New Opera Tells Powerful Stories Of Ohio Innocence Project Exonerees

The world premiere opera 'Blind Injustice' explores the true stories of six people who were tried, convicted, imprisoned, then ultimately freed by UC's Ohio Innocence Project.

As exonerations of the wrongfully convicted continue to mount in courts across the nation-last year, there were 159, according to the National Registry of Exonerations-so, too, are they captivating mass media audiences, with docuseries like Netflix's "The Innocent Man" and "When They See Us" to documentary films like "The Central Park Five" and "True Conviction."

But there hasn't been, at least not until now, an opera dedicated to communicating the shared trauma, suffering and injustices experienced by exonerees, or their sheer determination to move beyond their shackles, both physical and mental.

"Blind Injustice," which spotlights the remarkably true stories of just six of the 28 people freed by the work of the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP) at the University of Cincinnati, will be brought to life in the world premiere opera debuting July 22-27 at Cincinnati Music Hall's Wilks Studio.

The innovative production quickly sold out among Cincinnati Opera pass-holders before tickets opened to the general public, prompting an additional performance to be added July 17 at a community church. That performance, too, sold out a week before the event.

Godsey says the opera's popularity indicates the rising awareness of wrongful prosecutions across the nation.

"Public opinion has swung in recent years in favor of criminal justice reform," he said. "The public is now very aware of innocents in prison, and cares about this issue."

For more information on the opera and the exonerees featured, visit https://magazine.uc.edu/issues/0419/feature04.html