Juan Melendez, who spent more than 17 years on death row in Florida before being exonerated of a capital murder charge, will speak at 2:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 3 at the Elon University School of Law in downtown Greensboro.
Melendez will speak in room 207 of the H. Michael Weaver Building, located at the corner of Greene Street and Friendly Avenue. Admission is free and open to the public.
In 1984, a Florida court convicted Melendez of murder and sentenced him to death for the 1983 killing of Delbert Baker. No physical evidence was presented at the original trial. Two witnesses whose credibility was later challenged testified against Melendez. In December 2001, a Florida Circuit Court overturned his conviction after it found prosecutors had withheld critical evidence that undermined the guilty verdict.
“Without knowledge of and access to the suppressed evidence, the defendant did not receive a fair trial,” the Judge Barbara Fleischer wrote in the opinion that overturned the conviction.
Melendez was released from death row in January 2002 after his conviction was reversed and the state dropped the charges. The Elon University School of Law opened in downtown Greensboro, N.C., in August 2006 with a charter class of 115 students. The school is creating a national model of engaged learning in legal education with an innovative academic program, distinguished faculty and a signature program in leadership education. The North Carolina Business Court is located at the law school, giving students the opportunity to observe a working court. Students also benefit from mentoring relationships with preceptors – practicing attorneys and judges who provide personal evaluations and performance reviews.
For more information about this event or the School of Law, contact Margaret Robison Kantlehner at (336) 279-9205 or at mkantlehner@elon.edu.