I don't know how many of you are aware of this, but one of our professors here at Huntington, Dr. Jack Geller has a petition on change.org which currently has over 110,000 signatures on it. The petition is a noble on to be sure. It's better explained in the actual page which I linked below, but just to keep things brief: A man was convicted it 1997 for a crime he didn't commit and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. In 2006, DNA exonerated Keith Cooper and he was given an option of staying in prison during another trial process or get out of prison then but still have a felony on his record. Since his family was living in a homeless shelter, he choose to get out then. even though he was innocent, he can't get a steady paying job because of the felony on his record. I'm not sure how Dr. Geller met this man, but he has mentioned in class that he spends some time teaching Shakespeare literature to inmates so that would be a likely assumption. The petition asks Indiana Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence to issue a pardon to him. Recently, the story has gotten more attention nationally including a story from the Washington Post and a video segment done on it by the news channel The Young Turks. Many internet petitions like this have become viral in the last few years, mostly involving in social cases like the Brock Turner trial. These petitions make it a lot easier for people of government to see issues truly affecting people. And even a professor from a small university can make a huge difference in fighting for one mans justice.
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