Stories and stories: A collaborative book signing

Stories and Stories: A Book Signing and An Art Exhibition

The East Baton Rouge Parish Pr*son Reform Coalition is pleased to partner with the Art Council of Greater Baton Rouge to host Stories and Stories: A Book Signing and An Art Exhibit showcasing a collaborative interaction between journalist and author Tom Aswell on the publication of his 10th book and sculptor Becky Gottsegen, who created the Exoneration Exhibition.

A powerful and thought-provoking showcase of Becky Gottsegen’s moving work, featuring photorealistic ceramic busts of exonerated individuals from the Louisiana Pr*son system. Through meticulous craftsmanship and deep storytelling, Gottsegen brings visibility to those who have endured wrongful incarceration, capturing their resilience and humanity in stunning detail. This exhibition serves as both an artistic achievement and a poignant reflection on justice, identity, and redemption. Baton Rouge artist Becky Parsons Gottsegen created the sculptures after being moved by the stories shared at an Innocence Project New Orleans (IPNO) gala. IPNO, a non-profit, has freed 46 innocent individuals in Louisiana since 2001. Gottsegen initially gifted the exonerees sculpted portraits, later creating replicas after realizing she could amplify their stories and highlight IPNO's crucial work through an art exhibit.

Author Tom Aswell's "101 Wrongful Convictions in Louisiana" examines how 101 persons got convicted of crimes they did not commit. The costs of these wrongful convictions are incalculable not only in terms of the hundreds of years in cumulative time spent behind bars unjustly and the shattered lives and families, but the astronomical financial cost, as well. The 101 wrongfully convicted individuals profiled in this book received more than $60 million in compensation for sloppy prosecutorial work, shoddy police investigations, mistaken eyewitness identification, uncaring judges and junk science that resulted in their convictions. And that doesn’t even count the cost of housing, feeding and caring for the prisoners, the salaries paid cops and prosecutors for inadequate investigative and prosecutorial work, or the cost of trials to put them away. Add to all that the fact that when the wrong person is convicted, that means the state has spent hundreds of millions of dollars for “justice” but the real perpetrator is still out there.

Innocence Project New Orleans (IPNO), a non-profit, has freed 46 innocent individuals in Louisiana since 2001. While based in New Orleans, IPNO works statewide. It is an independent organization but collaborates with the Innocence Project New York and a network of 70 similar organizations across the country. Innocence Project New Orleans (IPNO), a non-profit, has freed 46 innocent individuals in Louisiana since 2001. Innocence Project New Orleans has also freed 26 individuals in Louisiana from excessive sentences, including one recently released from a life sentence for a marijuana offense.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Pr*son Reform Coalition (EBRPPRC) advances solutions to end mass incarceration and uphold the basic human rights of all those impacted by East Baton Rouge Parish Pr*son through education, community support, advocacy and empowerment.

We are a Coalition borne from the pain of unnecessary deaths, violence, and failure to address the systemic and racist causes of mass incarceration. We do not support any continued conversation or planning around building bigger cages to dehumanize and unconstitutionally detain individuals due to poverty or mental health.

In our vision, all citizens of East Baton Rouge Parish live in safe, thriving communities where incarceration is rare, and every person has the opportunity and resources to succeed.

Host or Publisher East Baton Rouge Parish Prison Reform Coalition