Bill Maher Exonerated

The Exonerated becomes a
 subject for Maher's comedy.

by Catherine Giordano

Susan Mellon was convicted of murder in the death of a homeless man and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. She was innocent. After serving 17 years in prison, she was exonerated and released.

 

The group Innocence Matters, which works to get innocent people exonerated, investigated Mellen's case and was able to prove that she was innocent. 

CLICK HERE

False convictions happen all too often. If you have the opportunity, see the play or the movie The Exonerated. It is about six innocent people who were on death row and who fortunately were exonerated before they were executed. It is a powerful play. It is based on true stories of people saved due to the investigations of The Innocence Project. 

Bill Maher is in the comedy business so he used Susan Mellon’s case for a comedy skit on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, episode 332, aired on October 17, 2014. 

When Mellon was released she remarked about how everything had changed so much.

So Maher’s mid-show comedy segment was about helping the exonerated catch-up with the changes in society that occurred while they were away. He suggested a pamphlet, “So You Have Been Exonerated.” 

Here are some of the items he included.

Your old video store now sells pot.

Before you eat something, it is considered socially unacceptable not to take a picture of it first.

If someone says you have a gigantic ass, it is now a compliment.

TV sets are bigger, and so are Americans. (He shows a picture of a fat person.

But, Donald Trump is still a jackass.

Here is a video clip of  the segment.

 

 
Read my recap and review of the entire show: "Going Viral"
 

Bill’s Maher’s Guests October 17, 2014

 

Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D, NY), author of Off the Sidelines: Raise Your Voice, Change the World

David Frum: Senior editor at The Atlantic, political commentator, former George W. Bush speechwriter, and author of several books, the most recent being a novel, Patriots

Representative Barbara Lee: (D, CA), Renegade for Peace and Justice: Congresswoman Barbara Lee Speaks for Me

David Millband,:Chairman and CEO, International Rescue Committee

Joel Stein: Journalist, humorist, and author of Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity