National Conference to Address the Impact of the Death Penalty
On Victims and Their Families

Does the death penalty provide justice to victims of serious crime? Is their healing process enhanced or detrimentally affected by participating in death-penalty processes? These and other vital questions will be addressed at an upcoming conference titled “The Impact of the Death Penalty on Victims' Families.” Scheduled on campus from Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 11-13, the conference is the first such event to address the impact of the death penalty on violent crime victims and their loved ones.

Panel discussions with victims of violent crime, as well as social scientists, legal scholars, and victim advocates will focus on how the death penalty affects victims and the impact of the often-years-long capital punishment process on victims and their families. The event is co-sponsored by Skidmore; the School of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany, State University of New York; and Justice Solutions, a national organization specializing in victim assistance.

The conference is organized to serve four goals:

• Provide a supportive, respectful forum for families of victims to discuss how they have been affected — physically, emotionally, psychologically, financially, and spiritually — by the death penalty and related processes.
  
• Summarize existing research, and identify key dimensions of family impact and areas where further research is needed.
  
• Identify the role of victim advocates in capital cases and the unique challenges that victims in these cases face.
  
• Begin a dialogue on the subject among victims/survivors, legal professionals,
  and scholars.

Several conference events are open to the public. All are scheduled on Friday, Sept. 12. Details are as follows:

• Gannett Auditorium, Palamountain Hall
  
  • Panel Discussion, “Victims and Capital Punishment: Legal and Research Perspectives,” 1:30 p.m.
    
  • Panel Discussion, “Innovations in Victims’ Services,” 3:30 p.m.
    
• Bernhard Theater, 8 p.m.
  
  • Performance: “A Body in Motion,” a play by Ingrid DeSanctis presenting the many complex and varied responses to violent events by survivors of crime. Tickets are $5, general admission; $2 senior citizens; students free with ID.

Also open to the public is an exhibition at the Tang Museum’s Winter Gallery titled “Visualizing the Victim: Artists’ Reflections On Crime.” Co-curated by students under the direction of Gretchen Wagner, the exhibition runs from Sept. 6 through Nov. 9. Admission to the Tang is $5 for adults, $3 for children 12 and older, and $2 for senior citizens. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and closed on major holidays.

A number of noted scholars, crime victim advocates, and crime victims will participate in the conference, including the following: Jim Acker, professor in the School of Criminal Justice, UAlbany; Robert Blecker, New York Law School; Beau Breslin, assistant professor of government, Skidmore; Renny Cushing, Murder Victims for Reconciliation; Carroll Ann Ellis, director of victim services, Fairfax County (Va.) Police Department; David Kaczynski, New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty; David Karp, assistant professor of sociology, Skidmore; Roberta Roper, The Stephanie Roper Foundation; Austin Sarat, Amherst College; Anne Seymour, director, Justice Solutions; Marlene Young, executive director, National Organization for Victims Assistance; Mark Umbreit, Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking at the University of Minnesota; and Howard Zehr, Conflict Transformation Program, Eastern Mennonite University.

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