by Jennifer Schneider
Staff Writer
If it is morally wrong to murder the innocent, is it right to kill
the guilty? This hot topic will be discussed tonight at 7 p.m. in
the Price Lake Room of Plemmons Student Union.
The panel discussion includes guest speakers Paul Luebke, Executive
Director of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, and Stephen
Dear a representative from the North Carolina House, and will focus
on the death penalty moratorium that will be voted on this summer.
The panel wants to emphasize the importance for North Carolinians
to get involved with the moratorium as they will be directly affected
in the coming months when the bill comes up for vote, political
science and criminal justice professor Dr. Barbara H. Zaitzow said.
The moratorium would prohibit North Carolina from having any executions
for two years in order to study any possible change in crime rates,
senior psychology major Anna L. Crayton said.
“Since it is such a hot issue in North Carolina particularly,
we want students to hear both sides of the argument and come out
with an educated decision on what they believe," she said.
The discussion leads up to author of “Dead Man Walking,”
Sister Helen Prejean’s arrival to the Appalachian State University
Campus April 19 at 7 p.m. in Farthing Auditorium where she will
discuss her views on the death penalty.
According to her biography, Prejean, involved in prison ministry
since 1981, became a crusader against executions after repeatedly
visiting one particular inmate.
Patrick Sonnier was convicted of killing two teenagers and sentenced
in Louisiana to die in the electric chair. He requested that Prejean
be his spiritual advisor prior to the execution. She then wrote
about her experiences with the Louisiana execution process.
The international best seller was turned into a major motion picture
in 1996 starring Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon.
As a founder of “Survive,” Prejean counsels inmates
and their families and holds lectures to educate the public on the
death penalty.
“The best way to make your own opinion is to hear the opinions
of others,” Crayton said. “We hope to have respectful
dialog about the subject because the more view points people bring
the better.”
Both events are free and open to the public. Prejean will sign copies
of her book, which will be sold at the speech for $15.
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