Join BLSA and our cosponsors for a conversation with Dr. Yusef Salaam, a renowned advocate for criminal justice reform. Dr. Salaam is a member of the exonerated Central Park Five, five Black and Latino teenagers wrongly charged and convicted in the infamous 1989 Central Park jogger case. Despite spending nearly seven years in prison for a crime he did not commit, he emerged as a staunch advocate for justice. His story, dramatized in Ava DuVernay’s Emmy-winning Netflix series When They See Us, highlights the deep flaws in our legal system—especially for marginalized communities. This event is hosted as part of the Exoneration Justice Clinic's inaugural Death Penalty Abolition Week series and offers a unique opportunity to engage with Dr. Salaam on wrongful convictions, legal accountability, and the movement to abolish the death penalty. Don’t miss this critical discussion! Regsiter   Originally published at law.nd.edu.

Death Penalty Abolition Week: March 24-27, 2025Sponsored by the ND Law School Exoneration Justice Clinic and the Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights Monday, March 24 Delayed But Not Denied, Yusef Salaam, Central Park Five Exoneree 12:30 pm, 1130 Eck Hall of Law At 15, Yusef Salaam was wrongfully convicted along with four others in the Central Park jogger case. The “Exonerated Five,” as they are now known, spent between seven and 15 years in prison, until their sentences were overturned in 2002. Since then, Salaam has become an advocate for criminal justice reform, the impact of mass incarceration and police brutality, and the abolition of juvenile solitary confinement and capital punishment.He will share his personal story and discuss the impact of wrongful convictions, shedding light on the profound emotional and social toll on both individuals and their families. Tuesday, March 25  Death Row Exoneree Lamont Hunter and his Attorney Erin Gallager Barnhart '05 J.D.12:30 pm, 1130 Eck Hall of Law Notre Dame alumna Erin Barnhart is the assistant federal public defender for the Southern District of Ohio’s Capital Habeas Unit, where she represents death row inmates in federal habeas and attends to civil rights litigation and state clemency matters. Barnhart graduated summa cum laude from Notre Dame Law School in 2005, where she was an editor of the Notre Dame Law Review and earned the Farabaugh Prize for High Scholarship in Law. Lamont Hunter spent nearly 18 years on Ohio’s death row. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 2007 on charges related to the death of his 3-year-old son, Trustin, who suffered fatal injuries after accidentally falling down the stairs. During habeas proceedings, defense counsel discovered exonerating evidence, and Hunter was granted a motion for a new trial. To obtain his freedom, he pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was sentenced to time served. Since his release in 2023, he has been rebuilding and reconnecting with his family and community while sharing his story of wrongful incarceration and insight into the U.S. criminal legal system. Hunter will discuss his journey from wrongful conviction to freedom, while Barnhart will highlight the critical role of legal advocacy in challenging injustice and securing fair outcomes. Wednesday, March 26  When the Death Penalty Got Personal, Syl Schieber, '72 MA, '74 PhD 12:30 pm, McCartan Courtroom Notre Dame alumnus Syl Schieber became a staunch opponent of the death penalty after his daughter, Shannon, was murdered in 1998. When Philadelphia's district attorney announced her intent to seek the death penalty for the murderer, Schieber and his wife, Vicki, led a successful campaign against pursuing capital punishment in the case. Schieber's opposition to the death penalty has been deeply motivated by his Catholic faith and belief in the sanctity of human life. Schieber, who holds a doctor of philosophy in economics from Notre Dame, will recount his personal journey and reflect on the decades of tireless advocacy that he and his wife have championed to abolish the death penalty in the United States. Thursday, March 27  The Sanctity of Human Life, Sister Helen Prejean 12:30 pm, McCartan Courtroom Sister Helen Prejean, a leading voice for the abolition of the death penalty, has dedicated her life to advocating for human dignity. After witnessing multiple executions, she became a fierce critic of capital punishment. Her book, “Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States,” exposed the brutal realities of capital punishment and sparked a nationwide movement. Over the decades, Prejean appealed to two popes, John Paul II and Francis, urging the Catholic Church to oppose the death penalty unequivocally. Following their meeting in August 2018, Pope Francis announced new language in the Catholic Catechism declaring the death penalty inadmissible as an attack on human dignity. Sister Helen will share her journey of faith and activism, discussing the impact of her work in the fight to end the death penalty. Registration Registration is strongly encouraged here. Originally published at law.nd.edu.

The featured speaker for the March University Chair is Zhi Da, the Howard J. and Geraldine F. Korth Chair in Finance at the Mendoza College of Business. Da's research focuses on empirical asset pricing and investment. In recent papers, he studied the returns on financial assets surrounding liquidity events, cash flow risks of financial assets, equity analyst forecasts, and the mutual fund performance. A reception will follow the event.

Part of the Romero Days 2025 Conference, this public session will launch the book Óscar Romero and Catholic Social Teaching (University of Notre Dame Press, 2024), which explores the life, mission, and writings of martyred Salvadorian archbishop St. Óscar Romero in the light of contemporary work for justice and human development. Edited by Kellogg faculty fellow Todd Walatka, the book brings together 14 leading scholars on both Romero and Catholic social teaching, combining essays that contextualize Romero’s engagement historically and focus on the challenges facing Christian communities today. Books will be available for purchase and signing by the editor and many chapter authors that will be present.   More information here

Romero Days 2025: The Future of Romero Studies We stand at an exciting time in the study and reception of the witness of Óscar Romero. In the 1980s, 1990s, and the first decade of the 2000s, biographies, personal reflections, theological essays, devotionals, and collections of primary texts made Romero’s witness more accessible around the world. In the 2010s, we saw in increasing number of books that take Romero ever-more seriously as both bishop and a deep theological thinker: as someone, who in both life and word, offered a corpus worthy of critical engagement and creative reception, as someone who continues—if we would listen—to speak into the challenges we face today. All of this has set a foundation for the generative and open-ended time in which we find ourselves. Romero Days 2025 will gather leading scholars from around the world to discuss the most urgent needs and the field of Romero Studies going forward. What parts of his legacy remained underexplored by scholars? How can his vision of peace, justice, and Christian life speak into the problems we face today? What does it look like to move forward as a genuine community of scholars and practitioners? Presented by the Kellogg Institute with cosponsorship by the Cushwa Center and Department of Theology.   More information here

Erin Gallagher Barnhart ‘05 J.D. serves as the assistant federal public defender for the Southern District of Ohio’s Capital Habeas Unit. In her work she represents death row inmates in federal habeas, civil rights litigation, and state clemency matters.  Lamont Hunter spent nearly 18 years on Ohio’s death row. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 2007 on charges of child endangerment, aggravated murder, and rape in the death of his 3-year-old son, Trustin, who suffered fatal injuries after accidentally falling down the stairs. During habeas proceedings, defense counsel discovered exonerating evidence, and Hunter was granted a motion for a new trial and vacated his capital convictions. To obtain his freedom, he pleaded guilty to lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment and was sentenced to time served. Since his release in 2023, Hunter has been rebuilding and reconnecting with his family and community while graciously sharing his story of wrongful incarceration and insight into the US criminal legal system. Hunter will discuss his journey from wrongful conviction to freedom, while Barnhart will highlight the critical role of legal advocacy in challenging injustice and securing fair outcomes. This event is part of Death Penalty Abolition Week, co-sponsored by the Notre Dame Law School Exoneration Justice Clinic and the Klau Center for Civil and Human Rights. Originally published at law.nd.edu.