photo by: John Young

A man who spent more than 15 years wrongfully imprisoned for a rape and murder he did not commit shared his story in the basement of a Lawrence church on Saturday, now on a mission to encourage action against the death penalty in Kansas.

Floyd Bledsoe, 39, was released from prison in December 2015 after a judge overturned his 2000 murder conviction. He said prior to addressing the crowd of about 75 at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 1234 Kentucky St., that the court system is flawed, and asked what if his case had been a death penalty case?

photo by: John Young

“Anytime you’re dealing with somebody’s life, once they’re executed, there’s no bringing them back. There’s no, ‘Hey, we’re gonna appeal this,'” Bledsoe said. “Once they’re dead, they’re dead.”

He said he wants people to understand he doesn’t want them to believe in change — he wants them to be the change, get personally involved and become a voice for those who can’t have one.

“I know what it’s like to be stuck and not have a way to communicate with the outside world,” he said, which is a big reason he’s taking the opportunity his situation has presented to speak out.

Bledsoe cited the Million Man March that thrust the civil rights movement of the 1960s forward.

“What if we get a million Kansans together saying, ‘Enough is enough; let’s stop the death penalty, because we’re unsure. One life is worth everything to us,'” he said.

He wants Kansas to be ahead of the curve on the death penalty issue.

“Why don’t we, instead of waiting until the end, like Kansas so notoriously does, why don’t we become a forerunner and say, ‘You know what? Enough is enough — let’s stop this now,” he said.