TROY, N.Y. — The Sanctuary for Independent Media recently announced that author and activist Ronald Kitchen will speak about his new book, “My Midnight Years: Surviving Jon Burge’s Police Torture Ring and Death Row” in Troy at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 30.
Event organizers said it is as part of the Fall 2018 season at The Sanctuary for Independent Media.
According to a news release, in 1988, Ronald Kitchen was tortured by Chicago Police detectives into confessing to a murder he did not commit. After 21 years in prison and more than a decade on death row, he was finally exonerated, the release said.
Officials said that during those years he became a leading activist and author in the fight against police abuse, the death penalty, and mass-incarceration.
The news release also noted that survivors of police torture in Chicago have led a decades-long struggle for justice.
The release said that their victories have included the abolition of the death penalty in Illinois, a mandate to teach the history of police abuse in the city’s public schools, and the passage of the nation’s first reparations ordinance.
The event is co-sponsored. by Justice for Dahmeek, Urban Grief, and Amnesty International.
The Sanctuary for Independent Media is based in a century-old former church that has been re-purposed into a telecommunications production facility dedicated to community media arts.
Officials said it is a place where community-engaged interdisciplinary artists experiment with aesthetic form and challenging content, with the overarching goal of shedding light on media arts’ vital role in the process of building a democratic society.
Admission to the event is $10. Visit mediasanctuary.org. for advance tickets. Call (518) 272-2390, email [email protected], or see www.MediaSanctuary.org for directions and more information.
The Sanctuary for Independent Media is located at 3361 6th Avenue (at 101st Street) in North Troy.