I went to see
"The Exonerated" at the Riverside Studios tonight. It's the real life accounts of people in America who have been on death row, only to have their convictions overturned eventually. It's very moving and brilliantly acted and there were only a couple of moments that I found a bit cloying and unnecessary, but it's well worth going to see. It will make you think and probably make you cry, but the dignity of the people who have spent most of their lives behind bars, waiting to be executed, for crimes they didn't commit is extraordinary and impressive. It's hard to imagine how one would cope with such a tragedy and all its consequences. I don't think I'd be dignified.
It's also upsetting that it's so easy for all humans to fall into the no smoke without fire school of thought. In the early part of the show there was still a section of my brain thinking, "Yeah, but the thing is, you might have actually done the crime you're accused of," but by the end, when the pretty conclusive evidence comes in I was left feeling ashamed of myself. And even though the evidence turned up, in many cases the people still stayed on death row for another decade. And how many innocent people on death row have not been rescued at the last minute by new DNA evidence turning up. If it doesn't make you conclude that executing people is wrong then you my friend are an idiot.
Still if you are an idiot and you go with a friend you can make them laugh (as long as they have a sense of humour) by turning to them at the end and whispering, "Yeah, I still think they did it though." I tried this and luckily my friend has a sense of humour and laughed. Other people might not laugh and might not talk to you ever again.
After the show I had my first pint of lager of the year. Gosh it was nice. Just trying to bulk up for my role. I am the new Robert De Niro.
