The Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights will host a panel discussion with the Catholic Mobilizing Network on stories of justice from death row. The Catholic Mobilizing Network is a national organization that mobilizes Catholics and all people of good will to value life over death, to end the use of the death penalty, to transform the U.S. criminal legal system from punitive to restorative, and to build capacity in U.S. society to engage in restorative practices. A reception will follow the event in the atrium of the Hesburgh Center for International Studies. PanelistsGary Drinkard spent close to six years on Alabama’s death row for a crime he did not commit — the robbery and murder of a 65-year-old automotive junk dealer in Decatur, Alabama. The case against Drinkard rested primarily on testimony from his half-sister and her common-law husband, both of whom were facing charges for unrelated crimes that would be dismissed in exchange for their testimony against Drinkard. Drinkard reached out to Bryan Stevenson at the Equal Justice Initiative for help with his case. In 2000, the Alabama Supreme Court ordered a new trial because of prosecutorial misconduct, and with the help of the Southern Center for Human Rights, he won an acquittal in 2001.Rev. Dr. Crystal Walker has a Masters of Divinity degree from Payne Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary. Her ministry focus is on women who have experienced domestic abuse, rape, and/or incest. She is the founder of Pastors Against Domestic Violence, an ecumenical ministry that trains pastors to be courtroom advocates for victims of domestic violence (women, men, and children). She is also focused on many additional social injustices in the city of Dayton, Ohio. Walker is also a strong advocate against the death penalty and for stricter gun laws. She lost her son, Edward, to gun violence when he was 28 years old. She serves on the board of Journey of Hope – from Violence to Healing and is the co-chair of Ohioans to Stop Executions.Ruth Friedman has dedicated her career to fighting for the rights and lives of men and women sentenced to death, working first on behalf of state-sentenced people in Alabama and Georgia and then for those facing execution in federal courts. She began her capital work at the Southern Center for Human Rights, where she handled direct appeals, habeas proceedings, and trials throughout the South, and later joined the Alabama Capital Representation Resource Center and the Equal Justice Initiative as they transformed capital representation in Alabama. Friedman has testified, trained, and argued in Congress, classrooms, and courts nationwide. In 2023, she received the Southern Center’s Frederick Douglass Award. She earned her J.D. from Yale Law School and her undergraduate degree from Harvard University. Originally published at klau.nd.edu.

The Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights will host a panel discussion with the Catholic Mobilizing Network on stories of justice from death row. The Catholic Mobilizing Network is a national organization that mobilizes Catholics and all people of good will to value life over death, to end the use of the death penalty, to transform the U.S. criminal legal system from punitive to restorative, and to build capacity in U.S. society to engage in restorative practices. A reception will follow the event in the atrium of the Hesburgh Center for International Studies. PanelistsGary Drinkard spent close to six years on Alabama’s death row for a crime he did not commit — the robbery and murder of a 65-year-old automotive junk dealer in Decatur, Alabama. The case against Drinkard rested primarily on testimony from his half-sister and her common-law husband, both of whom were facing charges for unrelated crimes that would be dismissed in exchange for their testimony against Drinkard. Drinkard reached out to Bryan Stevenson at the Equal Justice Initiative for help with his case. In 2000, the Alabama Supreme Court ordered a new trial because of prosecutorial misconduct, and with the help of the Southern Center for Human Rights, he won an acquittal in 2001.Rev. Dr. Crystal Walker has a Masters of Divinity degree from Payne Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary. Her ministry focus is on women who have experienced domestic abuse, rape, and/or incest. She is the founder of Pastors Against Domestic Violence, an ecumenical ministry that trains pastors to be courtroom advocates for victims of domestic violence (women, men, and children). She is also focused on many additional social injustices in the city of Dayton, Ohio. Walker is also a strong advocate against the death penalty and for stricter gun laws. She lost her son, Edward, to gun violence when he was 28 years old. She serves on the board of Journey of Hope – from Violence to Healing and is the co-chair of Ohioans to Stop Executions.Ruth Friedman has dedicated her career to fighting for the rights and lives of men and women sentenced to death, working first on behalf of state-sentenced people in Alabama and Georgia and then for those facing execution in federal courts. She began her capital work at the Southern Center for Human Rights, where she handled direct appeals, habeas proceedings, and trials throughout the South, and later joined the Alabama Capital Representation Resource Center and the Equal Justice Initiative as they transformed capital representation in Alabama. Friedman has testified, trained, and argued in Congress, classrooms, and courts nationwide. In 2023, she received the Southern Center’s Frederick Douglass Award. She earned her J.D. from Yale Law School and her undergraduate degree from Harvard University. Originally published at klau.nd.edu.

Join us for Richard Etlin’s body of work on the Pantheon and his unique view on one of the most important architectural buildings in the history of the world. Etlin is an architectural historian and a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland. Register to attend online here Co-sponsored by the Center for Italian Studies. Originally published at architecture.nd.edu.

Join us for Richard Etlin’s body of work on the Pantheon and his unique view on one of the most important architectural buildings in the history of the world. Etlin is an architectural historian and a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland. Register to attend online here Co-sponsored by the Center for Italian Studies. Originally published at architecture.nd.edu.