PRESS RELEASE: Launching the #DeathPenaltyFail campaign!
We’re excited to announce the launch of #DeathPenaltyFail – a new collaboration led by Equal Justice USA to promote the facts, highlight the inefficiencies, and push for the repeal of the death penalty in the United States.
The practice of capital punishment has long been fraught with pragmatic, fiscal, and constitutional problems; and is on the decline in the US. Yet the country remains one of the top executing nations in the world.
Using films, visuals, and the stories of exonerees, victim’s families, and law enforcement, we are committed to educating people about the social, emotional, and financial burdens of the death penalty.
#DeathPenaltyFail launches with a series of films – produced by Sundog Pictures – aimed at shedding light on the hard facts surrounding the death penalty, and bringing them to life in a way that feels fresh and compelling without straying into the sensational, and without emotionally manipulating our audience. The issue of the death penalty is complex and layered. No single short film could do justice to the full spectrum of debate and information.
Three short films: an animated comedy, a testimony driven documentary, and a visceral dramatic reconstruction of what actually happens in an execution room.
#DeathPenaltyFail: A Conservative Concern
A Texas-based documentary driven by conservative voices including a former Governor responsible for signing off on the execution of 19 men, a campaigner whose brother was brutally murdered in Nebraska, as well as the latest exonerated man to be freed from Death Row in Texas. A Conservative Concern was also recut into a series of shorts digging into each story.
Directed by Leo Burley, Produced by Rebecca Mounsey
Executive Producer: Sam Anthony
#DeathPenaltyFail: A Really Quick and Occasionally Bloody Look at the Death Penalty
This fast paced animation brings the facts and stats associated with the death penalty to life in a darkly funny and irreverent way.
Co-production with Flickerlab (NYC). Produced by Harold Moss & Rebecca Mounsey.
Executive Producer: Dov Freedman.
#DeathPenaltyFail: A Lethal Injection
A painstaking reconstruction of a real-time execution by lethal injection that highlights some of the very specific issues relating to the US’ preferred execution method. Using CCTV footage, authentic set design and a script based on real life events, the reality of a lethal injection is heightened to uncomfortable levels.
Directed by Bruce Goodison, Produced by Rebecca Mounsey
Executive Producer: Johnny Webb
We hope to inspire activism and interest in the videos and will work towards repeal with individuals across the country who sign-up to join our effort.
#DeathPenaltyFail is a network of organizations that are united in efforts to repeal the Death Penalty:
Sundog Pictures: Responsible for the inception and production of all film and creative content for #DeathPenaltyFail
Flickerlab: New York based animation company responsible for the co-production of “A Really Quick and Occasionally Bloody Look at the Death Penalty”
Virgin Unite USA: Virgin Unite is the entrepreneurial foundation of the Virgin Group and the Branson family. We unite people and entrepreneurial ideas to create opportunities for a better world. In line with our objective to advance human rights where it relates to the persons affected by death penalty, Virgin Unite has collaborated with EJUSA to develop the #DeathPenaltyFail campaign and digital platform, aiming to correct widely held misperceptions about the death penalty and educate the public on the issue.
Equal Justice USA – A non-profit organisation, working state by state and city by city to change the conversation, build bridges across disparate constituencies, and strengthen local campaigns to repeal the death penalty. EJUSA will be the driving force behind #DeathPenaltyFail advocacy strategy, helping our audience find an active role in this movement.
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty – A place where like-minded conservatives can come together and discuss the death penalty issue.
Witness to Innocence – A foundation to support those who have been incarcerated on death row, only later to be found innocent. A number of exonerees will speak at some screenings of the #DeathPenaltyFail videos
SD2 Labs – SD Squared is an engineering team supporting the #DeathPenaltyFail campaign.
Please contact deathpenaltyfail@gmail.com with any questions or press inquiries.
You can also sign up for #DeathPenaltyFail email updates here, via Facebook here; and Twitter here.
