Friday, March 21
Press Conference: 5:30 pm
Concert: 6:00 pm
The Basile Theatre at the Athenaeum
401 E. Michigan St.
TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW!
After spending 25 years incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit, Leon Benson was liberated from prison on March 9, 2023. Two years after his exoneration, he’s returning to Indianapolis for a concert, celebration, and commitment to freeing our people still locked behind cages.
This special event starts with a press conference where Benson will, for the first time, speak publicly about the lawsuit he and the victim’s sister, Kolleen Bunch, filed against the IMPD officers who framed Benson for killing Kasey Schoen in 1998. These cops forced Benson to spend 25 years—10 of them in isolation—imprisoned by the state of Indiana while letting Kasey Shoen’s killer go free.
After the press conference (which is open to those who purchase VIP 2 tickets and invited press), the Common Unity 2 concert kicks off.
Together with the legendary DJ DonDon, EL BENTLY 448 (Leon Benson) will blend his musical, lyrical, and comedic talents with the stylings of King V., Mr. Ward317, Quano To Ready, and Foosie.
Common Unity 2 is about more than Leon Benson the individual; it’s about all of the Leon Benson’s we still need to free—people like Shaka A. Shakur, Kevin Payton, Phillip Stroud, Demetrius Burks, Raylon Young, Obadyah Ben-Yisrayl and, among many others, Vernon T. Bateman. Just outside the Basile Theatre, you can visit Bateman’s art exhibit, “If Bullets could Cry: Ammunition for Healing,” at the Christel DeHaan ArtSpace.