From March 24 to 27, 2025, Notre Dame Law School hosted its inaugural Death Penalty Abolition Week, a four-day series of events aimed at confronting the realities of wrongful convictions and sparking critical conversations about the use of the death penalty. The events were organized by the Notre Dame Law School Exoneration Justice Clinic and the Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights, and co-sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union, Notre Dame Law School’s Black Law Students Association, the Notre Dame Exoneration Project, and Notre Dame Law School’s Death Penalty Abolition Society.

In a criminal justice system that too often prioritizes finality over fairness, the death penalty remains deeply flawed—and legal in 27 states. During Notre Dame Law School’s Death Penalty Abolition Week, distinguished speakers—including exonerees, advocates, and experts committed to criminal justice reform—shared firsthand accounts and examined the systemic issues tied to wrongful convictions and capital punishment, including racial bias against defendants of color and the fundamental violation of human dignity.

Featured speakers included Dr. Yusef Salaam, Central Park Five exoneree and New York City Councilman; Ohio death row exoneree Lamont Hunter and his attorney, Erin Gallagher Barnhart ‘05 J.D.; Syl Schieber ’72 M.A., ’74 Ph.D., a leading voice for the abolition of the death penalty; and Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States.

Explore key takeaways from each speaker and watch full recordings of the events below.

Yusef Salaam, Central Park Five Exoneree and New York City Councilman, Delayed But Not Denied

Dr. Yusef Salaam, one of the Exonerated Five and a New York City Councilman, opened Notre Dame Law School’s inaugural Death Penalty Abolition Week on March 24 with a deeply personal and urgent reflection on his wrongful imprisonment. At just 15 years old, Salaam was falsely accused of a brutal crime in Central Park, tried as an adult, and sent to prison at 16. “They looked at the color of my skin and not the content of my character and deemed me guilty,” he told a packed room, highlighting how racism and media-driven narratives shaped his fate and that of four other Black and Latino boys.

Salaam held up a newspaper clipping showing Donald Trump’s infamous call for the reinstatement of the death penalty in their case—an example, he said, of how public figures can inflame popular sentiment and perpetuate a broken system. “It needs a cure, and that cure is us fighting against spiritual wickedness,” he declared. He described the case as a “love story between God and His people”—a story of deep injustice that ultimately revealed a miracle: the truth could not stay buried. He emphasized the power of resistance, recalling the words of his mother, who told him during his interrogation, “They need you to participate in whatever they are trying to do. Do not participate. Refuse.”

In a moving closing, Salaam challenged students to think beyond their time in law school and to lead with vision and intention. “I need you to be a master strategist in your approach, because this is not a short-term game,” he said. He urged them to reject apathy, warning that unfulfilled dreams die in the graveyard of “someday.” Instead, he encouraged the audience to live with purpose and to see themselves as part of a long, generational fight for justice: “The dash between your birth and your death is a baton. Your life and your example show what's possible.”

Erin Barnhart and Lamont Hunter, Ohio Death Row Exoneree and His Attorney

On the second day of Death Penalty Abolition Week, Ohio death row exoneree Lamont Hunter and his attorney, Erin Gallagher Barnhart ‘05 J.D., shared the emotional and legal journey that led to his release after nearly 18 years behind bars. Hunter was convicted in 2007 in connection with the death of his 3-year-old son. He was ultimately freed in 2023 after new­ly dis­cov­ered evi­dence cast doubt on the original forensic conclusions, leading the state to vacate his capital convictions. He then accepted a plea deal to lesser charges and was released with time served.

Barnhart, who walked Hunter out of custody on her birthday, reflected on the emotional weight of that moment. She emphasized the years of painstaking legal work required to challenge the original verdict and the importance of persistent advocacy in capital cases. “I highly recommend walking a former death row client out of custody on your birthday,” she said. “It’s the best way to celebrate.”

Hunter spoke candidly about the emotional toll of incarceration and the decision to accept the plea deal—not for financial restitution, but for the sake of truth and family. “It has always been about the truth and who you are,” he recalled his son saying. Now free, Hunter continues to rebuild his life and speak out against the flaws of a system that failed him at every turn, nearly costing him everything.

Syl Schieber, When the Death Penalty Got Personal

On the third day of Death Penalty Abolition Week, Syl Schieber ’72 M.A., ’74 Ph.D., shared a powerful testimony rooted in faith, forgiveness, and justice. After his 23-year-old daughter, Shannon, was raped and murdered in 1998, Schieber and his wife, Vicki, made the difficult decision to oppose capital punishment for her killer—a decision grounded in their Catholic faith and belief in the sanctity of human life. In the years since, Schieber has become a prominent voice in the movement to abolish the death penalty nationwide. “You should never waste a tragedy,” he told the audience. “If you've got a special gift, you should use it. Those of you in law school, you're developing special tools. If you think this is an important issue, you should figure out how to use your voice.”

Dean G. Marcus Cole, Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School, opened the event by affirming the Church’s call to oppose the death penalty. “Every human life is created in the image and likeness of God and has to be treated that way,” Cole said. “I'm proud that Notre Dame Law School stands with our Church and with Syl Schieber in following the command of Christ to fight for the abolition of the death penalty and to recognize the human dignity of every human life as created in the likeness and image of God.” Schieber echoed Cole’s message, underscoring the central role that faith and forgiveness play in his life. “If you can’t stand by your principles when it's difficult, then they’re not your principles,” said Schieber.

Professor Jimmy Gurulé, director of Notre Dame Law School’s Exoneration Justice Clinic, added urgency to the conversation by noting that Indiana resumed executions in December 2024 after a 15-year hiatus. He closed the event by expressing deep admiration for Schieber’s moral courage: “I respect his ability to find the strength to turn this experience into a positive by using it to educate thousands of people on the death penalty and why it should be abolished.”

Sister Helen Prejean, The Sanctity of Human Life

To close out Death Penalty Abolition Week, Sister Helen Prejean spoke to a packed McCartan Courtroom, sharing the story that launched her decades-long mission to end capital punishment. It began when she volunteered to write letters to a man on death row, Patrick Sonnier. Their correspondence deepened, and she eventually visited him, listing herself as his “spiritual adviser”—not realizing that meant she would accompany him to his execution. “Little did I know ... the only one who could be with him in the holding cell and then to execution was going to be his spiritual adviser—me,” she said. “I came out after watching Pat be killed ... and the first thing I did was throw up. But that’s also when the mission to talk to all of you about this issue began. I’m a witness.”

Since that moment, Sister Helen has become one of the most powerful voices for death penalty abolition in the world. She called the death penalty “an extreme physical and mental assault on someone who’s been rendered defenseless” and described the long wait on death row as a form of torture. “We make it legal, which means that we make it right, morally right,” she said, challenging students to consider the broader implications of the law. “The death penalty is about us. We should not identify a human being solely with the worst act of his or her life.”

Sister Helen’s talk capped a powerful week of events that brought together exonerees, lawyers, advocates, students, faculty, and the broader South Bend community to confront the moral and legal challenges of the death penalty. From conversations on wrongful convictions and systemic failures to reflections on faith, justice, and mercy, Notre Dame Law School's inaugural Death Penalty Abolition Week invited the community to engage deeply with one of the most urgent human rights issues of our time. Through the efforts of the Exoneration Justice Clinic and the Klau Institute, the Law School remains committed to advancing justice and cultivating a legal profession grounded in compassion, conscience, and human dignity.

Learn more about the Notre Dame Law School Exoneration Justice Clinic at exoneration.nd.edu and the Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights at klau.nd.edu.

Originally published by Notre Dame Law School at law.nd.edu on April 07, 2025.