Death Penalty in Louisiana (1983)
Louisiana: The State We're In
Details
Collection:LPB
Genre: News, Public Affairs
Place Covered: Louisiana
Copyright Holder: Louisiana Educational Television Authority
Date Issued: 1983-11-11
Duration: 00:15:47
Subjects: Capital Punishment | Crime | Criminal justice, Administration of | Death row inmates | PRISONERS | Louisiana State Penitentiary | ANGOLA STATE PRISON
Contributors:
- Johnson, Ken Host
- Hollander, Gretchen Interviewee
- Connick, Harry, Sr. Interviewee
- Sinclair, Billy Interviewee
- Rideau, Wilbert Interviewee
- Baldwin, Timothy Interviewee
- Schmidt, Joan Interviewee
- Schmidt, Bill Interviewee
Description
This segment from the November 11, 1983, episode of “Louisiana: The State We’re In” features Ken Johnson’s in-depth report on the death penalty in Louisiana. Johnson reports that the last execution in Louisiana took place in 1961 and that three death row inmates, including Robert Wayne Williams, are scheduled for execution in November. This report covers the requirements for a death penalty sentence, the lengthy appeals process, the fairness of capital punishment, and the rights of victim’s families. He interviews: Gretchen Hollander of the Death Penalty Coalition; Harry Connick, Sr., the Orleans Parish District Attorney; Billy Sinclair, a former death row inmate at Angola; Wilbert Rideau, a former death row inmate at Angola; Timothy Baldwin, a death row inmate at Angola; and Joan Schmidt and Bill Schmidt, the parents of a murder victim.