Innocent on Death Row: Randy Steidl

Thu., April 30, 7 p.m., free, Delaware County Peace Center, 1001 Old Sproul Road, Springfield, 610-891-8968, delcopeacecenter.org.

by Dianca Potts

Randy Steidl spent 17 years in prison — and 12 years on death row — for a crime he didn't commit. He was exonerated in 2004, after a four-year investigation and DNA evidence proved that Illinois police and prosecutors had framed him. Steidl, a gray-haired but youthful 57-year-old, now advocates for the abolishment of the death penalty, and travels the country to spread his beliefs.

"I don't think they'll ever be able to have 100 percent accuracy to determine who's guilty and innocent," says Kurt Rosenberg, coordinator of Witness to Innocence, the activist group that's hosting Steidl's lecture. "It's a system run by humans and humans make mistakes. There's never going to be a death penalty that's guaranteed to convict the right person." Aiming to educate the public about the judicial system's flaws, Steidl's lecture will explore the psychological impact of wrongful convictions on prisoners and the progress made thus far in lobbying against the death penalty.

Both Steidl and Rosenberg believe that the downsides of the death penalty far outweigh its benefits, which critics say include fewer murders and lower prison costs. "I believe the only way to effectively address the issue is to abolish the death penalty, so these mistakes will not be made," Rosenberg says. "These mistakes are irreversible."

Thu., April 30, 7 p.m., free, Delaware County Peace Center, 1001 Old Sproul Road, Springfield, 610-891-8968, delcopeacecenter.org.