Film examines death penalty

The film “Execution” will be screened tonight at the UCLA School of Law, followed by a discussion with the film’s director, Steven Scaffidi, and former death row inmate William Neal Moore.

“Execution” tells a story of two filmmakers who secretly capture an execution by electric chair on tape in 1995 but have their footage confiscated by the prison warden, who hides it from the public for 10 years.

The two filmmakers in the movie have differing ideologies about capturing a man’s last moments on earth.

It is purposely unclear whether “Execution” is a true story or fictional.

Catherine Mayorkas, director of the UCLA David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy, said Moore contacted the school to see if there was interest in screening “Execution” on campus.

The Epstein Program is hosting this event, along with the UCLA Critical Race Studies Program and the American Constitution Society, in a continuing series of programs that deal with issues of social justice.

Mayorkas said the pairing of a film screening along with a Q&A session would make this program different from others dealing with the death penalty.

“Even when you talk to an (exonerated person), it feels, in an odd way, removed. The movie depicts an execution, and then you have someone on stage who could very easily have suffered the same fate. It won’t necessarily change anyone’s mind (about the death penalty), but it makes it a little more real and present,” Mayorkas said.

In addition, Moore is the only man in the history of American criminal justice who has been convicted of committing a murder and freed from death row.

Moore spent 16 years on Georgia’s death row for his 1974 murder of a man during an armed robbery.

At one point, he was only seven hours away from execution by electric chair.

Scaffidi said Moore was freed due to the efforts of his victim’s family, as they noted Moore had been encouraged to attempt the robbery by the victim’s nephew and Moore had not broken in with the intent of killing.

Mother Theresa also appealed to the Georgia Parole Board on his behalf.

Moore, now a Pentecostal preacher, has spoken previously about his experience on death row and subsequent release at UCLA, as well as at Harvard, Yale and other universities.

“Execution” has previously been screened at other universities in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. Scaffidi said the first public showing was around six months ago at Tulane University, where a crowd of over 700 turned out.

He is in talks with distributors with the hope of making the film available to the public by this year.

Scaffidi was inspired by his work on the behind-the-scenes feature of the film “Dead Man Walking” as well as an HBO documentary that he directed and wrote.

For this documentary, he recorded a convicted murderer’s last days but was not allowed inside the death chamber.

Scaffidi said he wanted to make a film that was “as real as it gets” ““ the first film to ever feature a real condemned criminal.

“As a director, I wanted to take the audience closer to the execution process than any other film ever made,” he said.

Though Scaffidi said he was previously a firm death penalty supporter, his work with prison inmates changed his position to one closer to neutrality, a characteristic reflected in his film.

“There’s no message in the film, no statement that says “˜executions are wrong,'” Scaffidi said.

“I want to create debate, I want people to be talking about it and questioning it and asking themselves, “˜Is this something we should be doing in America today?'”

Saul Sarabia, program director of the Critical Race Studies Program, said the film also serves as a springboard for discussion about the relationship between race and the law, such as issues of racial disparity in the legal system and its consequences.

“Clearly one of the most serious and tragic consequences in the American legal system is that … in the case of the death penalty, it is disproportionately applied to people of color,” Sarabia said.

“One of the functions of a public law school is to generate thought and discourse around our legal system. This film allows us to do that around a very significant aspect of our criminal justice system, and we hope the viewing and discussion allows students to explore those issues as they relate to us now.”

The film and post-screening discussion are both free and open to the public.

“Execution” tells a story of two filmmakers who secretly capture an execution by electric chair on tape in 1995 but have their footage confiscated by the prison warden, who hides it from the public for 10 years.

The two filmmakers in the movie have differing ideologies about capturing a man’s last moments on earth.

It is purposely unclear whether “Execution” is a true story or fictional.

Catherine Mayorkas, director of the UCLA David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy, said Moore contacted the school to see if there was interest in screening “Execution” on campus.

The Epstein Program is hosting this event, along with the UCLA Critical Race Studies Program and the American Constitution Society, in a continuing series of programs that deal with issues of social justice.

Mayorkas said the pairing of a film screening along with a Q&A session would make this program different from others dealing with the death penalty.

“Even when you talk to an (exonerated person), it feels, in an odd way, removed. The movie depicts an execution, and then you have someone on stage who could very easily have suffered the same fate. It won’t necessarily change anyone’s mind (about the death penalty), but it makes it a little more real and present,” Mayorkas said.

In addition, Moore is the only man in the history of American criminal justice who has been convicted of committing a murder and freed from death row.

Moore spent 16 years on Georgia’s death row for his 1974 murder of a man during an armed robbery.

At one point, he was only seven hours away from execution by electric chair.

Scaffidi said Moore was freed due to the efforts of his victim’s family, as they noted Moore had been encouraged to attempt the robbery by the victim’s nephew and Moore had not broken in with the intent of killing.

Mother Theresa also appealed to the Georgia Parole Board on his behalf.

Moore, now a Pentecostal preacher, has spoken previously about his experience on death row and subsequent release at UCLA, as well as at Harvard, Yale and other universities.

“Execution” has previously been screened at other universities in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. Scaffidi said the first public showing was around six months ago at Tulane University, where a crowd of over 700 turned out.

He is in talks with distributors with the hope of making the film available to the public by this year.

Scaffidi was inspired by his work on the behind-the-scenes feature of the film “Dead Man Walking” as well as an HBO documentary that he directed and wrote.

For this documentary, he recorded a convicted murderer’s last days but was not allowed inside the death chamber.

Scaffidi said he wanted to make a film that was “as real as it gets” ““ the first film to ever feature a real condemned criminal.

“As a director, I wanted to take the audience closer to the execution process than any other film ever made,” he said.

Though Scaffidi said he was previously a firm death penalty supporter, his work with prison inmates changed his position to one closer to neutrality, a characteristic reflected in his film.

“There’s no message in the film, no statement that says “˜executions are wrong,'” Scaffidi said.

“I want to create debate, I want people to be talking about it and questioning it and asking themselves, “˜Is this something we should be doing in America today?'”

Saul Sarabia, program director of the Critical Race Studies Program, said the film also serves as a springboard for discussion about the relationship between race and the law, such as issues of racial disparity in the legal system and its consequences.

“Clearly one of the most serious and tragic consequences in the American legal system is that … in the case of the death penalty, it is disproportionately applied to people of color,” Sarabia said.

“One of the functions of a public law school is to generate thought and discourse around our legal system. This film allows us to do that around a very significant aspect of our criminal justice system, and we hope the viewing and discussion allows students to explore those issues as they relate to us now.”

The film and post-screening discussion are both free and open to the public.

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