A Panel You Don't Want to Miss!

This event will take place at Georges Auditorium at Dillard University.

Fifty years ago, after being framed for the killing of a white teen and found guilty by an all-white jury, 17-year-old Gary Tyler was sent to Angola prison to die. Join us to celebrate the publication of his memoir, Stitching Freedom: A True Story of Injustice, Defiance and Hope in Angola Prison (One Signal Publishers).

In the tradition of books by Albert Woodfox and Angela Davis, this gripping memoir of a wrongful conviction and time spent on death row in Angola prison shows how incarcerated people care for each other and fight for justice

In 1975, seventeen-year-old Gary Tyler was sent to Angola prison to die. A year earlier, he had been wrongfully charged with the killing of a white teenager and found guilty by an all-white jury, making Gary the youngest prisoner on death row in the United States

Following his conviction, Amnesty International and investigative reporters documented the brutal treatment, fabricated evidence, recanted testimony, and repeated injustices that led to his sentencing. Three times Gary was recommended for a pardon; three times Louisiana governors refused to accept the political risk. After more than four decades in prison, Tyler was released in 2016—but he was never exonerated.

This is not a story of mistaken identity or circumstantial evidence, but one of systemic injustice from an institution hard-wired into a legacy of slavery—in effect, this was a legal lynching. While detailing the injustice, Gary’s memoir is also a remarkable story of pride, forgiveness, community, and triumph. With insight and heart, he shows how he learned to reject bitterness and fight for freedom, helped by activists such as Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace on the inside and relentless support from a mass movement on the outside. Stitching Freedom is the page-turning narrative with which Gary reclaims his power.

FOR READERS OF BOLD AUTOBIOGRAPHY THAT CAPTURES A SLICE OF AMERICAN HISTORY: Tyler's memoir covers key moments in American history that are often purposely overlooked or whitewashed, from the desegregation of schools and the over policing of Black communities, to effects of the AIDS epidemic in prison during the 80s and 90s, to the use of theater for organizing and therapy among inmates in the 2000s, to the ongoing effects of those in solitary confinement and on death row.

WELL-CONNECTED, ACTIVE AUTHOR: During his years in prison, Tyler galvanized a movement that grew to have national and international support, one of the precursors to today's abolition and BLM movements. People who advocated for his release include Rosa Parks, Hurricane Carter, Gil Scott Heron, and UB40. Starting with his arrest in 1974, his story has been covered by Democracy Now, Forbes, the New York Times, the Guardian, and other outlets. Since his release, Tyler has spoken about his experience around the country and has gained prominent supporters including Steven Spielberg, Bryan Stevenson, Michele Alexander, Angela Davis, and Jackson Browne. Tyler has connected with a number of organizations that are willing to promote the book through their newsletters and to co-sponsor events, including Right of Return, Death Penalty Focus, VOTE, Library Street Collective, the Historic New Orleans Collection, Frieze, MassArt, and the American Folk Art Museum.

FOR READERS INTERESTED IN PRISON REFORM/ABOLITION: Following BLM movements in 2020, there has been widespread, heated debate on how to reform America's criminal justice system and if it can even be reformed. The success of series like Ava DuVernay's When They See Us and books like Solitary and Just Mercy, show that there is an appetite for stories like Tyler's as they inform radical calls for police and prison abolition that have made their way to the forefront of the national conversation.

This panel will be moderated by Professor Andrea Armstrong

Gary Tyler is an artist and a spokesperson for justice. As a teenager, he was framed for shooting a white teen in Louisiana and sentenced to death by an all-white jury. He spent more than four decades at Angola Prison, where he galvanized a movement that grew to have national and international support. In prison, Gary became a freedom fighter, a mentor, head of the Drama Club, a hospice volunteer and a quilt artist. Upon his release, he got involved in the fight to end the death penalty. His work is in the HNOC and the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in D.C. Last year, Gary was awarded a Right of Return Fellowship and the 2024 Frieze LA Impact Prize, recognizing artists who use their talents to address social justice issues. He holds an honorary doctorate of fine arts from MassArt. Stitching Freedom is his first book.

Calvin Duncan is the founder and director of the Light of Justice program, which is focused on improving legal access for incarcerated individuals. Falsely accused of murder at the age of nineteen, he endured a life sentence without the possibility of parole in Louisiana prisons, where he spent more than twenty-eight years. While incarcerated, he became an inmate counsel substitute, or jailhouse lawyer, helping hundreds of fellow prisoners challenge wrongful convictions and unjust sentences. Calvin Duncan has written about his experiences in The Jailhouse Lawyer (Penguin Random House, with Sophie Cull). His efforts have contributed to landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions, including Smith v. Cain (2012) and Ramos v. Louisiana (2020). Duncan holds a JD from Lewis & Clark Law School and resides in New Orleans, where he continues his advocacy on behalf of those still behind bars.

Professor Andrea Armstrong is a Professor of Law at Loyola University. She is a leading expert on incarceration conditions who has dedicated her career to shedding light onto incarceration practices in the United States. Professor Armstrong was named a 2023 MacArthur Fellow and received the “Genius Grant” for her creation of the Incarceration Transparency Project. The project's mission is to publicly share data and research to address significant harms from conditions of incarceration. She has authored over twenty publications, including law review articles, expert reports, and book chapters. Her research has been profiled by New Yorker Magazine and quoted in the national newspapers and radio such as the New York Times, the Atlantic, National Public Radio, and the Times-Picayune among others.

Norris Henderson is the Founder and Executive Director of Voice of the Experienced (VOTE) and Voters Organized to Educate. Wrongfully convicted under Louisiana’s non-unanimous jury system, he spent 27 years at Angola before transforming imprisonment into purpose—becoming a jailhouse lawyer, co-founding the Angola Special Civics Project, and helping establish a hospice program that still operates today. A Soros Justice Fellow and lifelong advocate, he went on to lead the 2018 campaign that ended the very Jim Crow jury practice that condemned him. Since coming home in 2003, Norris has built bridges between directly impacted people and policymakers, shaping national conversations about justice, dignity, and redemption. His leadership, grounded in lived experience, continues to inspire movements for change across the country. Through his work, he reminds us that liberation is not a single victory, but a lifelong practice of truth and transformation.