Tune into this virtual conversation with international speaker, educator, and artist Fernando Bermudez.
Fernando Bermudez was wrongfully convicted of second-degree murder of a teenage boy in New York City in 1992. After 18.5 years in prison, he was proven "actually innocent" in 2009. In this virtual panel, Fernando - an artist, entrepreneur, speaker, and justice advocate - will share his story alongside those who helped him fight for his exoneration, as well as those working to spread awareness about wrongful convictions and fight to free those who have experienced miscarriages of justice. Panelists will shed light on some of the causes of wrongful convictions, what it takes to prove innocence, as well as the tools justice advocates and practitioners use to fight for justice and remedy injustice through means of social support, art, journalism, and legal work among others. By sharing Fernando’s story and panelists’ experiences with the criminal legal system in New York, we hope to bring much-needed perspectives on justice initiatives that are possible in the realm of wrongful convictions and the legal system more broadly to Illinois and beyond.
This program is organized by graduate student Reyna Hernandez with support from the Mass Incarceration Working Group within the Human Rights Lab.