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Monday, July 23, 2007

Ind. Courts - Hoosier State Press Ass'n. endorses lifting ban on face-to-face death row interviews

The July 19th issue of The Indiana Publisher includes a column by Stephen Key, General Counsel to the HSPA. headlined "Moving to end the ban on death row interviews." It begins:
HSPA and the HSPA Foundation will lend their name to an amicus brief written by the Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press that opposes a ban on face-to-face interviews of death row inmates that has been in place for years at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute.

The ban was put in place following a televised interview with convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in 2000. I believe the ban was instituted due to political pressure brought to bear by individuals angered that McVeigh’s hateful opinions received a nationwide audience.

Max Jones, editor of the Tribune-Star (Terre Haute), asked HSPA and the Foundation to join an amicus brief to be filed in Hammer v. Ashcroft, a case before the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Here is the 7th Circuit webpage for the briefs in 06-1750: Hammer, David P. v. Ashcroft, John, classified as "Prisoner Appeal; Nature of Suit: Prison Condition/US Defendant." At this point, only the Appellee (the government's) brief is available.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 23, 2007 05:33 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts