As part of the ongoing events associated with the Gateway/NEA Big Read, featuring Ernest Gaines’ A Lesson Before Dying, the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (KCADP) will host a panel discussion with panelists whose work intersects with issues presented in this novel and in our society. The event will take place Nov. 9, from 6-9:30 p.m. at Gateway’s Edgewood Campus, 790 Thomas More Parkway, in room E101.
KCADP is not-for-profit corporation composed of organizations and individuals working together to end the death penalty in Kentucky. The panel will discuss the work they are currently doing and connect this work to the larger themes found in A Lesson Before Dying.
Guest panelists include Rev. Pat Delahanty, chair of the coalition, involved in its incorporation and full-time volunteer director of the coalition; Michael J. Z. Mannheimer, professor of law and associate dean for faculty development at Northern Kentucky University and co-chair of the Kentucky Death Penalty Assessment Team for the American Bar Association; Edward C. Monahan, appointed Kentucky Public Advocate by Governor Beshear for two consecutive terms; Ben Griffith, a piano tuner, musician and brother of a murder victim who leads Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation in Kentucky; Michael VonAllmen, wrongly convicted of rape in 1983, served 11 years in prison and 16 years on parole before finally being exonerated in 2010; and David A. Armstrong, president of Thomas More College, who shares how his personal experiences in the prosecutor's office influenced his conviction that the death penalty should be abolished. Read complete bios on the panelists.
This event is open to the public. Check out the upcoming events for the Gateway/NEA Big Read and sign-up to attend this one at gateway.kctcs.edu/landing/bigread.
