A Posthumous Exoneration deserving of a Pardon
I was contacted this morning by Barry Bradford, a teacher at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, about the work that he and his students have been doing in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at the Northwestern University School of Law, to posthumously exonerate Clyde Kennard of crimes for which he was falsely convicted during the early days of the Civil Rights struggle in Mississippi. Kennard’s case is particularly tragic because of the racial motive putting him in prison in the first place: he was framed in the late 50’s in order to prevent him from becoming the first black student to enter the University of Southern Mississippi.
After being falsely convicted, Kennard was sent to prison where he died shortly thereafter. His name and cause lived on, but until recently there wasn’t much to go on. The team working on Kennard’s case has recently achieved a major breakthrough after they were able to get the sole witness in the case to recant his testimony and clear Kennard of any wrongdoing, proving finally that Kennard was factually innocent all along.
Bradford’s team of high school volunteers are no lightweights. Last year they helped re-open the Mississippi Burning case and get some long delayed justice for the victims of that tragedy. Now they have turned their attention to Kennard’s case and are seeking to do what others have been unable to do in the past: get Kennard a posthumous pardon and expungement from Governor Haley Barbour.
What I find most remarkable about this case is the extent to which efforts of this type have spread. What used to be the province of lone defense attorneys working against all odds on obscure cases without any resources or support, has now become so mainstream that high school teachers are getting their students involved and working with formal, organized efforts to achieve exoneration of wrongful convictions. You have to credit organizations like the Center on Wrongful Convictions, and the Innocence Project, for getting the word out about the ugly truth that uncounted numbers of innocent people are convicted and imprisoned. And with that spreading of the word comes a new national awareness and skepticism that can only result in a more fair distribution and application of justice, permeating every layer of our culture, to the point where high school students are able to mobilize and achieve stunning results. My hat’s off to students Mona Ghadiri, Agnes Mazur, Callie McCune, and their teacher Barry Bradford, who have been collaborating with Professor Steven A. Drizin at the Center on Wrongful Convictions to get some justice. Talk about a relevant civics education!
And of course one of the things that makes these missions possible is the ability to use technology in rapidly spreading the word and organizing the effort. Kudos to Bradford and his team for recognizing and utilizing this resource on behalf of the cause.
You can read more about this effort and maybe how you can help get Kennard his long overdue justice, here.
RP
February 24th, 2006 at 11:05 am
Fantastic story, as per usual. Don’t forget though that journalists and high school teachers are often ALSO cultural creatives, trying in their own small way to push society forwards on issues they, for whatever reason, haven’t been willing to deal with yet. I think of the Boston Globe’s award-winning series on pedophile priests, which ushered in a world of change, when combined with efforts by savvy, heartsy lawyers. And teachers if they’re not involved in “doing” themselves, as the old joke goes, can still fire up their students about causes near and dear to their hearts. Anyway, having been both a journalist and a high school teacher, I just wanted to give them their “due” as frequently overlooked agents of social change
LOVE YOUR BLOG!!! Love how it’s written for the smart regular peep, too, to educate them (as in, me) not just fellow lawyers. It rocks!
Keep up the good work…
February 27th, 2006 at 10:16 am
Thank you for the kind comments about the blog, Lily, I’m glad to hear that there is an audience for these perspectives.
Yes, I agree with your point regarding teachers and journalists as agents of social change and, in looking over my post, I may indeed have mischaracterized who was pulling the levers and who was doing implementation. Although it’s often the lawyers driving, it’s not always, and this might be an excellent example of the latter.
RP
February 28th, 2006 at 5:01 pm
Hi, I am one of the students working on the Clyde Kennard project. I just wanted to personally thank you for helping us spread the word about Mr. Kennard. We sincerely hope that Gov. Barbour will give Mr. Kennard what he deserves.
Also Lily, thank you so much for compliment.
Mona Ghadiri
March 6th, 2006 at 7:29 pm
Mona (and your partners and teachers)
I congratulate you - young people like you are living your lives the same way that Clyd Kennard did: with integrity, purpose and optimism. May God bless you each as he blesses the memory of this great man who suffered so much.
March 15th, 2006 at 9:58 am
Dear Defensology readers,
My students and I thank you all for your terrific support of our efforts! Our website received a number of hits from people who read the story on Defensology.
We are very grateful to Mr. Perez and to you all. Although it seems outlandinsh and unlikely that a team of high school students can overturn history, we are determined to do just that. If you are interestled in our case, please feel free to drop us a note and we will keep you informed on the latest happenings.
Barry Bradford