​Quinnipiac University to Host Speaker Sabrina Butler-Smith

Quinnipiac University to host speaker Sabrina Butler-Smith, the first woman ever to be exonerated from death row in the U.S., on Oct. 10

HAMDEN - Quinnipiac University’s Department of Justice and Law will host speaker Sabrina Butler-Smith, the first woman ever to be exonerated from death row in the United States, at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 10.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Mount Carmel Auditorium.
Butler-Smith was a Mississippi teenager when she became a victim of wrongful conviction due to false or misleading forensic evidence and prosecutorial misconduct. She endured six and a half years in prison, two years and nine months of which were on death row. She has since been exonerated of all wrongdoing. She is one of only two women in the United States exonerated from death row.

Since her exoneration, Butler-Smith has become a tireless advocate for other innocent people sentenced to death. She is a member of Witness to Innocence, which is a network of death row exonerees that was founded by Sister Helen Prejean. She also serves on the board of Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (TADP) and Life After Innocence. She is currently working on starting a non-profit to help women who come out of prison get their lives back by giving them a place to start.

Alan Bruce, professor and director of criminal justice at Quinnipiac, said that, as of September 20, 2022, the National Registry of Exonerations lists 3,241 exonerations since collection of data began in 1989, a number that includes death row exonerations.

“This number is the tip of the iceberg as wrongful convictions are rarely discovered,” Bruce said. “Sabrina Butler-Smith is an exoneree wrongfully convicted and sentenced to die. By visiting campus, she will help highlight many factors plaguing the justice system and which lead to wrongful convictions including official misconduct, false confessions and false or misleading forensic evidence.”

Butler-Smith’s visit coincides with creation of the Department of Justice and Law in the College of Arts and Sciences at QU. The Department of Justice and Law combines the criminal justice and legal studies majors to help students more fully understand the foundation and function of our justice system in both historical and contemporary contexts. The Department of Justice and Law provides students a unique opportunity for both curricular understanding and co-curricular engagement in the study of criminal justice and law.

“Ms. Butler-Smith’s visit will provide students the opportunity to hear firsthand from someone who has been victimized by the state and learn about how wrongful convictions can be reduced,” Bruce added. “The visit will also challenge students to think deeply about many justice issues including racial bias, and continued use of capital punishment in light of growing evidence innocent people have been wrongly convicted and sentenced to execution.”