DEATH PENALTY ISSUE - Resources
Get further informed about the death penalty by checking out these resources and links:
Sister Helen Prejean's books and website
Organizations focused on the death penalty
Organizations focused on assisting the families of murder victims
Film resources
Additional resources
Visit "Take Action" links to organizations at the International, National, and State levels
Sister Helen Prejean's books and website
 "Dead Man Walking": Published in 1994 and made into a major motion picture by Tim Robbins, starring Susan Sarandon, the book chronicles Helen's eye-opening journey with two men on death row to the execution chamber, and her awakening to the realities of our criminal justice system and use of capital punishment.
To purchase the book "Dead Man Walking" (signed copies available),
visit www.moratoriumcampaign.org/store.html
 "The Death of Innocents": In her most recent book, published in 2004, Helen introduces us to Dobie Gillis Williams and Joseph O'Dell, whom she accompanied to their executions and believes were innocent. She examines the system that permit this to happen.
To purchase the book "The Death of Innocents" (signed copies available),
visit www.moratoriumcampaign.org/store.html
 Sister Helen Prejean: A website containing biographical material, news clippings, activities, letters, and other information on and about Helen.
 Catholic Mobilizing Network: Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN) proclaims the Church's unconditional pro-life teaching and its application to capital punishment and restorative justice.
 Witness to Innocence: Witness to Innocence is spearheaded by former death row prisoners who have been exonerated and released from death rows across the United States and who are now actively engaged in the struggle to end the death penalty.
 "Questioning Capital Punishment" with Sr. Helen Prejean is a five-session DVD study. Visit http://www.livingthequestions.com to purchase the program.
Session 1: Crossing the Breach
Session 2: What in God's Name?
Session 3: A Change of Heart
Session 4: Radical Forgiveness
Session 5: Next Steps
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Organizations focused on the death penalty
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Below are organizations (both for and against the death penalty) you may contact for additional information about the issues surrounding the death penalty.
Death Penalty Information Center: A database of articles and information, including state-by-state statistics, on all aspects of the death penalty in the United States.
Death Penalty Discourse Network: An umbrella organization dedicated to deepening and broadening the dialogue around the death penalty in the United States. It is the home of the Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project, the Moratorium Campaign, Witness to Innocence, and Sister Helen Prejean.
Equal Justice USA: A grassroots project that mobilizes and educates citizens about crime and punishment in the U.S., focusing on the racial, economic, and political biases that permeate our legal system.
Amnesty International USA: U.S. arm of action-oriented human rights organization, offering in-depth information about executions in the U.S. and abroad and efforts to abolish the death penalty.
Pro-Death Penalty: A comprehensive website with state-by-state information on Death Row inmates, including articles and links to other sources in favor of capital punishment.
The Moratorium Campaign: The campaign is working to deepen the discourse around the death penalty and to bring about moratoria across the USA.
Justice Center, University of Alaska, Anchorage: Death Penalty Organizations & Sites, Pro & Con
Death Penalty Clinic: Boalt Hall, Berkeley, California
Catholics Against Capital Punishment: Catholic-Oriented Resources on the Death Penalty
Religious Organizing Against the Death Penalty: Statements of Opposition to Capital Punishment from Faith Groups
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Organizations focused on assisting the families of murder victims
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Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights: An international, non-governmental organization of family members of victims of criminal murder, terrorist killings, state executions, extrajudicial assassinations, and "disappearances" working to oppose the death penalty from a human rights perspective.
Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation: A non-religious death-penalty abolition organization that includes people of a wide variety of faiths and belief systems. "Reconciliation means accepting you can't undo the murder but you can decide how you want to live afterwards."
Office for Victims of Crime: The website of the U.S. government office established by the 1984 Victims of Crime Act to oversee diverse programs that benefit victims of crime. The "Resource Center" of the website, "an information clearinghouse of resources for emerging victim issues," offers a list of national resources providing support and encouragement to homicide survivors and co-victims.
"The Power of Forgiveness"- (2007) The 78-minute documentary includes stories with The Amish, North Ireland, Ground Zero, renowned Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, Nobel Peace Laureate Elie Wiesel and interviews with best-selling authors Thomas Moore (Care of the Soul), Marianne Williamson (The Gift of Change) and others.
The DVD is available at http://journeyfilms.timberlakepublishing.com
"Love Lived on Death Row" - (2007) Janet Syriani's father was sentenced to North Carolina's death row for the 1990 murder of their mother. The four Syriani siblings' journey from hate and anger to love and forgiveness led them to fight for his clemency.
For DVD purchase contact: Linda Booker, Producer/Director
"The Death Penalty: An Annotated List of Films to See" (.pdf) by Buddy Bougere
A number of U.S. and international filmmakers have thought deeply about capital punishment and created masterworks. Most of the 13 works discussed here are recognized as having made a world class contribution to a healthy dialogue about the death penalty. The author of this article, Buddy Bougere, has written for Single Parent, Children's Advocate, Woman's Day, and the Washington Post. He has written a half a million words in books, including six books covering over 350 films from 26 countries.
"Dead Man Walking" – (1995) the life of a man after he has been sentenced to death until his execution
"The Thin Blue Line" – (1988) film regarding the wrongful conviction of Randall Dale Adams in Texas
"Lessons Before Dying" – in the 1940’s South, an African-American is wrongly accused of the killing a white store owner.
"The Life of David Gale" – a 2003 movie about an anti-capital punishment activist and professor of philosophy who find finds himself on death row
"Last Dance – (1996) a young lawyer is assigned to the clemency case of a woman convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death.
"Shawshank Redemption" – 1994 fictional account of a man’s “adjustment” to incarceration, based on Stephen King’s novel
"Capote" – (2005) Truman Capote, during his research for his book In Cold Blood, an account of the murder of a Kansas family, the writer develops a close relationship with Perry Smith, one of the killers.
"Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer" – 1994 documentary about media exploitation, police corruption, and some very ineffective assistance of counsel
"The Green Mile" – (1999) the film portrays Depression-era death row guards whose moral dilemma is fueled by their discovery that one of their prisoners has a special gift
"I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang" – influential 1932 movie about chain gang brutality in Georgia
"Brubaker" – 1980 film about a reform-minded prison warden of a corrupt and brutal prison
"The Executioner’s Song" – (1982) based on a true story, an unstable ex-com committed two cruel and senseless murders that resulted in his execution by firing squad. He was the first man executed since the government reinstated the death penalty in 1976.
"Let Him Have It" - (1991) a true-life drama about a simple-minded British teenager who befriends a group of gangsters, becomes implicated in the murder of a policeman, and ends up on death row.
"Monster’s Ball" – (2001) A racist prison guard falls in love with the African-American wife of an executed prisoner.
"The Widow of St. Pierre" – (2001) (Written in French, with English subtitles) In 1850 on the small, isolated Canadian island of Saint Pierre, a sailor, Neel Auguste, murders a man and receives the death penalty after a quick trial. Saint Pierre lacks the necessary tools for an execution, however, so while they wait for a guillotine to arrive from Paris, Neel Auguste moves into the house of the island's army captain. The captain's wife becomes fascinated by the prisoner. and she initially lets him do small jobs around the house, but Neel soon becomes an indispensable presence in her life and in the community. He repairs cottages and plants flowers, and his eagerness to do good makes him one of the most popular residents of the island. When the guillotine finally arrives, the army captain defies orders and calls off the execution, but his merciful act is regarded as sediton by the French government, and he receives his own death sentence.
"A Case of Reasonable Doubt?" - The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal - (1997 documentary) In this incendiary documentary, convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal and his case-- along with the case's inconsistencies--are examined in detail. Since his incarceration in 1981, Abu-Jamal has become an author and NPR journalist, never offering an explanation of the events leading to his conviction, only insisting on his innocence.
"The Farm: Angola, USA" – (1998) documentary about Angola prison.
"A Letter From Death Row" – (1998) A psychological thriller that takes you through the mind of convicted killer, Michael Raine and his experiences on death row. Was he guilty of killing his girlfriend or was he a victim of a conspiracy to frame him for a crime he didn't commit?
"Deadline" - The story begins with a group of Northwestern University journalism students uncovering evidence proving that a man sentenced to death was innocent. The film follows the 2002 clemency hearings ordered by Governor Ryan, visits inmates affected by the commutation and relates heartbreaking horror stories. One man on death row was so mentally ill that he didn't understand the meaning of the word execution (he announced that he was leaving part of his last meal so he could eat it later) but was executed anyway.
"Exonerated" - Imagine everything you did between the years of 1976 and 1992.
Now remove all of it. Those 16 years were taken away from Sunny Jacobs, convicted and sentenced to death for a crime she did not commit. But her story is not unique. And it could happen just as easily to you. The Exonerated shares the true stories of six innocent survivors of death row. Their stories, told in their own words. Stories you won't ever forget. Starring: Brian Dennehy, Danny Glover, Delroy Lindo, Aidan Quinn, Susan Sarandon and David Brown Jr.
Langley Creations Photography - Scott Land is a free-land photojournalist and political community organizer, currently based in Boston, Massachusetts. Since 2005, his major documentary project on the death penalty has been exhibited by Amnesty International in Germany, Denmark, at Harvard University, and Cornell University. Additionally, Scott travels around the country showing his photos and giving talks about various human rights issues.
Go to his website to view these incredible photographs.
Interview with an Executioner - Amnesty International
DVD-R movie (20 minutes)
Purchase from Terry McCaffrey,
408-257-4611, email: terrymc@igc.org
Strategy for Justice (.pdf): Engaging the Power of the Arts, by Sister Maureen Fenlon, reprinted with permission from NETWORK, a National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Last Words (.pdf) - A Play by Kenny Carnes. See also www.kennycarnes.com
Fighting for Life in the Death-Belt (.pdf)
Robert Meeropol (.pdf)- Executive Director, Rosenberg Fund for Children
Death Penalty Curriculum - produced by Michigan State University and the Death Penalty Information Center
Michael Keck (.pdf) - Michael Keck in a performance dialogue excerpted from Voices in the Rain
A Prison of the Mind - Actress/writer Marion Scherer's powerful one-woman show probes the conscience of her audience as she asks--not--do you believe in the death penalty but rather---will this heal your heart?
Not in My Name - Living Theatre Workshop and Play
American Friends Service Committee - Religious Organizing Against the Death Penalty
Dead Man Walking Update - Updates of statistics, facts, and figures cited in the book "Dead Man Walking"
The Sentencing Project
Murdering Myths: The Story Behind the Death Penalty by Judith W. Kay.
"Too Flawed to Fix" - A documentary of the Illinois death penalty experience. "The Illinois Death Penalty Experience" explores and exposes the irreparable flaws in a criminal justice system that has wrongfully convicted 17 people in Illinois.
To order the video: E-mail jackierr@rcn.com or
write to: Peace Productions, Inc., 2500 North Lakeview, Suite 2401, Chicago, IL 60614
"The Empty Chair: Death Penalty Yes or No" - This one hour documentary tells four stories of murder victims' families reliving the crimes and confronting the loss of loved ones. Their instinct for revenge during trial and the debate for punishment by death climaxes in a search to forgive and heal. Visit www.justiceproductions.org for video and discussion guide.
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