That's my niece in her role as Sister Helen Prejean in her high school production of Dead Man Walking from a photo that appeared on Coast Weekend Magazine (linked) about the creative and emotional challenges involved in performing the play at her high school. When Katie told me she'd gotten the lead role, I remember feeling proud and excited, but also concerned that the intensity of the role was a lot to take on for a sensitive kid her age. Then I did a bit of research and learned that the production was part of the nationwide Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project, founded by actor-playwright Tim Robbins and Sister Helen Prejean, intended to provoke discussion and debate of both sides of the capital punishment issue. What a great way to create dialogue among young people. It really is true citizenry in the best possible sense and with the best possible example. I'm proud to say that Katie rose beautifully to the challenge on stage as well as thoughtfully behind the scenes. She went above and beyond even what I, the proud aunt, might have expected. http://coastweekend.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=1018&ArticleID=39725&TM=10484.54
Here's Tim Robbins' and Sister Prejean's "Invitation to Young Americans" from the http://dmwplay.org/ website:
"When the film Dead Man Walking hit theatres across the U.S., we were amazed at the way it provoked discussion and debate on the death penalty. To this day it continues to provoke deeper reflection on one of the key moral issues of our day. In order to widen the circle of public discourse on the death penalty, we are offering you and other young Americans the stage play of Tim Robbins’ Dead Man Walking to be performed in colleges and universities across America. We welcome you as collaborators with us in this creative project.
"Make no mistake about it. What we are doing here by delving into the issue of capital punishment is true citizenry. Americans who debate and question government policies and law do so because they love this nation and want to see it live up to its true potential. To engage in vigorous examination of issues that affect us is to live up to the noble ideas enshrined in our Constitution. Dig into the issue. Make theatre. Take action. Becoming an active, engaged citizen and participating in discourse around the big issues of our day is exhilarating. Be a player, not just a spectator.We hope that you will join us in this ambitious enterprise."
Here's Tim Robbins' and Sister Prejean's "Invitation to Young Americans" from the http://dmwplay.org/ website:
"When the film Dead Man Walking hit theatres across the U.S., we were amazed at the way it provoked discussion and debate on the death penalty. To this day it continues to provoke deeper reflection on one of the key moral issues of our day. In order to widen the circle of public discourse on the death penalty, we are offering you and other young Americans the stage play of Tim Robbins’ Dead Man Walking to be performed in colleges and universities across America. We welcome you as collaborators with us in this creative project.
"Make no mistake about it. What we are doing here by delving into the issue of capital punishment is true citizenry. Americans who debate and question government policies and law do so because they love this nation and want to see it live up to its true potential. To engage in vigorous examination of issues that affect us is to live up to the noble ideas enshrined in our Constitution. Dig into the issue. Make theatre. Take action. Becoming an active, engaged citizen and participating in discourse around the big issues of our day is exhilarating. Be a player, not just a spectator.We hope that you will join us in this ambitious enterprise."
6 comments:
Cath--Just saw this in HuffPo:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-cleeland-/why-im-leaving-the-l_b_49697.html
Do you have any response?
Pam -- Funny you should ask. Found it significant enough to print out and keep. Was the first thing I noted on Romenesko this morning. Thanks for bringing it to my attention just in case. You know what I want to know! Cat
short and sweet:
Dead Man Walking was the best thing that has ever happened to me.
It showed me that my dreams can come true.
As cliche as that is. <3
Summary
Because innocents are at risk of executions, some wrongly presume that innocents are better protected implementing a life without parole sentence, instead.
What many forget to do is weigh the risk to innocents within a life sentence. When doing that, we find that innocents are more at risk with a life sentence.
First, we all know that living murderers, in prison, after escape or after our failures to incarcerate them, are much more likely to harm and murder, again, than are executed murderers.
Secondly, no knowledgeable party questions that the death penalty has the most extensive due process protections in US criminal law. Therefore, it is logically conclusive, that actual innocents are more likely to be sentenced to life imprisonment and more likely to die in prison serving under that sentence, that it is that an actual innocent will be executed.
Thirdly, 10 recent studies find for death penalty deterrence. Some believe that all studies with contrary findings negate those 10 studies. They don't. Studies which don't find for deterrence don't say no one is deterred, but that they cannot measure those deterred, if they are.
Ask yourself: "What prospect of a negative outcome doesn't deter some?" There isn't one, although committed anti death penalty folk may say the death penalty is the only one. However, the premier anti death penalty scholar accepts it as a given that the death penalty is a deterrent, but does not believe it to be a greater deterrent than a life sentence. I find the evidence compelling that death is feared more than life - even in prison.
In choosing to end the death penalty, or in choosing not implement it, some have chosen to put more innocents at risk.
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Furthermore, possibly we have sentenced 20-25 actually innocent people to death since 1973, or 0.3% of those so sentenced. Those have been released upon post conviction review.
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