Living Justice: Love, Freedom, and the Making of The Exonerated

<center>A love story. An artistic journey. A matter of life and death...</center>

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.

This memoir (loosely-termed as such) is an account of an adventure in 2000 when these two young actors left Manhattan in a rented car to travel across the United States on a quest. They drove from Chicago to Florida and stopped at places in between, from Oregon to L. A. to interview some of those exonerated of murder charges.

Jessica had been in a movie for Court TV called 'The Exonerated' about prisoners falsely accused and who spent time on death row in prisons. It is the result of her friend, Erik Jensen from Minnessota,who agreed to make the trip and they nose dived into the darker side of our justice (or injustice) system and were told stories of gross conditions which were repulsive and overwhelming to the victims, before they could win their freedom after such a long interval between being accussed and released.

"The desire for revenge is powerful" on all levels. I've been against the death penalty for many years now because of the innocent "criminals" who are due to die for some crime someone else perpetrated. They discovered that 74% of Americans support capital punishment. If it doesn't happen here in East Tennessee, some decide to take matters in their own hands.

This book entails the creation of the play they wrote using actual cases they uncovered. It is 'a fascinating chronicle of political consciousness.' Instead of dwelling on statistics and legalese, they put a human face on stage so every person in the audience could can and understand what was at stake. This is the story of real people who had lost so much; they used the interviews they did with those abused by the inequities of the system to make a social comment in the form of a play. It took them three years to work through and it changed them forever. They called it a "crazy journey" but in the end discovered a common bonding. Involved in off-Broadway theater, they were drawn together by a chance meeting in a bar.

It is foolish to think that the system (any government service) functions in reality the way it does on paper. It is the propoganda and self praise on forms which win the awards, not what happens in real life. They discovered what I've known now for a long time (from personal experience) that mayors, lawyers, judges and the police are all human and make mistakes, act carelessly, and think of 'self' first and foremost.

It's not enough to pray that the leaders will do what's right and fair to all; we have to take action and speak up, ask questions and seek the truth. Relationships now prove to be more trouble than usual, but don't let this prevent you from staying emotionally present. Even if you are somewhat uncomfortable with holding your ground today, remember that this is truly one of your strengths. The source of your uneasiness may be guilt that is stirred up, whether or not it applies to the current situation. Speak the truth gently and be open to the possibility of positive transformation.

Mainly the leaders in whatever capacity should act ethically. Freedom isn't something which occurs simply because our leaders promise it; they will promise the sky if you foolishly believe them. Politicians never keep promises, but some younger ones will listen. Reach out to them.

A fierce, brilliant account of a political, artistic and personal quest: two young people in search of truth and justice end up finding love and adventure and the harsh realities of America's dark side. Blank's searing intelligence and total conviction for her cause make this book incredibly hard to put down, even as the truths it reveals are often hard to take. If you have seen "The Exonerated," you will love reading the stories behind the stories on stage or film. But even if you haven't seen it, there is much to glean here about the kind of guts required to make a difference as an artist or an activist in the world today.

Jessica Blank's and Erik Jensen's joint memoir, "Living Justice," tells their story of how a desire to create awareness over an important--yet overlooked--issue in the American justice system blossomed from "Eureka!"-style concept into a beautifully realized theater piece called "The Exonerated," which has been performed all over the country and recently adapted for television, educated tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of people, and cited by legislators as an important force in death penalty ethics reform. Their story takes them on a roadtrip across the USA, interviewing people who were convicted of heinous crimes they did not commit, sentenced to death, but ultimately freed and exonerated over overwhelming post-trial evidence of their innocence. The passages dealing with these cases are the most effective parts of the book: informative with the power to disturb and inspire, much in the same way as the authors's play. But there is more to the book than information on the death penalty. Beautifully captured in "Living Justice" is the story of two actors and activists who find love and home within their collaboration, who discover what it feels like to make a change in the world and be reminded of that change in moving and affirming ways. The book is a must-read for fans of the play and students of the theater. The downtown NYC performance scene comes alive in the chapter about the play's opening night and subsequent celebrity-filled run at the Culture Project theater space. Also amazingly portrayed are the days just after 9/11 in which the nature of activism, patriotism, and the definition of justice was questioned by the world over. Amazingly, Ms. Blank and Mr. Jensen found--through their experience of the play--that the USA is still interested in looking in on itself to consider its flaws and how to improve upon them. In that this definition of "American justice" has shifted in the past three years from a national to global issue, it's important to consider what methods all people (as non-politicians) have to instigate the kinds of cultural change needed to make this country and the world in which it exists a place we are proud to call ours...

This is a great story. It's about two young people falling in love while testing their own and each others' limits, researching and writing "The Exonerated," an excellent (and very influential) play about the fascinating, tragic, and ordinary people exonerated and released from death row. Erik and Jessica don't stumble down the rabbit-hole of the American criminal justice system. They climb down it step by step, confessing their fear and confusion, and insecurity that they have no idea what they're doing, and probably have no business doing it anyway. The book takes the reader along for the cross-country trip visiting with and interviewing the people whose stories became The Exonerated. There's lots of captivating background on the subjects of the play, and the authors write passionatley, but also honestly and insightfully, about the politics of the death penalty in America.