WHO DESERVES TO DIE?

One in ten death row inmates in the United States is innocent and has been wrongfully convicted. There are many reasons why such miscarriages of justice are so scandalously common, but abuse of the death penalty as a means of gaining political traction is one of the main ones. The victims of wrongful convictions are almost always among from the poorest and most vulnerable members of American society. Witness to Innocence was founded in 2005 by the nun Helen Prejean, author of the book Dead Man Walking. It is the only organization in the United States that works to empower those released from death row and to help them find an effective voice in the battle for the abolition of capital punishment in their country. It also offers a peer-based support network for freed convicts, most of whom receive no support, let alone compensation, when they leave prison.