MINNESOTANS AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY
FORUM
Kirk Noble Bloodsworth
(Maryland death row exoneree)
and
Brian Roberts
(Interim Executive Director, National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty)
1.5 CLE credits will be applied for
- Tuesday, March 23, 2004
- 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
- Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi
28th Floor Conference Room
LaSalle Plaza Building
800 LaSalle Avenue (at Ninth Street), Minneapolis
There is a parking ramp in the LaSalle Plaza Building (entrance off Ninth Street) or Downtown Auto Park (at Ninth and LaSalle)
Kirk Noble Bloodsworth's case was the first capital conviction to be overturned as a result of DNA testing in the United States. A former Marine, he was convicted of sexual assault, rape, and first-degree premeditated murder and sentenced to death in 1984. The ruling was appealed on grounds that evidence was withheld at trial, and he received a new trial. He was found guilty again and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. After years of fighting for a DNA test, evidence from the crime scene was then sent to a lab for DNA testing. Final reports from state and federal labs concluded that Bloodsworth's DNA did not match any of the evidence received for testing. Bloodsworth was released from prison and pardoned by the governor of Maryland in 1993. Bloodsworth had served almost nine years of the second sentence, including two years on death row. Last year the Maryland State's Attorney announced that a DNA match had been made and another man has been charged with the murder for which Bloodsworth had been wrongly convicted. Today, Bloodsworth is a crabber on the Maryland shore and owns his own workboat. He is an advisor for the Campaign for Criminal Justice Reform of The Justice Project and the Criminal Justice Reform Education Fund.
Brian Roberts is a lawyer and activist with 10 years experience in criminal defense and capital litigation. A former staff attorney with the Texas Resource Center and New York Capital Defender, he has worked on capital cases in Texas and New York. He joined National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP) from the D.C. Public Defender Service. He graduated from Virginia Tech and University of Minnesota School of Law, where he served as the National Chairperson for the National Black Law Students Association.
Minnesotans Against the Death Penalty (MNADP) was formed to fight the potential reinstatement of the death penalty in Minnesota. During the 2003 legislative session a death penalty bill was introduced. The governor has now called on the legislature to pass an amendment to the Minnesota State Constitution to require the use of the death penalty in the Minnesota court system. This matter is being pursued during the 2004 session. We are opposed to any efforts that would bring the death penalty to our state. Our work includes raising public awareness and mobilizing support in our communities. MNADP was also created in opposition to increased attempts by the U.S. Department of Justice to apply the death penalty to recent federal court cases brought in states that do not have the death penalty, including Minnesota. For further information call: 651.649.4618 or visit www.mnadp.org.
,