This article compares the slave narratives that were published in antebellum America with the more recent testimonies of death row exonerees. The structure, content and themes of the narratives and testimonies are compared, and particular attention is paid to the abolitionist purposes of the two. The methods adopted to achieve those purposes are also explored, and it is suggested that today’s exonerees can learn much from the slave narratives in order to make their testimonies more effective as tools of abolitionism.