News Matters: The Death Penalty--Right or Wrong?

Karla Faye Tucker. Timothy McVeigh. Since the execution of Gary Gilmore in 1977, the death penalty has not received so much public attention as it does today. Proponents argue that it's a just response to a heinous crime and that anything less cheapens the lives of murder victims. Detractors say that it brings our judicial system down to the level of the murderer. This provocative examination, the latest in the highly acclaimed News Matters series (see News Matters: The News Media Under Fire in VL-3/98), presents a cogent overview of the capital punishment question from many angles. A capsule history, which begins with the Constitution and concludes with the (then) pending McVeigh case, educates viewers in the evolution of the death penalty, while statistics concerning executions vs. the crime rate, the racial make-up of death row inmates, and the number of people sentenced to die who were later found innocent set the stage for animated debate. Interspersed throughout the program are questions concerning capital punishment's effectiveness, morality, and the fairness with which it's applied, with young students offering well-reasoned arguments on both sides of each question. A very strong program, sure to motivate serious class discussion, this is highly recommended. Aud: I, J, P. (R. Pitman)