Living Justice Love, Freedom, and the Making of The Exonerated

A love story. An artistic journey. A matter of life and death...In 2000, Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen embarked on a tour across America -- one that would give them a glimpse of the darker side of the justice system and, at the same time, reveal to them just how resilient the human spirit can be. They were a pair of young actors from New York who wanted to learn more about our country's exonerated -- men and women who had been sentenced to die for crimes they didn't commit, who spent anywhere from two to twenty-two years on death row, and who were freed amidst overwhelming evidence of their innocence. The result of their journey wasThe Exonerated, New York Timesnumber one play of 2002, which was embraced by such acting luminaries as Ossie Davis, Richard Dreyfuss, Danny Glover, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, and Robin Williams.Living Justiceis Jessica and Erik's fascinating, behind-the-scenes account of the creation of their play. A tale of artistic expression and political awakening, innocence lost and wisdom won, this is above all a story about two people who fall in love while pursuing their passion and learn -- through the stories of the exonerated -- what freedom truly means.

Jessica Blank is an actor and writer whose television credits include Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Rescue Me, and One Life to Live; film credits include The Namesake (directed by Mira Nair) and The Exonerated (for Court TV). Her first novel, Home, is forthcoming in 2007. Erik Jensen has costarred in more than a dozen feature films, including The Love Letter and Black Knight, and such television shows as Love Monkey, Alias, CSI, and Law & Order; recent stage credits include Y2K and Corpus Christi. They live in Brooklyn.