Kwame Ajamu
Death row exoneree Kwame Ajamu speaks on Wrongful Incarceration, Race Concerns, and Death Penalty Abolition on Tuesday, March 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church, located at 69 Mill St.
The Center for Law, Justice & Culture also hosts a Pizza Meet & Greet with Kwame Ajamu from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 20, at the center in Bentley Hall 001.
Both events are free and open to the public.
Ajamu will speak about his personal experience on death row. He and Hannah Kubbins, staff member at Ohioans to Stop Executions, will discuss Ohio’s death penalty system and the upcoming execution of William Montgomery.
Ajamu was just 17 when he was convicted of murder in the killing of a Cleveland money-order salesman. In 2014, Ajamu (formerly known as Ronnie Bridgeman), who had been out on parole since 2003, wept after a judge cleared all charges against him. Ajamu, 57 at the time of his exoneration, has rebuilt his life.
“It’s my hope going forward that we don’t have to wait another 40 years for the next Kwame Ajamu, Wiley Bridgeman, Ricky Jackson,” Kwame said. “It’s my hope from this day on we can stop ignoring what is obvious in the criminal justice system and move forward with peace and love.” After the hearing, Ajamu credited Kyle Swenson, a writer for Scene Magazine, who in 2011 dug into the men’s stories and exposed how justice had been subverted.
The event is sponsored by the Center for Law, Justice & Culture, the Making and Breaking the Law theme, Showing Up for Racial Justice, Christ Lutheran Church, Hillel of Athens, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Good Shepherd Church, and Athens Friends Meeting.
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