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(12/01/00 4:01am)
The first federal execution in 37 years is scheduled for Dec. 12 at the penitentiary in Terre Haute. Juan Raul Garza, 43, could become the first civilian to die by lethal injection at the U.S. government's lone federal death chamber. \nA federal court in Texas sentenced Garza to death in August 1993 for the murder of three people in connection with a drug-trafficking ring based in Brownsville, Texas. A year ago, the Supreme Court denied his appeal, and an execution date was set for Aug. 5.\nPresident Bill Clinton postponed Garza's execution after the Justice Department issued new regulations outlining the process for seeking clemency from the president. The reprieve gave Garza an opportunity to petition under the revised guidelines, and a new date was set for Dec. 12. \nThere are more than 20 federal death row inmates at the Terre Haute penitentiary, including Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, according to the Justice Department. In July 1993, a special confinement unit was opened there to house all federal death row inmates. Garza is the only one with a scheduled execution date. The last person executed by the U.S. government was Victor Feguer, who was hanged in Iowa in 1963 for kidnapping and killing a doctor. \nGarza's execution comes at a time of increasing public concern about death penalty procedures in the United States. In September, a Justice Department survey cited significant racial and geographic disparities in cases involving federal capital punishment sentencing. The study showed that between 1995 and 2000, 80 percent of all federal cases submitted by U.S. attorneys seeking the death penalty involved minorities, half of whom were black. U.S. attorneys were almost twice as likely to recommend seeking the death penalty for a black defendant when the victim was not black as when the victim was black. \nThe survey also showed that of the 682 federal death penalty cases submitted to the U.S. Attorney General for review, 40 percent came from only five of 94 federal districts. \nDiann Rust-Tierney, director of the Capital Punishment Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, said that "time and again, statistics confirm what we already know: that racism and unfairness are so pervasive in our nation's death penalty system that it is impossible for a person of color to get equal treatment in that system." \nRecent capital cases have called attention to legal blunders by defense attorneys. In Texas, a court of criminal appeals has been criticized for upholding death sentences where defense lawyers were shown to have slept through parts of trials, The Dallas Morning News reported. \nIn January, Gov. George Ryan of Illinois declared a moratorium on executions to give him time to review the release of 13 death row inmates since Illinois re-adopted the death penalty in 1977. \nThe United States is also under international pressure. Germany has sued the U.S. government at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands, arguing that Karl and Walter LaGrand, German nationals, were not notified of their rights to contact consular officials soon after their arrests. The LaGrand brothers were executed in Arizona last year for murdering a bank manager in 1982. Germany claims the United States violated the Vienna Convention of Consular Relations. \nIn another case involving a foreign national, the Mexican government sent a formal protest to the U.S. State Department in October in an effort to prevent the execution of Miguel Flores, a Mexican citizen. Mexican officials say Flores was not advised of his right to contact his embassy. Flores was executed Nov. 9, in Texas. \nAbe Bonowitz, director of Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said that all these things are happening for people to question the fairness of the death penalty. \nBonowitz, a Florida resident, was one of several organizers of a recent four-day death penalty protest march in Indiana. The march, which included around 30 protesters, began at the Federal Court Building in Indianapolis and ended at the Terre Haute penitentiary. Bonowitz said it was timed to coincide with the scheduled federal execution of David Paul Hammer, whose Nov. 15 execution date was postponed when a U.S. District Judge allowed Hammer to file a request to appeal. \nBonowitz said although many Americans still support the death penalty, there is a growing level of dissent with its procedures. \n"It's not that people are uncomfortable with the idea that murderers should be executed, but with the practice," Bonowitz said. "It's becoming more and more clear that it's proving unfair and ineffective."\nRust-Tierney said there hasn't been this much questioning of the death penalty system since 1972, when the Supreme Court commuted the sentences of 623 death row inmates and effectively suspended the death penalty in Furman v. Georgia. \n"The one other time when there was real questioning was in Furman v. Georgia," Rust-Tierney said. "I think public opinion was down around 50 percent then. It's been quite a while since we've had the issues of fairness and human rights at the forefront." \nSince 1927, the U.S. government has executed 34 individuals, but none since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment at the federal level in 1988, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Today, 38 states have the death penalty and more than 3,500 individuals sit on death row. As of Nov. 29, there have been 79 executions at the state level in 2000.
(10/30/00 2:56am)
Imagine leafing through the pages of a 1640 edition of Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Prince," or a 1548 English translation of Martin Luther's "Obedience of a Christian Man."\nSome faculty and students are doing just that.\nA traveling rare book exhibit at IU's Main Library showcases more than 30 titles about liberty. "The Wisdom of the Ages," is on loan from The Remnant Trust, a private organization based in Hagerstown, Ind., and will run through the end of the semester.\nBut unlike most rare book displays, these classics come out of their glass-enclosed cases. Faculty members are encouraged to use the books creatively in classrooms and let students touch and examine first and early edition texts dating back to the 15th century.\nKris Bex, president of the Remnant Trust, said the primary purpose of the exhibit is for the books to be used.\n"I want them to be handled, read and studied," Bex said. "The main emphasis we have is to give some perspective on the timeline and history of the ideas of liberty."\nFounded about a decade ago by Bex's father, the Remnant Trust said it is dedicated to preserving the principles of freedom, liberty and human dignity. Since 1997, the group has been going to colleges and universities to display selections of its collection of more than 400 rare books and manuscripts. Bex said the exhibition is meant to bring the ideas of liberty, freedom and dignity "back into the dialogue in classrooms" by providing hands-on access to original works that espouse these values.\n"We feel that there are things missing, not being taught, understood and thought about," Bex said. "A lot of times when documents are reprinted, changed, adjusted, politically corrected, modernized, they're not the originals. We want to put the originals out there without making commentary. Read them yourself. Read the originals and think about them."\nJames Brogan, a visiting professor in the Honors College, brought four of the books to one of his classes, including a frail 1762 copy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "The Social Contract." Brogan said his students enjoyed paging through the early editions and asked questions about how the papers were folded and printed. \nAssociate history professor Arthur Field used a 1549 edition of Erasmus' "Praise of Follly" and a pocket-sized English translation of Luther's "Obedience of A Christian Man" in his class on early Modern Europe. Field said the books were interesting, and he was particularly impressed by a woodcut illustration he had never seen before near the end of "Praise of Folly." The picture depicted a court jester looking out over an audience of court jesters that is supposed to represent contemporary Europe. It was an unexpected discovery for Field,, who has worked with early texts and manuscripts for most of his career. \n"It's a heavily loaded and clever illustration," Field said. "To see that volume meant something to me in that it was an eye-opener. I may use it in a certain lecture and in that sense the collection had a good solid influence."\nBut Field, a Renaissance scholar, found some of the books on exhibit peculiar for their reference to liberty, including a copy of the "Magna Carta" from 1542 and a 1651 edition of Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan."\n"The principles of the 'Magna Carta' are good, solid, old-fashioned feudal principles," Field said. "You have to get rid of the principles of the Magna Carta before you get the modern principles of liberty ... and Hobbes' 'Leviathan' demonstrating individual liberty is just bizarre."\nA standard interpretation of Hobbes, Field noted, is that he is never associated with liberty. \nAccording to the Remnant Trust, using the books is meant to stimulate such discussion, and in that way it is succeeding. \n"These books allow you to get in touch with the ideas of the authors ... and come to conclusions yourself about the text," Bex said. \nAmong the many other treasures are a 1610 edition of St. Augustine's "Of the City of God;" a 1644 copy of John Milton's "Areopagitica," an early plea for unlicensed printing; a copy of St. Thomas Aquinas' "Summa Theologiae" from 1475, a scholastic compendium of theology and a first edition of Frederick Douglass' "My Bondage and My Freedom" from 1855. Numerous classics relating to press freedom including "The Trial of John Peter Zenger," an immigrant printer in New York who was tried and acquitted of seditious libel in the 1730s; even a "First Pamphlet Printing of the United States Constitution" is also on display.\nJoel Silver, head librarian at the Lilly Library, selected the books along with Brian Bex, Kris Bex's father and a frequent visitor to the Lilly Library over the years. Silver said he chose books he thought would be interesting to see in an exhibition, likely to be used in a classroom situation and those that are landmarks in their fields. Silver also noted how unusual it is letting such rare works be checked out. \n"I don't know of other special collection libraries that have this kind of public use," he said.\nSilver said the Lilly Library, which has large collections of 18th century British and Continental philosophy and Martin Luther tracts in its holdings, also carries a majority of the works in the display. But there are some surprises, including a 1721 copy of "Cato's Political Letters," published pseudonymously by John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon in England in the 1720s. \n"It's extremely rare to find on the market, and one book the Lilly doesn't have," Silver said. \nBeverly Byl, executive director of IU libraries, said one reason for bringing the collection to IU is to highlight rare books and manuscripts and create awareness of larger collections such as those at the Lilly Library. In early November, a dinner will be held for the Remnant Trust inviting faculty and students to share their experiences with the books.\nTo look at the list of titles, go to www.indiana.edu/~libweb/news/titles.html.
(10/05/00 5:39pm)
At a well attended Bloomington City Council meeting Wednesday, Bloomington's skateboarders scored a victory when council members voted overwhelmingly against an ordinance that would prohibit use of skateboards in all municipal parking lots and garages, including the Showers Plaza.\nIn a 7-2 vote, only Michael Diekhoff (D-3) and David Sabbagh (D-5) were in favor of the ordinance, supporting their decisions from a public safety standpoint.\nBut other council members were not in accord and felt the ordinance, which was introduced last week by the city's Risk Management department, was "too broad" and singles out skateboarders unfairly.\n"If we pass this vote tonight, from a legal standpoint perspective, skateboarding will be banned from every single parking lot ... It's ridiculous. It's way too broad," said Patricia Cole (D-1).\nOther council members said it would be inappropriate to pass the ordinance without providing any alternative areas for skateboarders' use.\n"I really have trouble supporting this with no viable alternative," said Jason Banach (D-2), "It just doesn't feel right, it just has an ill-feeling about it."\nRick Olsen, co-owner of True Skateboards shop, attended the meeting along with many skateboarders, parents and concerned citizens. Olsen said the ordinance would have treated skateboarders unfairly and that there is a prejudice against the sport.\n"I do hope that the people recognize that this is a passionate issue for us," Olsen said, "There is a prejudice against it (skateboarding) and not recognizing it is a crime."\nSurrounding the discussion were a number of issues which a few council members said were off the mark, such as accusations of discrimination and fear of skateboarders made by some of those at the meeting.\nOne outspoken critic of the ordinance was Rena Redmon, a parent of a Bloomington skateboarder.\nRedmon brought a skateboard and a pair of in-line skates to the meeting and told council members that they were nothing to be afraid of.\nMotioning to the skateboarders in attendance, Redmon then declared, "These are the young men who use the equipment and they're not to be feared either ... Bloomington, what are you afraid of? These are good students. They have ambitions and they have goals."\nCouncilman Andy Ruff (At-Large) dismissed the arguments based on discrimination and said he changed his mind based on some remarks made by ex-councilman and IU professor Jim Sherman. Ruff also said he would keep responsibility in the hands of the skateboarders.\n"I think we need to trust the young people to act responsibly on this one, " Ruff said.\nA proposal for building a skateboard park is being discussed within the Parks and Recreation department in liaison with a committee made up of skateboarders and area residents.\nCheryll Elmore, a representative from the Parks and Recreation department, attended Wednesday's meeting and said Bloomington is looking at the skateboard park in Columbus, Ind., as a possible model. Elmore said the skate park in Columbus took 18 months to complete.\nRegardless, skateboarders are still free to use many of the city's parking lots and garages to practice their sport and have made it clear to the Bloomington community that their sport is growing and will continue to be a big presence in Bloomington.\nThere were happy faces after Wednesday's vote from both skateboarders and older citizens as they left the council meeting, and some skateboarders had felt confident the ordinance would not be passed. John Hayes, a student from Elletsville who comes to Bloomington about three or four times a week to skate, said the victory might change the way people look at skateboarders.\nOthers like James Robinson-Long, a 32-year Bloomington resident who spoke out at the meeting, said he found it a great moment for skateboarders in more ways than one.\n"I think it's wonderful," Robinson-Long said, "It's really wonderful because these young citizens get to see that they make a difference in a legal way. It's extraordinary. It's democracy at work"
(09/19/00 4:53am)
Despite a renowned faculty of film scholars and its pioneering efforts in film studies in the 1960s, IU has always lacked one significant ingredient other schools strong in film education possess ' a major film archive. \nAll that will change with the David Bradley Collection, a voluminous private film archive that was bequeathed to the Lilly Library and arrived at the the campus last spring. \n"With this collection, IU becomes a major player," said Beverly Byl, executive director of development for the University libraries. \nThe collection, consisting of about 3,000 16-millimeter films and other cinema-related materials, covers the history of American and international cinema, from the beginnings of film to the 1970s. \n"It's a world class private collection … with many of the films in beautiful condition," said Barbara Klinger, associate professor of communication and culture and director of the department's film and media resources.\nThe collection includes more than 100 of early U.S. innovator D.W. Griffith's shorts and feature films, and works by other celebrated silent-era directors such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Cecil B. DeMille. There are also examples of French impressionist cinema from the early 1920s and at least 15 films featuring silent film star Rudolph Valentino, whose career was cut short at the age of 31. \nBut silent films are only the tip of the iceberg. The collection contains many sound motion pictures. There are outstanding prints of American film noir, westerns, musicals, documentary films and important works from a number of national cinemas including German, Italian, Russian and Japanese. \nThe films were collected by David Shedd Bradley, an archivist and film historian who died in 1997 at the age of 77. Film critic Roger Ebert described him as "one of the legendary eccentrics of the film world, irascible and beloved." \n"Bradley was a man of excellent taste, and somebody who knew what was historically important," said professor James Naremore, a well-known film scholar who has written a half dozen books on classical Hollywood cinema. "The value of the collection is not only deep but very broad. Every major Hollywood director is represented, every genre." \nBradley, the son of a wealthy Chicago family that gave the city its Shedd Aquarium, attended Northwestern University in the 1940s. Ebert said he was an aspiring director who knew Orson Welles. As a student, he made two films in which he cast Charlton Heston, his classmate at the time. Some say Bradley helped launch Heston's career. \nHe later went to Hollywood and directed a few other films before, as Ebert put it, he "moved on to his real vocation, which was to hold strong opinions and express them at every opportunity." Over his lifetime, Bradley began to acquire excellent prints of films, which he would lend regularly or screen for guests in his home in the Hollywood Hills. \n"He was a heck of a guy, independently wealthy, who essentially just collected that incredible collection and enjoyed sharing it," Ebert said from Thailand last week. \nBradley's collection took an interesting route to IU. In the years before his death, he planned to leave it with a number of institutions, including UCLA, Santa Monica City College and Northwestern, but he quarreled with each of them before finally willing it to the Lilly Library. While Bradley's estate was in probate, the films were stored at the Film Archive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles. William Cagle, the longtime Lilly librarian who retired in 1997, negotiated with Bradley before he died and played a big role in bringing the collection to IU. \n"Bill Cagle came from Los Angeles and was familiar with the Bradley collection," Byl said. "The idea was that (Bradley) was alternately feuding with all of them, but for whatever reasons it ended up with us." Naremore suggested that Bradley was aware of the Orson Welles manuscripts that reside in the Lilly and might have wanted his materials put alongside those of the legendary filmmaker. \nThe Lilly Library, which houses materials related to cinema, including the personal films and print archives of such directors as John Ford, Orson Welles and Peter Bogdanovich, has traditionally been a repository for rare books and manuscripts and other special collections. A film archive as extensive and rich as Bradley's presents new terrain for the library and puts film education and research in a fresh light at IU. \n"This makes IU one of the major research and teaching centers for classic motion picture history," Naremore said. \nAlthough the films arrived more than a year ago, they are still being cataloged, and issues of preservation, storage and access policies are being ironed out by the University libraries. Byl said plans have been approved for an auxiliary library facility, scheduled to be ready in 2002. The facility will contain a state of the art, temperature-controlled lab for the conservation and preservation of rare materials belonging to the Lilly, including the Bradley Collection. \nOne project being discussed is digitizing some of the films. Kristine Brancolini, director of the Digital Library Program, has worked closely with the collection and is optimistic about making some of the films available over a network in the near future. \n"We would probably focus on some of the more obscure films, films not available and also because of the limitations of delivering video over a network, we would probably want to focus on shorter films," Brancolini said. \nBrancolini said digital video is still in its infancy and most universities don't have a lot of experience in using the technology. But even if a digital video project does not happen soon, Brancolini said the films will eventually be available on IUCAT where students and faculty can search a database for information about the films. If films are ultimately digitized, there would be a link to a digital file in IUCAT and users could access the digital version of a film. \n"Our top priority is going to be working out faculty access and from that experience, we'll develop policies and procedures to provide access to others," Brancolini said. "We're primarily supporting the curriculum, but we do want to make some public showings and showcase the films." \nBrancolini said students will most likely have some access to the collection within the next year. Another possible venue is City Lights, the free film series on campus that screens classical cinema and is now in its third year. \nBut, in the case of City Lights, matters of copyright still have to be worked out. A vast majority of the films are licensed to copyright holders, and the Lilly Library, despite owning the films, does not own the right to show them without license. While public performance rights are not needed for showing the films in a classroom, Brancolini says screening them outside of that context would probably require some representative of the University to pay copyright fees. \nOne possibility is Swank Motion Pictures, Inc., a company that rents and licenses films and has agreed to offer a standard flat fee of $125 for anything in the collection. Swank would function as a licensing agent in the case of the Bradley films, working between the University and the movie companies which own the copyrights. The only other exception for public showings would be those films made before 1923, which are no longer protected by copyright laws. \n"We clearly do not own public performance rights and we want to comply with copyright laws regarding public performance rights with these films," Brancolini said. "It's a wonderful resource, but it comes with it a level of responsibility in how to use it. I really see it as a University commitment." \nAlthough a number of film archives exist at IU, such as the distinguished Black Film archive and the Film and Media studies archive, IU remains without a movie theater of its own. With the arrival of the Bradley Collection, some say a theater is now essential. \n"What we lack is a campus movie theater which we should have, just as we have a theatre for staging plays and operas, an art museum for art," Naremore said. "These films are great treasures of 20th century art. They're a part of our history and we ought not to be putting them away where only specialists can use them. We ought to preserve them in such a way that we can also show them under good conditions to students and the community"