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Living Justice: Love, Freedom, and the Making of The Exonerated
A love story. An artistic journey. A matter of life and death...
In 2000, Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen embarked on a tour across America -- one that would give them a glimpse of the darker side of the justice system and, at the same time, reveal to them just how resilient the human spirit can be. They were a pair of young actors from New York who wanted to learn more about our country's exonerated -- men and women who had been sentenced to die for crimes they didn't commit, who spent anywhere from two to twenty-two years on death row, and who were freed amidst overwhelming evidence of their innocence. The result of their journey was The Exonerated, New York Times number one play of 2002, which was embraced by such acting luminaries as Ossie Davis, Richard Dreyfuss, Danny Glover, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, and Robin Williams.
Living Justice is Jessica and Erik's fascinating, behind-the-scenes account of the creation of their play. A tale of artistic expression and political awakening, innocence lost and wisdom won, this is above all a story about two people who fall in love while pursuing their passion and learn -- through the stories of the exonerated -- what freedom truly means.
In 2000, Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen embarked on a tour across America -- one that would give them a glimpse of the darker side of the justice system and, at the same time, reveal to them just how resilient the human spirit can be. They were a pair of young actors from New York who wanted to learn more about our country's exonerated -- men and women who had been sentenced to die for crimes they didn't commit, who spent anywhere from two to twenty-two years on death row, and who were freed amidst overwhelming evidence of their innocence. The result of their journey was The Exonerated, New York Times number one play of 2002, which was embraced by such acting luminaries as Ossie Davis, Richard Dreyfuss, Danny Glover, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, and Robin Williams.
Living Justice is Jessica and Erik's fascinating, behind-the-scenes account of the creation of their play. A tale of artistic expression and political awakening, innocence lost and wisdom won, this is above all a story about two people who fall in love while pursuing their passion and learn -- through the stories of the exonerated -- what freedom truly means.
- GenresNonfiction
320 pages, Paperback
First published February 22, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 23, 2020
Such a great book. I really enjoyed it. I have looked into the American justice system a lot but this all just really hit home for me and really put a face to the people that are being wrongfully convicted and how it actually happened to them. Loved this book.
March 6, 2017
Loved the message and the frank, open discussion of the subject matter. The pronouns were hard to follow as Jessica and Erik write because they use "we" but also both their names. Also watched the play on Amazon Prime and HIGHLY recommend that!!
April 8, 2009
Such a great back story to the making of the Exonerated. At times hard for me to read as I have met many of the individuals in the book.
October 9, 2012
Funny, touching, haunting, terrifying and fascinating.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews