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In the tradition of the play, The Exonerated, comes Convict Race: Lucasville. However, unlike the
former death row prisoners in The Exonerated, the subjects of this play are still struggling against
injustice and are still sentenced to be executed. It was written with the cooperation of the men who
were sentenced to death for their alleged roles in the 1993 uprising that rocked the prison in
Lucasville, Ohio.
“Some of the most beautiful examples of American democracy are not found in and around the
White House, but in Lucasville. Convicts developed a system of democracy to fight for a
different world.” … Prof. Andrej Grubacic, Prof. of Sociology, University of San Francisco
Convict Race: Lucasville is a moving and powerful theatre presentation. An earlier version was
presented Off Broadway as part of the New York International Fringe Festival in 2008.
Backstage.com, New York City said, “Both dramatically and societally, Lucasville honors its
mission."
This newly revised version can now be produced by the general public and done as a dramatically
staged reading or as a full production - depending on your budget and time. Oversight and editing
help has been provided by the books author, Staughton Lynd, and augmented with the enormous
source material that has been gathered for over fourteen years by attorneys Alice and Staughton Lynd.
The play describes how the prisoners worked together, black and white, Muslims and members of the
Aryan Brotherhood, side by side, to demand better conditions, and it tells how the State of Ohio
engineered the convictions. The remarkable solidarity among these men continues to this day.
Playwrights Notes for Those Considering a Production
The script is protected by copyright and those considering its full use or excerpts for production
should contact the playwright, Gary Anderson at 406-925-0718 or darrowfoundation@yahoo.com for
written permission. Soundtrack and sound effects also available.
The production can be done with a minimum of 6 actors (Three Caucasian men, two African American
men and one Caucasian woman) performing multiple roles or as many actors as you wish. There are 27
speaking roles in the script. An easy-to-understand chart for multi-part casting is provided for your
production. For example: The woman plays – Tower voice, the Mother, Teresa Elway and the
Prosecutor. A man plays Lavelle, Tate, Namir and Law … etc …
In April 1993 prisoners took over a cellblock in the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. Nearly 3,000
law enforcement officers and National Guard troops surrounded the prison. Hundreds of news people
from the national media, papers, radio and TV stations in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton,
Toledo, and Akron flocked to the area.
The 11-day uprising ended with a negotiated settlement. Nine prisoners and a hostage correctional
officer had been murdered.
MURDERERS OR SCAPEGOATS?
The leaders were singled out as organizers of the uprising and who were the spokesman for the
prisoners. The State sought and attained convictions and death sentences for four men almost entirely
on the basis of snitch testimony. These convictions were handed down without any physical evidence
and despite compelling evidence of the defendants’ innocence.
Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States, says of the book by Staughton Lynd,
on which the play is based, “Lucasville is one of the most powerful indictments of our “justice
system” I have ever read. What comes across is a litany of flaws deep in the system, and
recognizably not unique to Lucasville.”
The story of these men is a textbook case for what is wrong with the death penalty. The ease with
which the state has been able to bring these men to the point of execution will make any viewer want
to rethink not only the justification for these convictions, but the legitimacy of the death penalty
itself!
“Lucasville… is a resounding affirmation of our common humanity.”
-- Michael Mello, author of The Wrong Man: A True Story of Innocence on Death Row
former death row prisoners in The Exonerated, the subjects of this play are still struggling against
injustice and are still sentenced to be executed. It was written with the cooperation of the men who
were sentenced to death for their alleged roles in the 1993 uprising that rocked the prison in
Lucasville, Ohio.
“Some of the most beautiful examples of American democracy are not found in and around the
White House, but in Lucasville. Convicts developed a system of democracy to fight for a
different world.” … Prof. Andrej Grubacic, Prof. of Sociology, University of San Francisco
Convict Race: Lucasville is a moving and powerful theatre presentation. An earlier version was
presented Off Broadway as part of the New York International Fringe Festival in 2008.
Backstage.com, New York City said, “Both dramatically and societally, Lucasville honors its
mission."
This newly revised version can now be produced by the general public and done as a dramatically
staged reading or as a full production - depending on your budget and time. Oversight and editing
help has been provided by the books author, Staughton Lynd, and augmented with the enormous
source material that has been gathered for over fourteen years by attorneys Alice and Staughton Lynd.
The play describes how the prisoners worked together, black and white, Muslims and members of the
Aryan Brotherhood, side by side, to demand better conditions, and it tells how the State of Ohio
engineered the convictions. The remarkable solidarity among these men continues to this day.
Playwrights Notes for Those Considering a Production
The script is protected by copyright and those considering its full use or excerpts for production
should contact the playwright, Gary Anderson at 406-925-0718 or darrowfoundation@yahoo.com for
written permission. Soundtrack and sound effects also available.
The production can be done with a minimum of 6 actors (Three Caucasian men, two African American
men and one Caucasian woman) performing multiple roles or as many actors as you wish. There are 27
speaking roles in the script. An easy-to-understand chart for multi-part casting is provided for your
production. For example: The woman plays – Tower voice, the Mother, Teresa Elway and the
Prosecutor. A man plays Lavelle, Tate, Namir and Law … etc …
In April 1993 prisoners took over a cellblock in the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. Nearly 3,000
law enforcement officers and National Guard troops surrounded the prison. Hundreds of news people
from the national media, papers, radio and TV stations in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton,
Toledo, and Akron flocked to the area.
The 11-day uprising ended with a negotiated settlement. Nine prisoners and a hostage correctional
officer had been murdered.
MURDERERS OR SCAPEGOATS?
The leaders were singled out as organizers of the uprising and who were the spokesman for the
prisoners. The State sought and attained convictions and death sentences for four men almost entirely
on the basis of snitch testimony. These convictions were handed down without any physical evidence
and despite compelling evidence of the defendants’ innocence.
Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States, says of the book by Staughton Lynd,
on which the play is based, “Lucasville is one of the most powerful indictments of our “justice
system” I have ever read. What comes across is a litany of flaws deep in the system, and
recognizably not unique to Lucasville.”
The story of these men is a textbook case for what is wrong with the death penalty. The ease with
which the state has been able to bring these men to the point of execution will make any viewer want
to rethink not only the justification for these convictions, but the legitimacy of the death penalty
itself!
“Lucasville… is a resounding affirmation of our common humanity.”
-- Michael Mello, author of The Wrong Man: A True Story of Innocence on Death Row
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| CONVICT rACE: LUCASVILLE |
| Clarence Darrow Foundation 406-925-0718 darrowfoundation@yahoo.com |
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