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Life in the Death Belt

By Jeralyn, Section Death Penalty
Posted on Wed Nov 09, 2005 at 04:11:15 PM EST
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The Denver Film Festival opens tomorrow and runs through November 20. If there's one film I hope people will see it is Fighting For Life in the Death Belt which will have its Colorado premiere on Thursday, November 17 at 6pm at Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli.

The film considers capital punishment in the U.S. through the eyes of Stephen Bright, who has served as the Director of the Southern Center for Human Rights for the past 20 years. Bright is a hero to the criminal defense bar for his unwavering commitment to defending death row inmates in the heart of the "death belt" - the Southern states where 90% of America's executions take place.

The film follows Bright and the Center's 11 lawyers and 10 investigators as they prepare for a capital trial in one case while fighting to save another client from execution. The trailer is here.

Stephen Bright and the directors, Adam Elend and Jeff Marks will be in attendance. So will 23 Denver criminal defense lawyers who are serving on the host committee for the event, including Pamela Mackey, David Lane, Lisa Wayne, David Kaplan, David Wymore, Norm Mueller, Kathleen Lord and me.

There is limited seating and reservations are strongly recommended.

Tickets: At www.denverfilm.org or at the Starz FilmCenter box office, 900 Auraria Parkway. For information, 303-534-1339.

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    Life in the Death Belt | 22 comments (22 topical)
    Re: Life in the Death Belt (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:54 PM EST
    Very nice to see the Colorado Public Defenders Office properly represented. While the death penalty is available in Colorado, its virtually inoperative due in large part to the efforts of the PDs! Something of which we should be very proud.

    Re: Life in the Death Belt (none / 0) (#2)
    by Aaron on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:55 PM EST
    Stephen Bright is awesome. I met him during law school. His speech was inspiring, reminded me why I wanted to represent poor people accused of violating the law, even those accused of capital crimes. Heck, since Kaine won, perhaps I'd still have a future in politics even if I took Bright's lead? All I know is that someone, former defense attorney or not, needs to defeat Lindsey Graham. What's up with denying habeas to people simply because the government suggests that they're terrorists? That's a slippery slope to go down.

    Re: Life in the Death Belt (none / 0) (#3)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:55 PM EST
    Having gotten back from jury duty an hour ago...I am now more convinced than ever that prejudice...including racial prejudice...plays a huge role in the outcome of jury decisions. From what I just observed, it is so entrenched and pervasive that capital punishment is hopelessly compromised and should be abolished immediately.

    Re: Life in the Death Belt (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:55 PM EST
    My sympathies, Ernesto. That can not have been a good experience.

    Re: Life in the Death Belt (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:56 PM EST
    This issue raises two most basic questions; 1. The death penalty itself, i.e. please explain why allowing your parent's murderer to live out his days playing basketball demonstrates our compassion and benefits the society. 2. If the death penalty is a proper punishment for the ultimate crime, and that punishment is applied unevenly, is the proper course of action to keep ALL murderers alive, or to make sure that the death penalty gets applied more uniformly? The discussion will of