March 14, 2022
Meghan O'Toole
Humanities 2020 hosts local premiere of ‘Your Name is Juan Rivera’
91¿´Æ¬Íø and the Humanities 2020 Mellon Foundation Grant are proud to present the local premiere of Your Name is Juan Rivera on March 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Gorton Center in Lake Forest. Your Name is Juan Rivera is a documentary about the life of Juan Rivera, who was wrongly imprisoned in the Illinois Department of Corrections for 20 years.
The premiere consists of a special followed by a discussion with Dan Asma of Buddha Jones, the documentary film maker, Dave Asma, supervisor of the Investigations Division of the Lake County Public Defender's office, and Juan Rivera. The event is free and open to the public.
The Humanities 2020 Mellon Foundation Grant, sponsoring this event, works to engage racism in Chicagoland through three streams: the built environment, storytelling, and mass incarceration and displacement. Your Name is Juan Rivera confronts the realities of mass incarceration through the story of a high-profile murder case in Lake County and the man who spent 20 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
Lecturer in politics Stephanie Caparelli explained the significance of this case: “When I teach about Juan’s case, we discuss the widely held notion that no one would ever confess to a crime they didn’t commit. Juan’s case is just one example of how dangerously incorrect that notion is—and it’s important for anyone who might someday sit on a jury to understand how and why this could happen in America.”
After years of appeals and work with Northwestern’s Center for Wrongful Convictions, Rivera was exonerated with DNA evidence. Rivera won a civil suit for his wrongful conviction, and he used the money from his settlement to open (LBC). LBC’s mission is to empower individuals by creating opportunities for financial independence, personal growth, and life alternatives through the art and community of barbering. The school trains at-risk youth and formerly incarcerated individuals skills that can lead to small business ownership and a career. Rivera is active in finding funders to support students’ tuition and legacy programming.
“Juan was found guilty by three Lake County juries and lost twenty years of his life to the department of corrections, yet when he was eventually exonerated, he had the grace to want to do something positive with his life,” Caparelli said. “He cares deeply about making change in the justice system and in his community. I am grateful to Dave Asma, Dan Asma, and especially Juan for the opportunity to have this important story told in our community.”
In addition to his work at LBC, Rivera advocates for incarcerated juveniles, fellow exonerees, and reforming ex-incarcerates with speaking engagements in high schools, law schools, podcasts, and innocence conventions.
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