Join the School of Criminal Justice for a compelling discussion on wrongful conviction, exoneration, resilience and the pursuit of justice at 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22 in 142 Rhatigan Student Center, Harvest Room.
Two men who collectively spent 47 years wrongfully imprisoned will be on campus to share their experiences. The panel will be moderated by award-winning New York Times bestselling author and Wichitan Mark McCormick.
Darryl Burton, who spent 24 years wrongfully imprisoned starting at age 22. Burton was wrongfully convicted of murder and sent to prison in Missouri. He spent the next 24 years fighting to prove his innocence while enduring the realities of incarceration. During those years, Burton’s story became one not only of injustice, but also of faith, perseverance and redemption. Following his release, he transformed his experience into a mission of service and advocacy for others, “HOPE: Hold On, Pain Ends.”
Lamonte McIntyre spent 23 years wrongfully imprisoned. McIntyre was only 17 when he was wrongfully convicted of a 1994 double homicide in Kansas City, Kansas, and sentenced to two life terms. His case later revealed coerced eyewitness identifications and serious police and prosecutorial misconduct. After spending 23 years in prison for crimes he did not commit, McIntyre was exonerated and released in 2017. Today, he is a nationally recognized advocate and co-founder of Miracle of Innocence, an organization dedicated to freeing and supporting the wrongfully convicted. His is a story of perseverance, exoneration and the continuing pursuit of justice.
For additional information, contact Dr. Michael Birzer at michael.birzer@wichita.edu.
