BAYLOR LARIAT — The first day of the 2022 Reconciliation Symposium began at 3:30 p.m. on Monday in Cashion 506 with a panel titled “The Plight of the American Criminal Justice System.” The symposium was sponsored by the Baylor Department of Journalism and the Baylor National Association of Black Journalists in conjunction with a number of other departments. Day one included the panel discussing historical issues of systemic racism and the criminal justice system and a keynote speaker discussion featuring one of three keynote speakers for the event, Anthony Graves. Graves is the 138th exonerated death row inmate in America; he was wrongfully convicted and spent 18 years incarcerated before being exonerated and released, and he is now a speaker and author advocating for criminal justice reform. The other keynote speakers included Mark Osler — a professor of law at the University of St. Thomas and an advocate for clemency and better sentencing — and Jeanne Bishop — a public defender who began advocating for criminal justice reform and mercy toward people convicted of crimes after the murder of her sister’s family.