Don’t Miss Theatre Oxford’s Production of “The Exonerated’ on September 8 and 9

Six Compelling Stories About Death Row Survivors Offered in Theatre Oxford’s Latest Production

Sixty-year-old Delbert Tibbs is an old soul from Chicago, a seminary dropout,
military veteran, radical, poet, and death row survivor. He’s also a Black man who
happened to be on a highway near a small Florida town soon after a man was killed
and a young woman raped. Both were white. Enough reason for the cops to arrest
him.

“This is not the place for thought that does not end in concreteness,” narrator
Delbert Tibbs tells us in The Exonerated. “It is dangerous to dwell too much on
things. To wonder who or why or when to wonder how – is dangerous. How do we,
the people, get outta this hole, What’s the way to fight?”

Delbert Tibbs’ story is one of a half-dozen told in Theatre Oxford’s production of The
Exonerated at the Powerhouse Arts Center Saturday, September 8, at 7:30 p.m., and
Sunday, September 9, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. A panel discussion by Tucker
Carrington, the founding director of the Mississippi Innocence Project, and Cliff
Johnson, the director of the MacArthur Justice Center, will follow both evening
productions.

The production is made possible by the support of Frye | Reeves Attorneys at Law,
the Mississippi Arts Commission, and Yoknapatawpha Arts Council.
Authored by Jessica Blank and Erik Jenson, The Exonerated shares true stories of
wrongfully convicted survivors of death row. Directing the Theatre Oxford
production is theatre veteran Felipe Esteban Macias.

The stories tell of resilience, faith, and post-traumatic stress. They range from
racially motivated arrests and convictions of a hippie falsely accused of murdering
his parents to a mother who innocently catches a ride with a driver who will kill two
police officers before the ride is over.

“We have six wonderful stories wrapped up in one play,” Macias says about The
Exonerated. Taken from interviews, letters, transcripts, case files, and public records, the stories
offer sobering insights into the nation’s criminal justice system and capital punishment.

“The Exonerated” won the 2003 Drama Desk and Outer Critic’s Awards
and also received the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Champion
of Justice Award.

Tickets will be available at the door and seats can be reserved at
https://oxfordarts.com/theatreoxford.

The Powerhouse is located at 413 South 14th Street in Oxford (on the corner of
University Avenue). Parking is in the back near the water tower. To learn more about
Theatre Oxford, visit our website (theatreoxford.org) or follow us on social media
(@theatreoxford).