Robert Perske

Robert Perske (1927 – August 14, 2016)^[1] was an American author, theologian, and disability rights activist.

He advocated in particular for intellectually disabled people wrongly convicted for crimes they did not commit.^[2] He formulated the dignity of risk concept.^[3] As an ordained Methodist minister some of his writing was influential in changing the way people with intellectual disabilities are treated in religious communities.^[4] His most widely known work, Deadly Innocence?, follows the story of Joe Arridy, known as the Happiest Man on Death Row.

References

^ "In Memoriam: Robert "Bob" Perske". Open Doors Inc. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
^ Perske, Robert (February 2005). "Search for Persons With Intellectual Disabilities Who Confessed to Serious Crimes They Did Not Commit". Mental Retardation. 43 (1): 58–65. doi:10.1352/0047-6765(2005)43<58:SFPWID>2.0.CO;2. PMID 15628935.
^ "Robert Perske, "The Dignity of Risk and the Mentally Retarded," 1972 | The Autism History Project". blogs.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
^ Gaventa, William C. (June 2003). "Introduction: The Pastoral Voice of Robert Perske". Journal of Religion, Disability & Health. 7 (1–2): 1–11. doi:10.1300/J095v07n01_01. S2CID 216088629.