Photo: @garytylerstudios/Instagram
A Black man who spent more than four decades in prison after being sentenced to death at 17 has received a solo museum exhibition showcasing his quilts.
According to NPR, Gary Tyler’s artwork is featured in Gary Tyler: Rebirth at the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Michigan. The exhibition is the first museum show dedicated to quilts by the Los Angeles-based fiber artist and activist, according to the museum.
In 1974, Tyler was 16 when a white mob attacked a school bus carrying Black students during protests against school desegregation in Louisiana.
A gunshot killed 13-year-old Timothy Weber, and Tyler was charged with his murder.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), an all-white jury convicted Tyler of first-degree murder, and he was sentenced to death at 17.
Tyler maintained his innocence for decades. Death Penalty Focus American Civil Liberties Union his release came after legal challenges to mandatory life sentences for people convicted as juveniles.
In 2016, prosecutors agreed to vacate his murder conviction in exchange for a guilty plea to manslaughter. He received a 21-year sentence, but was released because he had already served 41 years.
While incarcerated at Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as Angola, Tyler learned to quilt while helping raise money for the prison hospice program. His quilted and appliquéd works explore his experiences in prison and the lives of people who remain incarcerated.
The exhibition opened October 3 and runs through January 3, 2027.
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