Students interested in careers related to the justice and legal systems were able to participate in the first-ever Tru Crime Day on campus in March.

Sponsored by Interdisciplinary Studies and Criminal Justice Studies, Tru Crime Day offered engaging panels, workshops, discussions and activities that allowed attendees to discover the science behind investigations, explore real-life cases and examine the social, legal and psychological dimensions of crime. Events included a mock crime scene, prison-themed escape rooms, virtual autopsies in the Virtual Anatomy Lab and a workshop on true crime podcasting, among others.

Tru Crime Day was open to all current and prospective students, as well as members of the Kirksville community. Participants were also invited to stay on campus for a presentation by Anthony Ray Hinton. Wrongfully convicted of murder in 1985, Hinton spent nearly 30 years on death row in Alabama. Bryan Stevenson at the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit based in Montgomery, Alabama, picked up his case, handling his defense for 16 years. Since Hinton’s conviction was overturned by the United States Supreme Court in 2015, he has become a sought-after speaker and author of the bestselling book “The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row.”