News Update 10.17.07
North Carolina
In Davidson County, Sister Helen Prejean will be speaking at the Duke Family Performance Hall (207 Faculty Drive, Davidson College) on October 30th at 7:30 PM. The event is free. See the Piedmont Liberal Forum’s website for more information.
Upcoming North Carolina screenings of Love Lived on Death Row:
- Wilmington – Cucalcorus Film Festival, 11/9 at 7 PM ($7)
- Blowing Rock – Mariam & Robert Hayes Performing Arts Center, 11/13 at 7 PM ($5)
- Charlotte – The Light Factory, TBA
- Raleigh – St. Francis of Assisi, 1/25/08 at 7 PM
In Moore County, a jury is deliberating Mario Phillips’ fate. Calling on the jury to sentence Phillips to life without parole, his attorney said, “You have the power to determine the extent of Mario Phillips’ life forever. What you decide will not only decide Mario Phillips’ life forever, but will decide your life forever. You will forget names, dates, small things. There is one thing that I am confident you will never forget as long as you live. That is that, in 2007, you sat on a jury to decide how Mario Phillips will die. That choice is stark. It is whether you will decide Mario Phillips will die or will live. I will ask you to decide, under the evidence, that Mario will live.”
Elsewhere
The Baze confusion continues. Courts in Virginia and Georgia have refused to grant stays of execution to inmates raising Baze claims. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has refused to vacate the stay of execution granted to Jack H. Jones, Jr. in Arkansas. In the sole dissent, Justice Scalia indicated that he believes the cert grant in Baze does not entitle every inmate to a stay of execution, only those who had the amazing foresight to raise a lethal injection challenge before the Supreme Court acknowledged the validity of the issue. (c/o SLAP and CDW)
While executions may or may not be on hold here in the States, things are moving full speed ahead for our death penalty pals Afghanistan and Iran.
Upcoming elsewhere screenings of Love Lived on Death Row:
- New Orleans – New Orleans Film Festival, 10/17 at 7:30 PM
- Memphis – Indie Memphis Film Festival, 10/19 at 3:35 PM
- Colorado Springs – Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival, 11/4 at 1:30 PM
