“WHEN TRUTH IS ALL YOU HAVE” is a riveting story of devotion, sacrifice, and vindication from the founder of America’s first organization committed to freeing the wrongly imprisoned. Jim McCloskey will be in conversation with Rabbi Brian Glusman, Director of Outreach and Engagement, at the Marcus JCC of Atlanta, on Thursday, November 12 at 6 pm as part of the Boulder JCC’s LitFest (boulderjcc.org/litfest).

Jim McCloskey was at a midlife crossroads when he met the man who would transform his life. A Bronze Star Medal-awarded U.S. Navy veteran (Vietnam, 1966-1967) turned management consultant, McCloskey had grown disenchanted with the business world and had hit a personal rock bottom. So in 1979, at the age of 37, he enrolled at Princeton Theological Seminary.

His first assignment was as a chaplain at Trenton State Prison, where he ministered to some of the most violent offenders in New Jersey. Among them was Jorge de los Santos, a heroin addict who’d been convicted of murder years earlier but swore his innocence. With no legal or investigative training to speak of—just an unshakeable belief in the man’s innocence—McCloskey threw himself into the case. Two years later, he successfully effected his exoneration.

McCloskey had found his calling. In 1983, he established Centurion Ministries, the first group in America devoted to overturning wrongful convictions. Together with a team of forensic experts, lawyers, and volunteers, Centurion has freed 63 prisoners (and counting), men and women who had been sentenced to life in prison or to death for the crimes of others.

Presented in partnership with the National JCC Literary Consortium, the Boulder JCC LitFest is a combination of local, national, and international authors,appearing in your living room through Zoom. We encourage you to support our local Boulder Bookstore with the purchase of these books. LitFest is generously supported by our Visionary Sponsor Design Studio & Front Range Design Center.