jt
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 15:19:07 -0500
From: jmccorke@udel.edu
Subject: Error Condition Re: Re: Thoughts on homepages for felons?
In response to Mike's concern about the web as a forum for death row
inmates, I would like to point out that not all death row inmates are even
minimally represented by attorneys. In many cases, the only forum some of
these individuals have for generating support of any kind is through the
web. I am presently involved in a case in Delaware in which the
court-appointed attorney is less than responsive (much less practiced in
the art of capital cases) and community support is nil because the family
is poor and lacks those influential network ties that come with $$$.
Without public support and outrage over the politically-motivated
prosecution in this case, I am certain that this man will be executed
within the next year. Consequently, with limited resources one of our
central strategies if the habeas appeal fails is getting the word out
about the case and generating public support via the web.
I understand the concern over the content of the page and the implications
this has for the individual's case and death row cases more generally,
however, in seeking to limit the outlets for these folks I fear we are
reproducing the very same set of conditions that characterize the capital
sentencing process in general.
Jill McCorkel
University of Delaware