This man was wrongfully imprisoned for 41 years. He survived thanks to his art

When he was 16, Gary Tyler was falsely accused of murder. After a compromised trial, an all-white jury sentenced him to death by electric chair. Tyler spent 41 years in jail until he was freed after pressure from human rights advocates. While inside, he took up quilting during his work as a volunteer in the prison hospice. Today, Tyler wins art prizes and hosts his own solo art shows. He has a quilt hanging in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. He also exhibited at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2025.