Juan Melendez to speak at ND on Wednesday, 10/3

Juan Melendez, an innocent man who spent 18 years on death row in Florida, will speak this Wednesday, October 3 at 5 pm in DeBartolo 102. His lecture is open to the public; his trip to ND is sponsored by the Hispanic Law Student Association and the American Constitution Society of the ND Law School.
Juan Melendez became the 24th person exonerated and released from Florida's death row when he was freed on January 3, 2002 after spending almost 18 years facing execution for a crime he did not commit. The photo above was taken upon his release from prison.
Melendez was convicted in 1984 at the age of 33 with no physical evidence linking him to the crime and testimony from questionable witnesses. In fact, prosecutors concealed evidence from the court in order to protect the guilty man, a police informant. Melendez's conviction fell apart when the police informant's confession came to light in 1999 - a confession that prosecutors knew about before they took Melendez to trial.
Upon his release, the state of Florida gave Melendez what they give to every inmate that leaves prison - $100.
Contact us for more information on Melendez and his lecture, at notredameask@gmail.com.