Amnesty International at Murray State University hosts death row exoneree Kirk Bloodsworth Friday night at 6 in MSU's Freed Curd Auditorium. Bloodsworth is the first person in the United States exonerated from death row by DNA testing. The lecture is open to all. On Sounds Good, Kate Lochte speaks with Kirk Bloodsworth about the circumstances of his exoneration.
Death Row Exoneree Kirk Bloodsworth
Murray State University - November 14 at 6 p.m.
hosted by Amnesty International at MSU
A honorably discharged former Marine, Kirk Bloodsworth is the first person in the United States exonerated from death row by DNA testing. In 1984 he was arrested for the rape and murder of nine-year-old girl. He was sentenced to death in Maryland in 1985.
In 1992, Kirk read about a new forensic breakthrough called DNA fingerprinting, and lobbied successfully for prosecutors approval for its use on evidence collected at the crime scene. The tests established Kirk’s innocence, and he was released from prison in June 1993.
Bloodsworth spent a total of 8 years, 10 months, and 19 days in prison - two of those years in death row.
In 1989, he read The Blooding by Joseph Wambaugh, telling the story of the first murder solved with new DNA testing. He then realized that this may be his chance for freedom. The evidence in his case was thought to have been destroyed, but was later found in a judge's closet. Bloodsworth says the real culprit was identified and caught as a result from the DNA testing (and mentions that he had been in the same prison for five years).
DNA testing is now used in nearly every jurisdiction, though post-conviction DNA testing is not as available or affordable. Bloodsworth says that roughly 120,000 incarcerated people are innocent in the United States. 147 people on death row have been found innocent, but only 18 of those were DNA exonerations. Bloodsworth hopes that more people become aware of and enforce the Innocence Protection Act, which seeks to ensure the fair administration of the death penalty and minimizing the risk of executing innocent people. He says there is much work to be done in order to free men and women who have been wrongfully convicted.
Witness to Innocence: Kirk Bloodsworth