Brief: Sociology Club to host Innocence Project exonerees

The USD Sociology Club will host a two-night speaker series with the Innocence Project Oct. 18 and 19.

The Innocence Project is an organization that seeks to exonerate wrongly-convicted individuals in the justice system. The Sociology Club has asked select exonerees and staff to tell their stories and hold Q&A sessions with attendees, John Lefferts, Sociology Club treasurer, said. These sessions will be hosted via Zoom, but the event is in-person in Farber Hall.

“We tried to review a lot of exonerees’ cases, and we’ve made choices that we feel interest us and hold our attention for particular reasons,” Lefferts said. “These are individuals, 100%, but their experience is part of a wider social world, and sometimes they do find themselves the victims of these wider social phenomena and social trauma.”

Lefferts said he hopes students will come away from the series with a more realistic understanding of the criminal justice system. 

“And when it comes time to make policy decisions for some of our future leaders, they’ll be able to think twice before being overly punitive,” Lefferts said.

The event will take place 4-6 p.m. Oct. 18 and 4-6:30 p.m Oct. 19.