Basic HTML Version
Campus Review
May 7, 2013
Page 18
Those not familiar with the Georgia
Innocence Project (GIP) might wonder
what Clayton State University Assistant
Professor of Theater Patricia Henritze has
gotten involved in when they read that
she’s working on a life sentence.
The explanation is really quite simple.
“Life Sentence: the Album,” is inspired by
the life of Clarence Harrison, who has the
distinction of having been exonerated by the
Georgia Innocence Project. It is a collection
of 11 songs created by professional musi-
cians Melanie Hammett and Ben Holst. The
project’s goal is to create a fully-produced
album whose proceeds from tours, mer-
chandise, digital sales, etc., will benefit GIP.
Clayton State’s involvement with GIP dates
back more than a decade. The Georgia
Innocence Project is a nonprofit organiza-
tion dedicated to helping individuals who
have been convicted of crimes they did not
commit. GIP works to secure post-convic-
tion DNA testing for Georgia and Alabama
inmates where DNA analysis could prove
guilt or innocence and adequate DNA test-
ing was not available at trial.
“This is really cool,” says Dr. Greg
Hampikian, professor of Biology and
Criminal Justice at Boise State University,
and one of the founders of GIPwhen he was
a professor of Biology at Clayton State. “I
worked on Clarence Harrison's case from
my office next to the Clayton State Theater.
Clayton State indeed has a long history with
the Georgia Innocence Project.
“Aimee Maxwell, the director of GIP, has
been raving about this project.”
“Life Sentence is a voice for GIP that can
raise money, spread the word and edu-
cate,” says Henritze, who is the creative
director for the
project. “To reach
that goal and have
the songs available
on Itunes, Amazon,
etc., they are doing
large fundraisers
and performances
and I am the per-
formance director.
I am coaching
Clarence as he tells
his story, and Melanie and Ben as they tell
the story of their experiences at GIP so that
they can create inspirational performance
events in support of the project.”
“Life Sentence” has set up three websites,
including a Facebook page, where interested
parties can visit for more information.
Indiegogo is a site similar to Kickstarter and
is
a
crowd
funding
platform:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/life-sen-
tence-an-album-to-free-the-wrongfully-
incarcerated/x/2927194. The official Life
Sentence webpage is: http://www.lifesen-
tencealbum.com/, and the Facebook page is:
https://www.facebook.com/LifeSentenceAl
bum.
“Promise to like us on Facebook if you
go…” asks Henritze.
Henritze’s creative involvement with GIP
also parallels Hampikian’s work. While he
was a professor at Clayton State Hampikian
wrote and premiered two plays for the
Clayton State Theatre, and co-authored “Exit
to Freedom,” the story of the first Georgia
inmate freed by DNA evidence, Calvin
Johnson.
“How odd to see two professors coinci-
dentally involved in something so specif-
ic,” remarks Henritze.
Hampikian became interested in
Johnson’s story after reading a 1999
Atlanta Journal-Constitution front-page
article proclaiming Johnson’s release
from almost 17 years of wrongful impris-
onment. DNA evidence turned out to be
Johnson’s exit to freedom from his sen-
tence of life plus two 15-year sentences.
“I put the article on the inside of my office
door, and hoped that I could write his
story with him...It was an amazing story -
the first DNA exoneration in Georgia,”
says Hampikian. What was even more
amazing was Johnson’s attitude. “He was
not bitter…. then I heard him on the radio
and he was even more positive than he
appeared in print.”
Fascinated by Johnson’ high morale,
Hampikian asked Clayton State’s
Deborah Greer, director of Diversity and
Disability Services, to invite Johnson to
the University as a guest speaker.
Enthralled by Johnson’s address,
Hampikian hastily scribbled out the first
chapter of what would become “Exit to
Freedom” as Johnson spoke. Hampikian
later approached Johnson to propose plans
for a book.
Through writing “Exit to Freedom,”
Hampikian became interested in lending
his forensic expertise to the Innocence
Project, the non-profit legal foundation
created by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J.
Neufeld who were responsible for
Johnson’s exoneration. Hampikian is cur-
rently director of the Idaho Innocence
Project and is still on the GIP board as
their DNA expert.
ysis since January 2012, alternating her
time between the classroom and the hos-
pital.
"She's extremely bright, she's extremely
driven to do what she wants to do, and she
has a zest for life that is unbelievable,”
says Stein, who at age 29 is actually
younger than her student. "I at least want-
ed to give her that hope that someone out
there is trying, and I hope other people
will try as well."
Although Gresham’s story was originally
told by 11Alive in September 2012, like
so many others, she is still in need of a
transplant so she can forego dialysis.
Undaunted, she continues in her classes at
Clayton State, and is also taking steps on
her own. She recently set up a website
(http://www.giveforward.com/newlife-
newbeginnings) for the purpose of
fundraising and to raise awareness for
people to get tested to see if they are a
match in what has become a very real
quest for a dream made real.
Patricia Henritze
Patricia Henritze the Creative Director for “Life Sentence”
by John Shiffert, University Relations
Transplant, cont’d. from p. 13