Shujaa Graham talks death row and innocence at Richmond

Shujaa Graham spoke Tuesday evening about his experience on death row and the issues surrounding the death penalty within the U.S. criminal justice system. In 1973, Graham was framed for the murder of a prison guard and was sent to death row. His death sentence was overturned in 1979 and in 1981 he was found innocent and released from prison.

Graham said he thought the lecture went well. He discussed the racism and brutality he faced in the prison system, as well as the criminal justice system. “I’m not here because of the system, I’m here in spite of the system,” Graham said. He said his biggest mistake was that he was in denial about what he went through. “It’s been over 30 years and I’m still experiencing this,” Graham said.

Katie Presson, a Richmond senior and the president of the University of Richmond’s chapter of Amnesty International, was very pleased with the lecture’s turnout. “We are a small group on campus, so when we have 50 people show up in a room it’s a huge success,” she said. Presson said there were not only Richmond students in the audience, but also Virginia Commonwealth University’s Amnesty International and a few community members.

Presson said one thing she would change for future events would be to increase advertising. “We wanted this event to be big, and for us this was relatively large, but I think we’d still like it to be larger and reach a broader audience to raise more awareness,” Presson said.

Erica Fitchett, a Richmond junior, said she thought the lecture was emotional and that Graham successfully made a tough subject semi-light hearted. Fitchett is personally against the death penalty and Graham’s lecture strengthened her opinion, she said.

Graham said he gave these lectures because when he was released from prison he promised he would be a voice for the voiceless. Graham also said, “I do what I do because I’m not into punishment, I’m into correction and I think that’s how we are going to become a better society.” He said as a society we should worry not how should we punish someone, but instead how we should correct them.

Fitchett said she believed this event was important for campus because it raised awareness. “I think that a big part of the reason why there hasn’t been a lot of reforms in prison and the death penalty is because people don’t know about it,” Fitchett said. “People just think that a person did something bad, so they deserve this and [lectures] like this are important because they show this is not always the case.”

Presson also said raising awareness about the death penalty and wrongful conviction was important. People aren’t aware that “people are wrongfully convicted and will serve multiple years of their life, sometimes up until the day the actually die for something they did not commit,” Presson said.

Graham said his advice to students was to get involved in an organized way as part of a group. He said groups are able to make a larger impact than disjoined individuals.

Graham’s lecture was hosted by the university’s chapter of Amnesty International, co-sponsored by Common Ground and in association with the Witness to Innocence Project. To learn more about the Witness to Innocence Project, visit http://www.witnesstoinnocence.org/.

Contact reporter Bridget Friendly at bridget.friendly@richmond.edu