"Furman Revisited: The Nexus Between Race and the Death Penalty"

5:45-8 p.m. (check-in, 5:30 p.m.)
Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012
Emory University School of Law
Tull Auditorium

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Furman v. Georgia United States Supreme Court decision that struck down Georgia’s death penalty statute and instituted a de facto moratorium on capital punishment until Gregg v. Georgia was decided years later. In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Furman decision, the Southern Center for Human Rights, Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, and Emory University’s Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution are hosting the 2012 Access to Justice Forum: "The Nexus Between Race and the Death Penalty." A panel of experts will discuss race and the death penalty then and now and answer questions from the audience. 

The conversation includes Anthony Graves, an African-American released from death row in Texas after serving 18 years for murder. A new trial was ordered for Graves in 2006, and in 2010, he was released after prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss charges. Read Graves' story as reported by Texas Monthly.

The panelists:


Introduction by Judge Lindsay R.M. Jones, associate director of the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution.
Anthony Graves, former Texas death row prisoner
Georgia State Sen. Vincent Fort


Andrea Lyon, attorney and director, DePaul University Center for Justice in Capital Cases


Sarah Bacon, criminologist and researcher for the landmark analysis of Maryland's death sentencing system.
Moderated by Sara Totonchi, executive director of The Southern Center for Human Rights.



The conference is free and public. CLE accreditation is pending.
Free parking is available (after 5 p.m.) in the Lowergate South Parking Facility, adjacent to the law school. More info
For more information, email Rachel Echemendia 13L.
Sponsored by The Southern Center for Human Rights, Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and Emory Law's Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution.

Student organizations sponsoring the forum are Black Law Students Association, Emory Public Interest Committee and Criminal Law Society.