Toronto Fringe Festival 2025
Justice For Maurice Henry Carter
Arbez Drama Projects
Genre: Theatre
Venue: Soulpepper Theatre's Michael Young Theatre
Festival: Toronto Fringe Festival
Low Down
“Justice for Maurice Henry Carter” by Donald Molnar & Alicia Payne is the dramatization of the true story of struggle and friendship between two unlikely individuals – one wrongly convicted and one fighting for his release.
Review
This story should enrage you. It is a tale of friendship, faith, equity, activism, and miscarriage of justice. It is discrimination at its worst but, sadly, not surprising. And it is the true story of an unlikely bonding between two disparate people – one Black and one White – who both want justice.
“Justice for Maurice Henry Carter” by Donald Molnar & Alicia Payne is the dramatization of struggle and friendship: Maurice Henry Carter, a Black man who was wrongfully convicted and served 29 years in prison for shooting a Benton Harbor, Michigan, police officer, and Doug Tjapkes, a White man who worked for ten years to free him. The play is being mounted as part of the Next Stage program at the Toronto Fringe.
On December 20, 1973, at approximately 1:30 p.m., off-duty police officer Thomas Schadler and his wife, Ruth, entered the Benton Harbor Wig and Record Shop for holiday shopping. The only other people in the store were the clerk, Gwen Gill, and an unidentified Black man. Within minutes and without warning, the Black man pulled out a small .22 caliber handgun and shot Officer Schadler in the head and neck five to six times from behind. The gunman then walked out of the store and headed east on Main Street. Officer Schadler got up, followed the man out of the store, and fired his .38 caliber gun at the fleeing man.
Maurice Carter was an unemployed bus driver from Gary, Indiana, who was in Benton Harbor to find work. He was nowhere near the scene of the crime. For more than two years, police made no arrest for the shooting. People called in tips suggesting that Carter was the perpetrator, but Carter was never identified by a witness. However, the police were under pressure to arrest someone for the crime.
Wilbur Gillespie was the foil. He was arrested in 1975 for selling heroin, not his first arrest. Facing a life sentence, he took a deal from the police to implicate Carter in exchange for dropping the heroin charges. Gillespie eventually went to jail for perjury. The rest of the case against Carter relied on five people who were in the vicinity of the crime but did not actually see the shooting. There was police coercion throughout. In court the supposed witnesses gave very different versions of the crime. One of them was so far away from the store that the perpetrator’s head would have been the size of a pencil eraser in her vision. There was no physical evidence, such as DNA, fingerprints or gun residue from Carter. In fact, the one witness who could corroborate Carter’s story was prohibited from testifying at the trial. According to lawyers with the Innocence Project, “the errors in this case were serious and pervasive. The jury never heard the real case, the case that powerfully establishes innocence.”
And yet, the jury returned a guilty verdict.
Doug Tjapkes, nicknamed “the Douger”, was a newsman who owned a radio station and sang in church choirs. In 1996, after visiting Carter and hearing about the trial, he became convinced of Carter’s innocence. Tjapkes founded Humanity For Prisoners to respond with empathy when people in prison have nowhere else to turn, providing personalized advocacy and support. He gathered advocates from many countries to work on this case.
“The Douger” and Carter became best friends and considered each other brothers. For ten years Tjapkes reached out to American and Canadian groups and lawyers who work to free the wrongly convicted to arrange a new trial. Carter’s original trial lawyer had been completely ineffective and incompetent. Tjapkes petitioned for a second trial. The lawyer missed the filing deadline, so the petition was denied. Tjapkes tried to get him disbarred. Carter wrote letters to anyone who would listen. Even Larry King on CNN television gave him a lie detector test, which Carter fully passed. Churches donated money for Carter’s cause. Even a Canadian biker gang showed up at a media day along with a prayer team to support Carter.
Carter was denied proper health care in prison. Medical staff knew that Carter was suffering from Hepatitis C and needed a new liver, but never told Carter, as they refused to help save the life of someone they labeled as guilty. As he weakened, Carter was transferred to the prison hospital, where he was chained to the bed and kept in a freezing cold room in the winter in Michigan.
With Carter suffering from hepatitis C and cirrhosis of the liver, and having exhausted all petitions, Tjapkes bought a billboard in front of the Governor’s office, insisting that he release Carter. Under pressure, the Governor of Michigan commuted Carter’s sentence, although the state made Carter wait 28 additional days before he could leave the jail. Many people greeted Carter at his release, including Rubin “Hurricane” Carter from Canada, who worked on the case. Carter enjoyed his last days in a motor home, which he considered a palace. He reunited with his 90-year-old mother. He forgave the man who sent him to jail, not wanting to carry anger in his heart. He lived his final days with joy, but freedom came too late for Carter. He died three months later after being wrongfully imprisoned for 29 years.
The production at the Next Stage at the Young Centre is compelling. The ensemble work is well-coordinated and highly effective. The cast is strong throughout. R.H. Thompson (Manitoba Theatre Centre, Canadian Stage, Stratford Festival) is perfect as Doug, who was hesitant to take on another case but became determined to reverse the miscarriage of justice. Thompson’s demeanor and stage presence show a range of emotions, from the overburdened practical radio host to the passionate fighter. Walter Borden (Neptune Theatre, Stratford Festival) as Carter is superb. Borden ranges from the initial strong man to the withering sick man at the end. He is upbeat, he is furious, and he is gentle, always compelling, always eloquent. He has mastered the speech patterns of Carter, delivered with a smooth-as-butter deep voice. We feel for him, we are angry for him, and we are hopeful for him.
Cast members Johevah Cobby, Ryan Downey, Alexandra Garrison, Andy Marshall, and Alicia Payne handily manage a variety of roles, from church goers to police to protestors. They sing individually or together, all of them strong vocalists. They function as a choir woven throughout the play, punctuating the action with hymns, songs, and traditional spirituals, heightening the drama with their wide-ranging, strong vocals.
The staging is sparse, simply a bench in the middle with the choir members on either side. The lighting enhances the story, from a single spotlight on one of the leads to a fully lit stage when there is ensemble work. Director Donald Molnar uses the lighting and stage movement very effectively to set the various scenes in a scant 75 minutes.
This story attracted a lot of media attention. Canada created The Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission to address wrongful convictions. Carter’s story became a graphic novel, Sweet Freedom, and a film, Wronged—The Maurice Carter Story. This play began development in 2008 and is part of the Next Stage program at Toronto Fringe, running until July 13.
The play reminds you that people can make a difference. Telling the story now is very important. It speaks to the power of community. Experiencing this production will leave you thinking about how one individual can effect change. It is a must-see, delivered by a brilliant, high-powered cast.
