Sabrina Butler-Smith, the first woman exonerated from death row in the US for a crime she didn't commit, shares her story with a group of young people. She was wrongly accused of killing her 9-month-old son due to a misdiagnosis and a coercive police interrogation. She spent 6.5 years in prison, including 2.5 years on death row, before being exonerated. She attributes her wrongful conviction to racism and a flawed justice system. Sabrina emphasizes the need to abolish the death penalty, citing the high number of wrongful convictions and the cruelty of the punishment methods. She has since become an advocate against the death penalty, writing a book about her experience and working to raise awareness among young people to bring about change.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. Sabrina Butler Smith was wrongly accused of killing her 9-month-old son.
2. Sabrina was only 17 years old when her son stopped breathing.
3. She didn't know how to apply CPR and followed someone else's instructions, which was adult CPR.
4. The hospital couldn't revive her son.
5. Sabrina was taken to jail and accused of killing her son by the police.
6. The lead investigator yelled at her and told her what to sign, which she did out of fear.
7. Sabrina was convicted and sentenced to death.
8. She spent 6.5 years in jail, including 2 years and 9 months on death row.
9. Sabrina had an all-white jury and a district attorney who took the jury to a picnic while they were supposed to be sequestered.
10. Sabrina's case was racially motivated.
11. She was exonerated after proving her innocence and receiving a new trial with a new jury.
12. Sabrina received compensation from the state of Mississippi for her wrongful conviction in 2012.
13. There are 169 death row exonerees in the United States who were wrongly convicted.
14. Sabrina has written a book about her experiences.
15. She wants to see the death penalty abolished and is working to raise awareness about wrongful convictions.