On September 18th, 2003, at 7 p.m., the National Center for Reason and Justice held its first fund raiser event at the Chelsea Clearview Cinema in New York City.  There was a private screening of the acclaimed documentary Capturing the Friedmans followed by speakers, discussion and a reception.

The National Center for Reason and Justice is a non-profit organization that seeks to educate the public about the plight of those who have been falsely accused and wrongfully convicted of crimes. We are especially concerned about innocent people charged with assaults against children. The NCRJ is currently the fiscal sponsor of community groups striving to free the innocent.

A major case the NCRJ is assisting with is that of Bernard “Bee” Baran – the first daycare-center worker  convicted of mass child-sex abuse during the “ritualistic sex abuse” panic of the 1980s and early 1990s. Like dozens of other childcare workers, Bee was railroaded, and has been in prison since he was arrested in 1984 at the age of nineteen. His case is being appealed, but he needs more funding to move the legal work forward.

Your contribution to the NCRJ will greatly help this effort. It will also further our goal of providing direct financial and legal assistance to other wrongfully convicted people. 

Speakers at the fundraiser included renowned journalists Katha Pollitt and Debbie Nathan.  Jesse Friedman – the wrongfully convicted member of the Friedman family featured in Capturing the Friedmans — presented a reading from some of Bernard Baran's letters from prison.  Other speakers included Bernard Baran's mother and sister and Baran's lead attorney, John Swomley.

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