Jumping into the pit of controversy and taking a bold risk, the Walter Johnson S*T*A*G*E program made history by being one of the first high schools to present the play, The Exonerated.

Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, two New York actors, decided to write a profound and intense play that tells the true life stories of six wrongly accused prisoners placed on death row for serious crimes. After being vindicated they describe the harsh realities of the judicial system, the prison world, and how they overcame them. Through religion, faith, hope, and pure persistence, they were able to survive the years taken away from their lives that they would never get back because of mistakes made by those who were supposed to protect them.

WJ parent Greg Smith said, "I thought it was incredibly courageous of [Director Colleen McAdory] to tackle something like this which deals with some difficult issues and subjects that are unresolved. And it also takes a lot of courage and maturity on the parts of the students for them to summon sort of an inner courage of their own."

The actors showed remarkable composure and eloquence in conveying the voices and passions of those who want to be heard. The anguished feelings of the persecuted were palpable throughout the auditorium in powerful dialect of the actors and actresses and short bursts of painful memories. It was just the audience, the speaker, and their voices.

Senior Alex Bonnel said, “I thought it was actually fantastic and it was really impressive. I definitely didn't expect it to turn out to be like this. It was a lot better than I expected for sure. The actors were great and it was really well put.”

In WJ theater history, few plays have had minorities as lead roles. The Exonerated was an exception. Three out of the six main roles were suited particularly for minorities, specifically African Americans. The play was an attempt to include diversity and also promote this year's theme of tolerance.

With the strong message from the play, there were some concerns, about offensive language towards racial groups. The language was kept, however, to emphasize the reality of the situation.

McAdory said, "We thought about the use of the N-word and we were uncomfortable. I think I was a little concerned but so far people have been very mature and they really do understand that it needs to be said in order to get the whole racist idea out: that people are racist and that's why a lot of times we are heavier in the minority population in jails then we are the majority."

After seeing the play the audience will be left with a new found sense of freedom and a new outlook on the judicial system.

“I hope that people see it as a different way of looking at an issue that a lot of people are very dead set, either for or against the death penalty and I think this sort of opened eyes. I know it opened our eyes in terms of innocence and the corrupt justice system and how the poor are sitting on death row,” said McAdory.