Ndume Olatushani spent 28 years in a Tennessee prison - 20 years on death row - for a crime that he did not commit: the 1983 murder of Joe Belenchia. Twenty years of legal battles uncovered that evidence against him had been fabricated, and that significant evidence of his innocence had been suppressed at trial. In 2012 he accepted an Alford Plea – officially maintaining his innocence whilst pleading guilty to second degree murder - in order to avoid years more legal battles sat behind bars. On the record, he remains a felon, with no right to compensation or even so much as an apology. Meanwhile, Joe Belenchia’s murderer has never faced justice. For World Day Against the Death Penalty, Oskar Butcher spoke with Ndume about the American justice system, innocence, and finding art on death row.
The above description of Ndume's wrongful conviction and death row sentence is taken from an article written by Amnesty International UK in 2019. The full article can be found here: Ndume Olatushani: 20 years on death row for a crime he didn't commit
Learn more about Ndume's story in his own words by clicking on the first link below. The second link provides a sampling of Ndume's beautiful art, as he developed his artistic talents during his incarceration.
My Death Window by Ndume Olatunshani
Ndume Olatushani- Windows on Death Row
The video found at the link below further profiles his ongoing life as an artist, while enjoying his family life in Denver, Colorado over the years since his release in 2012.
Ndume Olatushani Spent 28 Years on Death Row, Now Enjoys Freedom, Family, & Art
On April 26, 2023, I met with Ndume Olatunshani at his home in Denver, Colorado to interview him about the story of his wrongful incarceration on death row in Tennessee. During the interview, particular attention was paid to Ndume's reflections of the trauma he experienced when several people he had come to know while on death row were executed by the state of Tennessee.