Former death-row inmate to speak in McCook

Death Row exoneree Curtis McCarty will speak in McCook and several other Nebraska towns during May, recounting his two decades on Oklahoma's death row for a crime he didn't commit.

McCarty was convicted twice and sentenced to death three times based on prosecutorial misconduct and bad forensics. Narrowly escaping an execution, it was only a lucky break that allowed McCarty to prove his actual innocence.

Since his exoneration in 2007, McCarty has become an internationally-recognized speaker, describing his troubled youth, the way police targeted him for a murder after they'd run into a year of dead ends, and how DNA eventually proved his innocence. Along the way, McCarty brings the listener into the violence and desperation of life on Death Row.

McCarty's speaking tour includes North Platte, Lexington and McCook. Times and locations are listed below. His appearances are sponsored by Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

These public discussions of the death penalty system come at a time when the state is seriously considering abolishing state executions. A bill to repeal the death penalty had enough legislative support to pass during the 2013 legislature. However, a filibuster prevented a floor vote on the bill. A new bill will be introduced in 2015, and with several new legislators replacing those who will not be returning due to term limits, passage of a repeal bill seems possible.

McCarty's presentations are free and open to the public.

May 19: St. Patrick Catholic Church, Parish Hall, 415 N. Chestnut, North Platte 7:00 pm

May 20: First United Methodist Church, Fellowship Hall, 201 E. 8th St., Lexington 6:30 pm

May 21: Memorial United Methodist Church, Sanctuary, 105 East E St., McCook 7 pm

Contact: Effie Caldarola, NADP organizer, 402-502-5333