ROUND 2: THE PITCH

My original pitch idea was to do the Innocence Project narrowed down to “Free Albert Wilson.” But then I ran into some trouble. I didn’t like where everything as going during the mockups stage, so I decided to refine my organization to something else.

What is “Free Albert Wilson?”

Albert Wilson’s life forever changed one night in September 2016. Albert, a college student who was passionate about impacting the world and reshaping the narrative of Black identity through journalism, was falsely accused of raping a young woman he met at a bar. The interaction between them lasted only 15 minutes, but it changed Albert’s life forever. Albert was convicted despite no physical evidence of sexual intercourse, an impossible timeline, and a biased jury. An innocent young man was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

THE NEW & IMPROVED PITCH

I decided to redevelop my idea and organization because I wasn’t liking my first mockups which you will see in my process. I didn’t like how specific it was and for me personally it felt hard to just single in on Albert Wilson.

What is “The Equal Justice Innitiative?”

The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society. EJI challenges wrongful convictions and exposes the unjust incarceration of innocent people that undermines the reliability of even the most serious cases.

What is the issue?

More than half of wrongful convictions can be traced to witnesses who lied in court or made false accusations.4 In 2018, a record number of exonerations involved misconduct by government officials.5 Other leading causes of wrongful convictions include mistaken eyewitness identifications, false or misleading forensic science, and jailhouse informants.

Faulty forensics also lead to wrongful convictions. Many forensic techniques aren’t scientifically validated. These “junk science” techniques include:

• Hair microscopy • Bite mark comparisons • Firearm tool mark analysis • Shoe print comparisons

The Goal: Criminal Justice Reform

The United States incarcerates its citizens more than any other country. Mass incarceration disproportionately impacts the poor and people of color and does not make us safer. EJI is working to end our misguided reliance on over-incarceration.

Who is the target audience?

They are trying to target the system responsible for the injustice brought to the exoneeres. Their audience ranges from family’s of victims and the victims who have been wrongfully imprisoned, to anyone who is willing to help donate or shed light to the issue. It also can be a people with a deep passion for justice and reforming the legal system.

For my poster, the audience would be students around the KU campus who may be interested in the subject or be moved by it.

What is the message?

The message I want to get across is how corrupt the legal system can be and how it can take innocent people’s lives and ruin them. I also want to show the people wronged by case law and how they knew they were innocent, but couldn’t do anything about it. I would want to evoke empathy or rage from my poster and hope people respond to the issue.

Who is the Audience Persona?

A specific person I would like to target this to is someone exactly like Albert Wilson who was wrongfully convicted, a male his race and his age. Someone who goes to KU, on their way to getting a degree. Someone who goes to all the same places on Mass Street, tailgates on gamedays, and walks down Jayhawk Boulevard every day. The reason for this is to show that it could be them instead that is in that situation. A normal person on campus who had a path in life and wasn’t able to take it.