| Should Saddam have been executed?
14.03.07
Can the death penalty ever be justified?
The execution of Saddam Hussain raised many issues surrounding the death penalty. The footage of his execution shocked the world – but was Saddam’s execution an example of why we need executions or everything that is wrong with them?
TICKETS AVAILABLE ON THE DOOR – JOIN THE DEBATE
Tonight, Reprieve presents a panel of experts debating all the issues surrounding capital punishment. The event takes place at St Brides Church; off Fleet Street at 7pm. Tickets are just £10 (£5 concessions). The panel includes:
Clive Stafford Smith
Clive is a human rights lawyer who spent 20 years fighting for the lives of people facing the death penalty in the Southern United States. He spent nine years as a lawyer with the Southern Center for Human Rights before opening the Louisiana Crisis Assistance Center in New Orleans. He was one of the first lawyers to visit Guantánamo and has now written a book about his clients and his experiences, Bad Men – Guantánamo Bay and the Secret Prisons. He is Legal Director of Reprieve.
Nick Yarris
Nick Yarris spent 23 years on Pennsylvania’s death row before DNA evidence exonerated him in 2004. As unbelievable as it may seem he was an innocent man who spent 8,057 days locked in his cell for 23 hours a day. He now lives in the UK with his wife and baby daughter, and is writing his story for publication. In addition to looking after Lara his daughter, he devotes some of his time to Reprieve, visiting schools and colleges to talk about the death penalty and his experiences in particular. He is also working to bring about a trade embargo of US states that have the death penalty in an effort to precipitate an end to capital punishment through economic pressure.
Mark Dowd
Mark is a writer and television broadcaster. After pursuing a vocation as a Dominican friar in the Catholic Church, Mark was tempted out of religious life by International Affairs at St Antony’s College Oxford. This proved a useful base for twelve years in the BBC on Newsnight and Panorama. For the last six years, Mark has presented a number of award-winning documentaries on Channel Four, including Children of Abraham: a post 9/11 journey through the monotheistic faiths and Tsunami: Where was God? His most recent film, GOD IS GREEN which challenged the world’s faiths over Climate Change, aired last month.
Peter Hitchens
Peter was a reporter on the Daily Express for 24 years. After an interval as a roving foreign reporter, he became the Express's Washington correspondent, returning to London in 1995 to become a commentator and, eventually, a regular columnist. He continued as a conservative voice but in 2001, he left to join the Mail on Sunday. He currently writes a column for the Mail on Sunday as well as writing occasional reportage, including from Iraq, China, India, and the USA, for that paper.
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