05 February 2010

Conference Highlights from Louisville, KY

The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP) flew me out to Louisville, KY the other weekend to document their annual conference. Over 350 people attended from across the United States, and was one of the best I've been to. Here are some photo highlights from the weekend:



Above: Sister Helen Prejean waits behind Emcee Magdaleno Rose-Avila before being introduced at the evening awards dinner.


Above left: Anthony (Tony) Amsterdam gives an acceptance speech after receiving his award at the conference. Amsterdam argued and won the famous death penalty case Furman v. Georgia in 1972, in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty.

Above right: A member of a local drum line waits to start the evening entertainment for the awards program.


Above: more of the drum line at the conference.


Musician Steve Earle performs at the evening awards dinner after receiving an award for his outspoken work on the death penalty.



Above left: David Kaczynski (right), brother of the infamous Unabomber, shares a laugh during a workshop with Celeste Fitzgerald, program director of NJADP.

Above right: Attendees at the conference enjoy the Sunday morning interfaith reflection service.


Above: Ron Keine (left) and Shujaa Graham (right) were both wrongfully convicted and spent several years on death row before proving their innocence. Both are actively working across the US and abroad to educate others about the injustice of capital punishment.



Above: While not the most visually striking photo of the hundreds I shot of speakers at the podium, I have to share it here because when I saw this man's eyes through my camera, I was taken aback. This photo was taken of Dr. Allen Ault as he recounted about his experiences as the warden at the maximum security prison in Georgia where executions were carried out during his time there. The look was a glazed stare - what I imagine those who come home from war look like as the relive their experiences through thought or through speaking. These eyes will haunt me forever, knowing what they have seen.

2 comments:

  1. Wow! Powerful images! Thanks for sharing. You are the best!

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  2. Can you give Steve Earle a hug for me the next time you see him? I love his songwriting.

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