In Brooklyn Heights, victims bring to life ‘The Exonerated’

Actors Portray Those Wrongly Imprisoned On Death Row

March 13, 2014 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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They were wrongly convicted of crimes they did not commit. Now free, Fernando Bermudez, Jabbar Collins, Jesse Friedman and Martin Tankleff will tell the story of six people wrongly placed on death row in the play “The Exonerated,” presented at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights on Friday, March 28 at 6:30 p.m. (at St. Francis College Maroney Forum for Arts, Culture and Education.)

“The Exonerated” was written by Jessica Blank & Eric Jensen. This production is directed by St. Francis English Professor Virginia Franklin.

The play is free for St. Francis College students, faculty and staff but organizers are asking for a donation to support Hudson Link Post-Prison @SFC, an extension of the successful Hudson Link program which breaks the cycle of crime by helping prisoners earn a college degree. St. Francis College aims to help offenders who did not complete their degree in prison.

Fernando Bermudez spent 18 years in prison for murdering a teenager outside a Greenwich Village nightclub after he was misidentified by an eyewitness. He was acquitted in 2009.

Jabbar Collins spent 15 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of murdering a Brooklyn rabbi. He now works as a paralegal and is suing the prosecutors and DA who wrongfully put in him in prison.

Jesse Friedman is the subject of the Academy Award nominated “Capturing the Friedmans.” He served 13 years in prison before his 2001 release. He continues to fight to overturn his conviction after an appeals court ruled, “The record here suggests ‘a reasonable likelihood’ that Jesse Friedman was wrongfully convicted.”

Martin Tankleff spent 17 years in prison after falsely confessing to murdering his parents. In January 2014, he was awarded over 3 million dollars to settle his wrongful conviction lawsuit. Marty works as a paralegal and is in law school.
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For tickets or to donate to Hudson Link @ SFC, contact Prof. Emily Horowitz at 718-489-5446 or [email protected] or go to www.sfc.edu.

Tickets are free for SFC students, faculty and staff / $20 for all others.