FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Sacred Heart University’s School of Communication, Media & the Arts will be featured in Stolen Lives, a new documentary about an exonerated couple who dedicated their lives to rehabilitation. The film, produced in partnership with Bang Bang Teo Productions, is set to premiere in September.
Award-winning director Mark McLoughlin filmed the project over several years. The story follows Sunny Jacobs of the United States and Peter Pringle of Ireland, both of whom were sentenced to death and later exonerated. The two met at an anti-death penalty event in Galway, married in 2011, and went on to create the Sunny Centers, the world’s only residential support centers for exonerees.
According to Sacred Heart University, the film highlights the life-changing rehabilitation offered by the Sunny Center. The nonprofit provides exonerees with housing, job opportunities and guidance for reentry into society.
Jacobs and her partner Jesse were sentenced to death after being falsely implicated in the killings of two police officers. Jacobs spent 16 years on death row before her exoneration in 1992. Jesse was executed.
Pringle was sentenced to death in Ireland after being wrongfully accused of killing two police officers in a bank raid. He proved his innocence in 1995 after 15 years on death row, making him the last man sentenced to death in Ireland.
The Sunny Centers, located in Florida and Ireland, have provided support to numerous exonerees, including Clemente Aguirre, who served 14 years, Derrick Jameson, who spent 20 years on death row, and Robert DuBoise, who served 37 years.
Pringle died on New Year’s Eve in 2023. Jacobs passed away in June 2025. Together, they leave behind a legacy of hope and resilience for those who needed it most.
Eric Torrens, the film’s cameraman, interviewed many exonerees at the Florida Sunny Center. “The experience of working on such a powerful project was nothing short of extraordinary,” Torrens said. He met Jacobs in 2024 and witnessed the impact she had on the exoneree community.
At the time, Torrens was a graduate student, and Moura, an undergraduate, joined him in spending a week at the Sunny Center in Tampa, Florida. Torrens faced challenges with new equipment but used his skills to fully engage with the project and its mission, Sacred Heart reported.
The film reflects Sacred Heart’s values, including the pursuit of truth and recognition of human dignity. Torrens described the project as “an eye-opening and very human experience.” He added, “If you think you had a bad day, try going to prison for 30 years for a crime you didn’t commit.”
Sacred Heart emphasized that its work at the Sunny Center was a way of “giving voices to the voiceless because we believe in what they have to say,” comparing it to student volunteer work at local soup kitchens.
Stolen Lives will premiere at the SHU Community Theatre on Sept. 10.
