MORGANTOWN — As it does annually at the first city council meeting in December, the Morgantown Human Rights Commission presented a pair of awards Tuesday, recognizing the efforts of Delegate Danielle Walker, D-Monongalia, and the West Virginia Innocence Project.
The awards are in recognition of International Human Rights Day, which will mark its
71st anniversary Dec. 10.
Human Rights Commission Chairman Jacob Powers said the body always selects one individual and one group/organization for its leadership in pushing human rights to the forefront.
Walker explained that her elected title belongs to the people, as does the award.
“It may have my name on it, but it’s your truth. It’s your voices that you have shared with me privately and publicly. It’s your marches. It’s your vigils. It’s your hurt. It’s our accomplishments. But most importantly, it’s one love,” Walker said. “That’s what this award is about, human rights, decency for your neighbors, loving without boundaries and barriers.”
Marjorie McDiarmid and Melissa Giggenbach accepted the award on behalf of the West Virginia Innocence Project, which works through the WVU College of Law to represent those who’ve been wrongly convicted.
“We strive very hard not only to provide good representation for those who’ve been wrongly convicted, but we also strive very hard to educate people on the reasons why people are wrongly convicted,” Giggenbach said. “There is inequality in the way our criminal justice system is applied in West Virginia and the United States.”
Previous winners include Evan Hansen and PSALM (Proud Students Against Landmines) in 2016; Charlene Marshall and Community Coalition for Social Justice in 2017; and Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, and the Morgantown/Monongalia County League of Women Voters in 2018
