PULLMAN – WSU’s Theatre Program presents “The Exonerated” Feb. 7-9 and Feb. 14-16 at 8 p.m. in Jones Theatre, Daggy Hall.
The award-winning play by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen tells the true stories of six people wrongfully convicted of heinous crimes and their eventual release from death row.
Terry Converse directs this hard-hitting, powerful and socially relevant production. Culled from interviews, letters, transcripts, case files and the public record, “The Exonerated” tells the stories of these six survivors in their own words.
In this 90-minute play performed without intermission, one of the characters we meet is Kerry, a sensitive Texan who was brutalized on death row for 22 years before DNA evidence proved him innocent of the brutal rape and murder of a young woman. Awaiting execution for this tragic crime he did not commit, he endured the unimaginable.
Kerry Max Cook is now free and tours the country to talk about the criminal justice system in America. Co-sponsored by Campus Involvement, Cook will visit the WSU Pullman campus Feb. 14 and 15 to participate in discussions after the Thursday and Friday evening performances.
Cook is the author of “Chasing Justice: My Story of Freeing Myself after Two Decades on Death Row for a Crime I Didn’t Commit.”
Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno said “[The Exonorated] will do more to promote justice than any literary effort I have ever seen.”
Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy said the play’s “soul-scouring and heart-wrenching power comes by opening a window onto a broken system…”
Cook’s visit is made possible by a partnership with Campus Involvement in the Division of Student Affairs, Equity and Diversity. The theatre production has been supported by a grant from the WSU Parent’s Program.
Tickets are available at the Daggy Hall box office from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday the week of the play and beginning one hour prior to the 8 p.m. curtain. General admission tickets are $10 for adults, $7.50 for seniors and $5 for students. WSU graduate/professional students and their partners are admitted free of charge w/valid ID. Group rates are available. Call 509-335-7236 for reservations or email reservations@wsu.edu.
For more information, visit http:// www.chasingjustice.com/.
