September 4, 2025
A new true-crime stage play shares the harrowing stories of wrongfully convicted men.
Six wrongfully convicted men are reclaiming their narratives by sharing their experiences in a new stage play they helped create.
Alfred Cleveland and Lamont Clark are two of six men sharing their stories in The Lynched Among Us, a new true-crime stage play premiering at Playhouse Square on Sept. 5.
“We called our play ‘The Lynched Among Us’ because it was like a modern-day lynching,” Clark told News 5 Cleveland. “People will make an allegation. They will mob up, go get the person and do what they have to do them.”
Clark served 23 years in prison and Cleveland, 26 years, both for wrongful convictions. In the true-crime stage play, they will share their harrowing journeys, revealing the blood, sweat, and tears it took to survive and challenge a broken system.
”This is the struggle. This is the dark times and the emergence from that,” Cleveland said.
Charles Jackson, owner of SweetRoz Ice Cream Parlor in Euclid and wrongfully imprisoned for 27 years, says sharing their story is worth the pain if it can educate and protect others. Acknowledging the difficulty of confronting such trauma, Jackson encourages parents to bring their children to see the play.
”Somebody needs to bring their kids to watch our play and all our stories; they’re going to resonate with somebody, and somebody is going to get something out of it,” Jackson said.
Jackson, Laurese Glover, RuEl Sailor, and Michael Sutton have all been exonerated after serving 15 to 27 years for wrongful convictions. Meanwhile, Cleveland and Clark continue to fight their wrongful convictions, even after spending over 20 years imprisoned for crimes they say they did not commit.
Jerome Chambers, who also endured a wrongful conviction, co-directed and stars in the play, hoping it will inspire and educate audiences.
“This is healing, this is brotherhood, this is the images of strong Black men that need to be seen in the media,” Chambers said.
Besides the Sept. 5 performance at Playhouse Square, The Lynched Among Us will also show on Sept. 26 in Cincinnati at the School of Creative and Performing Arts.
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