Series examines capital punishment

An unprecedented series will begin at IU this Friday thanks to one man's vision and lots of help from the IU Bloomington community. After almost a year of planning, IU chemistry professor George Ewing has brought to Bloomington "Two Views: An Engagement of the Community on the Death Penalty," a series that will study both sides of the controversial issue. The series will run from Oct. 11 to 18, encompassing several events including a forum featuring Sister Helen Prejan, author of the book "Dead Man Walking."\nEwing's interest in the death penalty began when he attended a memorial for Gary Burris, a death row inmate, after his execution. Ewing recalls that many people there were distraught at Burris' execution, and he listened as they told him stories of Burris' tragic upbringing, horrible crimes and eventual recovery while in prison.\n"The people there loved him," Ewing said. "He was a redeemed man. He became a constructive member of his society, and I thought, 'Why are we killing this guy?'"\nEwing soon became involved more with the issue, but he noticed a lack of interest. The turning point came after attending a vigil in Indianapolis where he protested with 20 other people.\n"This is an issue that affects everyone," Ewing said. "I thought 'Why aren't there 200 or 2,000 people?' I had to get more people engaged."\nOver the next year, Ewing approached several campus and community organizations with his idea for a series about the death penalty. Many were interested in helping.\n"The whole thing happened because so many people were willing to participate," Ewing said.\nFinding participants was only part of Ewing's battle. He also considered ways to present the issues. Ewing said the format of the series is a novel one. Although he is an abolitionist, he decided to forego arguing for the elimination of capital punishment and present both sides of the issue instead.\n"From the very early on, we wanted to purge the word 'debate,'" Ewing said. "A debate is when there are two teams, you have supporters for them, and you want one team to win. We want to draw people in to let them hear the issues, and when they leave they will know more about the issues than when they came. I think the truth is enough to change people's minds."\nThe series' featured event, a forum featuring Sister Helen Prejan and Tom Perkins of the Indiana Attorney General's Office, will not be a debate between two sides. Each speaker will give their own presentations and answer questions from the audience.\nMarla Sandys, associate professor of IU's Criminal Justice Department and an orchestrator of the week's events along with Ewing, has heard Sister Helen speak.\n"She is a phenomenal speaker," she said. "She tells incredibly funny and compelling stories. She can find the humor and compassion in anything, even on death row."\nAlthough he works for the Attorney General, Tom Perkins has been invited because of his expertise in the criminal justice system, not necessarily to give an opposing view.\n"He's the guy that tracks death penalty cases in Indiana," Ewing said. "There will probably be two people executed by the end of the year, and he'll probably oversee those."\nThough they each represent different parts of the death penalty issue, neither speaker is being recognized as being representative of either side of the argument.\nSandys credited the Union Board for their coordination of the forum.\n"I don't know if we could have gotten it accomplished otherwise," she said. "The Union Board students really took a vision and made it happen."\nAnother main attraction is Lucinda Devlin's "The Omega Suites," a photography exhibit at the SoFA gallery in the Henry Hope School of Fine Arts, Ewing said. \n"George came and asked if we could find anything appropriate for the show," Dana Sperry, associate director of the SoFA gallery, said. "Then he showed me the book with Lucinda Devlin's pictures. They were great. A lot of people have probably already seen some of her work and not known it."\nBoth Ewing and Sperry said they are extremely fortunate to have booked Devlin, whose work has been featured in many places in the United States and Europe, including the Venice Biennial.\n"She shows so much all over Europe. We're very glad to have her here," Sperry said. "She doesn't believe her work is pro or anti-death penalty. She believes the work speaks for itself. By leaving you alone with the instruments of death you are confronted by it in that context."\nThe disturbing yet ambiguous nature of Devlin's photographs fit well with the theme of the series. Ewing said the eeriness of the pictures, largely comprised of modern death chambers and instruments, represent how it is impossible to make capital punishment more humane.\n"That's kind of a creepy argument," Ewing said. "What's the difference? You're still taking a life."\nThough the forum and gallery highlight the series, there are many more events planned for the week. Showings of "Dead Man Walking," the movie based on Sister Helen Prejan's book of the same title, will be shown at the Whittenberger Auditorium. An open mic night will be held at the Runcible Spoon Café for opposing sides to give their viewpoints on the death penalty. The IU law school will be hosting a panel discussion, "Is the Death Penalty 'Broken?'" Presentations will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Fee Lane featuring members of Bloomington's faith community. The series ends on Oct. 18 with "Celebration of Life," a musical and dancing performance. Still more events will be held in classes, local high schools, libraries and bookstores throughout the week.\n"We're trying to attract a wide audience," Ewing said. "If someone is interested in the legal aspects, we have events at the law school. If you are interested in the spiritual aspect, you could go to the Unitarian church. If you enjoy the debate, come to open mic night at the Runcible Spoon." \nEwing added, "I don't know if it's ever been done this way before.\n"There is no point in having these issues raised unless you can have persons of all persuasions there to listen to you. Otherwise, it's a waste of time."\nA full schedule of events can be found at www.twoviews.org. Questions for the forum with Sister Helen Prejan and Tom Perkins must be sent ahead of time to debates@indiana.edu by Oct. 13.