle used this time to study the law from prison, representing himself in the Court of Criminal Appeal and eventually leading to the incredible quashing of his conviction.
Jacobs was the first woman to be incarcerated on Death Row in Florida, convicted of murdering two police officers. Her conviction was overturned nearly 17 years after her arrest, but tragically the decision came too late for her husband who had also been wrongfully convicted of the murder and put to death. Their children had to be put into care as a result of their parents' imprisonment.
Amicus’ work helps to prevent these terrible cases of miscarriages of justice from reoccurring by raising awareness of abuse of the use of the death penalty, which the charity believes is disproportionately imposed on society’s most vulnerable. The Death Row event was a great opportunity for students to hear the devastating impact of miscarriages of justice from the horse’s mouth and proved popular with those studying Criminology especially.
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