A solo play recounting Nick Yarris’s decades on death row and his fight for exoneration.
The play traces the true story of Nick Yarris, who spent more than twenty years on death row after being convicted of a murder he maintained he did not commit. Structured around a series of prison visits with a volunteer named Jackie, the narrative follows conversations that move between past actions, present confinement, and the psychological terrain of waiting for execution. As their exchanges deepen, questions of agency, responsibility, and belief come into sharper focus, revealing the fragile boundary between autonomy and survival within the justice system.
The work centers on Nick Yarris, the first person sentenced to death in Pennsylvania to be exonerated through DNA evidence. The production is presented in partnership with the Innocence Project, whose Executive Director, Christina Swarns, served as one of Yarris’s attorneys. Founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld, the Innocence Project uses DNA testing and investigative work to address wrongful convictions and advance systemic legal reform.
