UA student organizations host newly exonerated Michael Sutton to campus
UA-OIP Officers, from left: Jess Hess, treasurer; Gil Kalina Hammond, vice president; Megan Wilson, president.Not pictured: Tanisha Perera, activities director.
In 2006, Michael Sutton was wrongfully arrested for attempted murder the same day he got a scholarship letter from The University of Akron, where he hoped to study business. It was only through the work of the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP) that he could get exonerated after 15 years of wrongful imprisonment.
On March 1, 2023, UA students can finally welcome him to campus.
Students from the UA chapter of the Ohio Innocence Project (UA-OIP) will give Sutton a warm welcome on Wednesday, March 1, from 9:30 – 11 a.m. in the Student Union Gardner Theater as part of UA’s Rethinking Race. Sutton will speak about his case with Pierce Reed, Director of Education and Policy at OIP, and answer questions from the audience, moderated by Gil Kalina-Hammond, vice president of UA-OIP. Following the event, students will give Sutton a campus tour.
Kalina-Hammond feels talking with Sutton will be extraordinarily meaningful. As a junior majoring in Criminal Justice Studies, his interest in helping those who are wrongfully incarcerated is just as strong as helping those who are incarcerated.
“What I hope to learn from Michael is his mindset going forward,” he remarked. “He had the prime years of his life taken by a failed system and those years he will never get back. I want to learn about his interests in life and just what kind of person he is.”
Megan Wilson is the chapter’s president. A senior majoring in Criminal Intelligence Analysis, her passion for criminal justice, research and giving back to the community led her to UA-OIP and she looks forward to March 1.
“I am glad that Michael has this opportunity to come to Akron to speak,” Wilson said. “I feel like everyone deserves an opportunity to share their story and it will show and teach people that their voices are powerful.”
Student chapter of Ohio Innocence Project
The National Registry of Exonerations (NRE) is a public database that records all exonerations in the United States since 1989, including cases in which DNA played a limited or no role in the exoneration. As of February 2023, it counted 3,388 exonerations.
However, every wrongfully convicted death row inmate won’t be fortunate enough to receive exoneration. With the state of Ohio’s death penalty, wrongful convictions can mean the life or death of an innocent man or woman.
Dr. Daniela Jauk and Dr. Insun Park, both assistant professors of sociology and criminal justice, looked at these facts and were inspired to make UA part of a change for the better by bringing the Ohio Innocence Project to the UA campus in 2019 as an official student organization.
“This work is so important, and this event shows the interdisciplinarity and community engagement of the campus, and especially the good work of our student leaders,” remarked Jauk. “This is a great opportunity to lift student leader’s voices.”
When Kalina-Hammond heard about UA-OIP, he knew he had to get involved. “When Dr. Jauk informed me of the officer roles and the upcoming election for UA-OIP, I knew I had to apply.”
Students making a difference
Attendees on March 1 can also learn about UA-OIP and two other the student organizations: the Sociology Club and the Criminal Justice Association.
This student-led event is also supported by an Innovation Grant from Buchtel College of Arts & Sciences dean, Mitchell S. McKinney, with Jauk spearheading.
“These students want to use this time to showcase the social justice work happening in an interdisciplinary manner on campus and show vibrant student engagement around the departments of Criminal Justice Studies and Sociology,” Jauk emphasized.
On that point, Kalina-Hammond wants to ask Sutton what UA-OIP can do to help spread the awareness of wrongful conviction and what students can do to build a better criminal justice system.
“I am super excited to have the opportunity to sit down and meet Michael. This will be a lifetime event and for sure will be a memory I will never forget.”
Watch Gil Kalina Hammond (left) and Pierce Reed (right) and their conversation with Michael Sutton (center).
Related:
Media contact: Lisa Craig, 330-972-7429 or lmc91@uakron.edu.
Local news coverage:
- He earned a full ride to University of Akron, spent 15 years wrongly imprisoned instead - Akron Beacon Journal, 3/2/2023
- University of Akron paves way for two wrongly convicted men to achieve college dreams - Akron Beacon Journal, 3/9/2023