MEDIA ADVISORY
April 17, 2012
CONTACT: Kristin Houlé, Executive Director
512-441-1808 (office); 512-552-5948 (cell)
khoule@tcadp.org
Death Row Survivor to Address Friendship-West Baptist Church
Anthony Graves to Join Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III in critical conversation about death penalty
Austin, Texas – Texas death row exonoree Anthony Graves will join Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III, Senior Pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church, on Monday, April 23, 2012 for a conversation about how he survived nearly two decades of wrongful incarceration.
On October 27, 2010, Anthony Graves walked out of the Burleson County Jail after spending 18 years in prison – including 12 years on death row – for a crime he did not commit. Prosecutors dropped all charges against Graves and declared him innocent after conducting their own investigation of the case. He is the 12th person in Texas to be wrongfully convicted and removed from death row and the 140th nationwide. Since his release, Graves has spoken about his experience with the Texas death penalty system to audiences throughout the United States and around the world.
Graves will be visiting Dallas at a critical time, as concerns about the risk of wrongful conviction continue to call into question the reliability and fairness of the criminal justice system. Dallas County accounts for 102 death sentences and 47 executions in Texas since 1976, and ranks second only behind Harris County in use of the death penalty. Dallas County also now accounts for 30 exonerations based on DNA evidence.
WHAT: “Escape From Death: The Anthony Graves Story”: Dr. Haynes and the community will engage in a conversation with Anthony Graves about his experiences of being exonerated from death row and life after prison.
WHEN: Monday, April 23, 2012, 6:30 to 7:30 PM
WHERE: Friendship-West Baptist Church, 2020 W. Wheatland Rd., Dallas, Texas 75232
WHO: Sponsored by Citizens of Mitzpah and the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
More information about Anthony Graves is available at https://tcadp.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Anthony-Graves-Fact-Sheet.pdf.
This event is free and open to the public.
For more information, please contact Kristin Houlé, TCADP Executive Director, at 512-441-1808 (office), 512-552-5948 (cell), or khoule@tcadp.org, or Danielle Ayers, Minister of Social Justice for Friendship-West Baptist Church, at 972-228-5200 ext. 226 or dayers@friendshipwest.org.
To arrange an interview by phone or in person with Anthony Graves, please contact Kristin Houlé.
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