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An Evening with the Innocence Project
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The Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Our work is guided by science and grounded in antiracism. Join us for the 38th Annual Ralph Granger Memorial Program as we welcome Innocence Project Field Organizer Nigel Quiroz and exoneree Rodney Roberts for an evening of education, storytelling, and audience Q&A.
Nigel Quiroz is a policy analyst at the Innocence Project. He assists the policy team with any research and legal issues that pertain to the policy agenda, which seeks to prevent and reveal wrongful convictions and assure compensation for the wrongfully convicted upon release from prison. Previously, Nigel served as a Texas Legislative Internship Program scholar where he worked as an intern with the Innocence Project in the Policy Department. He has also worked with The Mirror Group where he served as a Junior Lobbyist in the Louisiana State Legislature. In addition, Nigel has worked with the Louisiana Housing Trust Fund Initiative, where he served as a Committee Organizer. Nigel received his B.A. in Political Science from Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, and his J.D. from Southern University Law Center in 2017, where he served as a student attorney in the juvenile justice clinic.
Rodney Roberts was arrested in 1996 in Newark, New Jersey, after an altercation with a friend. After several days in custody, he found himself charged with the kidnapping and rape of a 17-year-old girl. His court-appointed attorney advised him to plead guilty or spend the rest of his life in prison. Mr. Roberts had a good job and had recently moved with his young son into a new apartment. Hoping to get back to his son as soon as possible, Rodney Roberts pleaded guilty to the crime in exchange for a seven-year sentence. He would end up spending 18 years in custody before DNA evidence excluded him as a perpetrator and he was exonerated and released in 2014.
PLEASE NOTE: Links to services and events are not posted online. Rather, daily and weekly schedules with links are emailed to our member listserv. If you are not a GJC member but would like to receive these emails, please contact Program & Membership Director Kate Lawn at program@germantownjewishcentre.org to be added to our list.
About the Ralph Granger Memorial Shabbat:
Each year Germantown Jewish Centre dedicates a Shabbat to celebrating the life and legacy of Ralph Granger, beloved former custodian of GJC and a role model to our community, and rededicating ourselves to advancing race relations. Ralph Granger was well-loved and respected, a Christian African American who was known for his dignity and love for the synagogue. During his life, he served as a role model to our community for valuing and respecting differences in others. The Granger Memorial Shabbat & Program continues to pay tribute to his memory while focusing on current social issues pertinent to the larger community in which we live.
The Ralph Granger Memorial Shabbat is generously supported by the Paul and Hilda Minkoff Ralph Granger Memorial Endowment.