This event revolves around a better vision for justice than our current system of capital punishment and mass incarceration. Shane will frame this event theologically and socially, and it will feature a panel of respondents who have been directly impacted by the death penalty and the criminal justice system (including a wrongfully-convicted death row exoneree, a murder victim family member, and another national leader or activist). Also on display at this event will be the Stations of the Cross (images documenting the crucifixion of Jesus), painted by men condemned to die on Tennessee’s death row.

Shane Claiborne is a prominent speaker, activist, and best-selling author. Shane worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta and founded The Simple Way in Philadelphia. He heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks who are committed to living “as if Jesus meant the things he said.” Shane is a champion for grace which has led him to jail advocating for the homeless, and to places like Iraq and Afghanistan to stand against war. Now grace fuels his passion to end the death penalty and help stop gun violence.

Shane’s books include Jesus for President, Red Letter Revolution, Common Prayer, Follow Me to Freedom, Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers, Executing Grace, his classic The Irresistible Revolution, Beating Guns, and his newest book, Rethinking Life. He has been featured in a number of films including “Another World Is Possible” and “Ordinary Radicals.” His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. His work has appeared in Esquire, SPIN, Christianity Today, TIME, and The Wall Street Journal, and he has been on everything from Fox News and Al Jazeera to CNN and NPR. He’s given academic lectures at Harvard, Princeton, Liberty, Duke, and Notre Dame. In 2023, Shane received the prestigious The King Center’s Beloved Community Award for Social Justice from Dr. Bernice King (daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King).

https://www.sec.upenn.edu/equity-in-action-scholars-program