Faces of Wrongful Conviction Speaking Tour
Introduction
This project will bring the voices of men and women who were convicted
of crimes they did not commit, as well as murder victims family
members, former prosecutors, religious leaders and legal experts
to communities across California.
Who are you? We invite faith communities, schools, community centers, retirement homes, and more to request speakers!
Who are we? We are an ad-hoc coalition of groups including California People of Faith Working Against the Death Penalty, the Life After Exoneration Program, Amnesty International, Death Penalty Focus, Progressive Jewish Alliance, and the ACLU of Northern California.
What’s the goal? The goals of the Faces of Wrongful Conviction Speakers Series are to educate the community and stimulate dialogue about the failures of California’s criminal justice system generally and the failure of the death penalty specifically; to gather the names and information of people interested in doing more; and, to motivate people to act immediately.
What’s in the Toolkit? The packet contains everything you need to plan and put on your event—lists of speakers and films, a flier announcing the event, sign-in sheets, facts sheets, discussion questions, and more. The checklist provides a full list of the packet contents.
What we provide: The toolkit, speakers, films and other multi-media content for your event! Simply contact your event sponsor, and we will arrange for the speakers you need or get you the film or other materials. If your group cannot afford the honorarium, we may be able to help. We can also help pay some travel expenses.
Tell me more about these events: A small event can be planned by one person in just a few hours. For a large event, we recommend three speakers: a wrongfully convicted person, a murder victim family member or former prosecutor, and a legal expert or religious leader. This combination of speakers provides a range of perspectives and sparks interesting discussion. We also provide suggested formats for small and medium events, using fewer speakers. For each event, no matter the size, it is critical that the event organizer (that’s you) provide the audience with opportunities for action and ask those attending to sign in. The packet contains everything you need.
The Toolkit contains:
Speaker Series Sponsor Information
Event Planning Guide & Timeline
Speaker List
Film List
Film Screening Discussion Guides (Must request CD)
Event Materials
Welcome Sign-in Sheet
Fact Sheet
Sample Flier
Sample Press Release
Sample Letter to the Editor
ACTION Postcard (Sign-up & Evaluation)
Sample E-mail (Must request CD)
Answering the Hard Questions/Talking Points
Resources
What People of Faith Should Know PowerPoint Presentation (Must request
CD)
Kit Evaluation Form
Download
the "Faces of Wrongful Conviction Speaker Tour" Toolkit.
[This is a zip file containing .pdfs and Word documents.]