Deadline Screening at Jail Ministry of Syracuse
Thanks to Bill Cuddy who sent this feedback from his screening on April 14th.
On Thursday, April 14, 2005 we in Jail Ministry sponsored a showing of the documentary film Deadline
in the Panasci Chapel at LeMonyne College, Syracuse, New York. There were some 65 people in attendance which included a County Court Judge, three lawyers, many community activists and a few students (there were many competing activities on campus that night).
The film offered an extraordinary, "behind the scenes" look at the 167 death penalty convictions in the State of Illinois. In the end the speech by Governor George Ryan, announcing his decision to commute these death sentences to life in prison, will stand as a defining moment in the struggle to abolish the death penalty in this country.
The film played well in Syracuse as we struggle to understand and give voice to the issue of the death penalty in NYS. After the film, Sam Donnelly, a member of Jail Ministry and a Professor of Law at Syracuse University updated the audience on the status of the death penalty statue in New York State. He offered that while there will be a moratorium for bringing back any death penalty statue this year, the "death penalty is not yet dead."
In conclusion most signed a petition that read: I have just viewed Deadline, an excellent documentary on one criminal justice system. The film showed the dramatic discovery of innocent people sitting on Illinois' death row. One man's innocence proven by journalist students came just hours before his scheduled execution. This experience proves to me that there is no absolute guarantee against human error. I am signing this petition to express my opposition to reinstating the death penalty in NYS.
Posted by beth at 10:45 AM
