In this harrowing but moving talk, Jeffrey Deskovic describes his own wrongful conviction as a teenager and the horrible impact miscarriages of justice like this have on our society. Ultimately, Jeffrey urges us to join him in fighting for justice system reform and for the wrongfully convicted.

Jeffrey Deskovic, M.A., served 16 years in prison prior to being exonerated by DNA nine years ago. Jeff has a masters degree from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which included a thesis on the causes of wrongful conviction and the reforms needed to address these cracks in the system. He has delivered more than 100 presentations across the country; authored more than 200 articles; lobbied elected officials as well as testified in several legislative hearings where wrongful conviction prevention measures were considered; given hundreds of print, radio, and television interviews. Jeff committed $1.5 million dollars from the compensation he received to launch The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice, a 501 C which fights wrongful convictions by raising awareness, seeking changes in the law, freeing wrongfully convicted, and helping exonerees reintegrate.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx