Join us for “Stomping Out Injustice,” to call attention to Billie Allen, an artist and innocent man on federal death row for a crime he did not commit. The event will include prominent voices like creator of #OscarsSoWhite April Reign, musician Seth Glier, actor Gbenga Akinnagbe, Dr. Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five, and many others, to discuss Mr. Allen’s case and the death penalty as a whole. The event will also serve as the launch of the Free Billie Allen art auction, an online art auction featuring Mr. Allen’s original artworks he has created from death row.

Allen is one of hundreds of people who have been wrongly convicted and sentenced to death across the country; he has served 24 years on federal death row while his community has fought for his freedom. Allen was convicted in 1997 of a robbery-murder in St. Louis, Missouri. Despite an alibi witness statement that placed him miles away at the time, and DNA and physical evidence indicating his innocence, Allen was sentenced to death. He has requested that the courts order additional testing of evidence from the crime scene to more conclusively rule out his role in the crime. During the Trump Administration’s final year in office, Allen watched as 13 people were executed, including his closest friends inside. These were the first federal executions to take place in 17 years. Allen and his friends and family feared that he, too, would be given an execution date.

Allen says, “I try to push those thoughts away and focus on my fight to prove my innocence. Yet multiple cases show that even those who are innocent can be victims of the system. And as much as I hope that won’t be my fate—and as hard as I work to reveal the evidence in my case—I can’t lie. The thought of being next does stay on my mind.” While fighting for his innocence, Billie uses art as an instrument to communicate, heal and resist. His artwork gives him a platform for his voice to be heard and to document his journey — and has become a way for him to breathe through the suffocating weight of the injustice he feels every day.

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Featuring:

Yvette Allen is the sister and advocate of Billie Allen, an innocent man on federal death row. Yvette has been relentless in her fight to prove Billie's innocence and has made Billie's fight for justice her own.

Billie Allen is a writer, poet and visual artist currently on federal death row fighting to prove his innocence after being wrongfully convicted through an unfair trial 24 years ago.

Cherrell Brown is a community organizer and social justice educator working to abolish the death penalty and the criminal legal system.

Jason Flom is a dedicated advocate in the fight against wrongful convictions. He is a board member of the Innocence Project and the host of the podcast Wrongful Conviction.

Halim Flowers is a social justice entrepreneur, writer, esteemed artist and speaker.

Enidsia Gill is the ex-fiancé of Dustin Higgs, an innocent man who was wrongfully executed on federal death row, becoming the 13th man to be executed under the Trump Administration’s cruel execution spree.

Ollie Gordon is a family member of Emmett Louis Till and his mother, Mamie Till Mobley. Ms. Ollie is the co-founder of Mamie Till Mobley Memorial Foundation established to honor her legacy and continue the foundation’s mantra of Remembering the Past and Educating the Future.

Eric Montroy is an attorney for the capital habeas unit at the Federal Community Defender Office in Philadelphia.

Shawn Nolan is an attorney and Chief of the capital habeas unit at the Federal Community Defender Office in Philadelphia.

April Reign is the host of Stomping Out Injustice and the creator of #OscarsSoWhite. April is a renowned media strategist and advocate for diversity and inclusion.

Kristina Roth Kristina Roth is the Senior Advocate for Criminal Justice Programs at Amnesty International USA. She oversees the organization’s work to abolish the death penalty and stop unlawful killings by police.

Yusef Salaam is a motivational speaker, esteemed author, entrepreneur, staunch criminal justice activist and member of the Exonerated 5. Dr. Salaam was only 15-years-old when he was wrongfully accused and convicted. He was incarcerated for almost seven years before being exonerated.

LaPrince Young is the brother and advocate of Mr. Ledell Lee, an innocent man who was wrongfully executed. When Lee was executed in 2017, Mr. Young and his family embarked on a journey to prove the innocence of their brother.

With performances by:

Seth Glier is an activist and Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is also a friend and advocate for the retrial and release of Billie Allen.

Gbenga Akinnagbe is an activist, actor, writer and entrepreneur. Mr. Akkingabe is known for his roles as Chris Partlow on the HBO series The Wire and as Larry Brown on the HBO series The Deuce.

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This event is supported by Haymarket Books, Soze Agency, the Highlander Research and Education Center, Sole Force, Sunrise Movement, Represent Justice, Mixed Change, Donkeysaddle Projects.

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The Free Billie Allen Campaign works to gather public support and influential voices in calling for a retrial for Mr. Allen, and in calling for the permanent abolition of the federal death penalty.