We speak with Keith LaMar, an artist, teacher and writer on death row in Ohio. LaMar, who has spent three decades in solitary confinement, was sentenced to death for the murder of five fellow prisoners during a 1993 prison uprising. He has always maintained his innocence. His trial was held in a remote Ohio community before an all-white jury. LaMar is one of three men on death row for whom Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued reprieves, pushing back their execution dates to 2030.
“The reprieve, while good in a legal sense in giving us more time, it also increases the pressure, the harassment that I’m undergoing,” says Keith LaMar. “I’ve been undergoing consistent torture since the last reprieve,” explains LaMar, who received a previous reprieve three years ago.
LaMar’s lawyer Keegan Stephan says there is “incredible new evidence” of his client’s innocence, and Amy Gordiejew, campaign manager of Justice for Keith LaMar, says he “was framed.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.