One of the main objectives of the Voice of Witness series is to provide teachers with a way to introduce their students to contemporary human-rights issues. We're taking steps towards making that goal a reality, and a small group of excited teachers has volunteered to help us test the books in their classrooms. Among those teachers is Kate Livson.

Kate teaches a course in forensic biology to juniors and seniors at San Leandro High School—located near Oakland, California. The students are currently reading Surviving Justice to learn more about how forensic science applies in the real world and how "bad science" can lead to wrongful conviction.

On Thursday, January 11, David Pope, one of the thirteen narrators of Surviving Justice gave a presentation at San Leandro High School, along with VoW series editor Lola Vollen. David spoke about how he spent fifteen years in the Texas prison system for a rape he didn’t commit. He was convicted with now-discredited “voice spectrograph” technology that compared his voice to recorded conversations with the actual rapist. Although DNA tests proved his innocence in the late 1990s, David stayed in prison for years, unaware that he’d been cleared. He was finally released in 2001, after Texas Governor Rick Perry signed his pardon.

Lola explained that the “science” behind many convictions is faulty, or “junk science.” Bite marks, tire marks, fibers found at the crime scene, and voice spectrograph comparison are methods used by prosecutors to gain convictions and yet few people know that these are not legitimate forms of evidence. Lola told the students that they are all prospective jurors and this knowledge could one day save an innocent individual from wrongful punishment. Conversely, just as David never thought he would end up in prison, so too could the students one day find themselves wrongly accused.

The lecture was a tale of frustrating injustice, and the students rapt attention emphasized the gravity of David’s story. David expressed tremendous insight into the nature of human relations inside and outside of prison. During the question and answer session, students were eager to know about the psychological aftermath of wrongful imprisonment, and whether David harbored any anger or planned on filing a lawsuit. David replied that instead of getting wrapped up in what would certainly be years in court, he has chosen to direct his energies toward getting a college education as well as sharing with others the knowledge that he did not have for his own defense.

Click here to read feedback from some of the students who participated in this event.

Below are some photos from David's visit. If you are a teacher interested in how you can use Voice of Witness in your classroom, please feel free to email us.

	David Pope speaking to Kate Livson's Forensic Biology class at San Leandro High School in Northern California. Next to him is VoW series editor Lola Vollen.
	David Pope and Lola Vollen.
	David with members of the forensic biology class.
	David and Jaymesha Brown, a student in Kate Livson's class.
	Lola Vollen and Kate Livson in Kate's biology classroom at San Leandro High School.