Kerry Max Cook, who spent two decades on death row wrongfully convicted of murder, will discuss his experiences in an event free and open to the public on Friday, October 10, in Textor 101.
The visit is in conjunction with IC Theatre's production of The Exonerated, a play based on the real stories of six wrongfully convicted Americans. Kerry Max Cook is one of the actual voices behind the play.
Cook will sign copies of his book, Chasing Justice, at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 11, in the lobby of Dillingham Center before the 2:00 p.m. matinee of The Exonerated. The evening of October 11, Cook is also participating in a talk-back at 9:45 p.m. in the Clark Theatre at Dillingham Center, immediately following the 8:00 p.m. performance.
Kerry Max Cook was wrongly convicted of rape and murder in 1978 and sentenced to death. After a series of retrials in the 90s, Texas's highest court for the death penalty appeals threw out his conviction in November 1996 based on overwhelming evidence of police and prosecutorial misconduct. In the spring of 1999, DNA evidence further proved the innocent of Cook, determining instead that the murderer was the victim's ex-lover. Today, Cook lives in Dallas with his young son and is working to secure a pardon.
The Exonerated, a play by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, will be presented by Ithaca College Theatre and directed by Cynthia Henderson. Performances will be held in the Clark Theatre at Dillingham Center at 8:00 p.m. on October 7, 9, 10, and 11, with 2:00 p.m. matinees offered October 11 and 12. The Exonerated will run approximately 90 minutes without an intermission. Because of its thematic content, this play is intended for mature audiences.
Tickets for The Exonerated range from $4.50 to $10.00 and may be purchased from the Ithaca College Theatre ticket office in Dillingham Center or by calling 607-274-3224. Tickets can also be purchased at the Ticket Center at 607-273-4497 or online at www.ithacaevents.com.
In 2000, playwrights Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen traveled across the United States to document the stories of 40 people wrongly convicted of odious crimes and later released from death row. The Exonerated is the result of Blank and Jensen's research. The play focuses on six of these exonerated Americans as they recount their arrests and trials, reveal shocking and disturbing events from their time on death row, and come to terms with their newfound freedom.
