Key Points
- Florida State University College of Law will examine the death penalty through the lenses of constitutional law, international human rights and public policy at the International Human Rights and the Death Penalty Symposium on Nov. 13.
- The program will feature keynote presentations from prominent speakers, panel discussions on the legal landscape of capital punishment, methods of execution, international perspectives and the experiences of victims' families.
Florida State University College of Law will bring international scholars, legal experts and advocates to campus Nov. 13 for a symposium examining the death penalty through the lenses of constitutional law, international human rights and public policy.
The college will host its inaugural International Human Rights and the Death Penalty Symposium featuring former Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj and Sister Helen Prejean, whose memoir inspired the Academy Award-nominated film “Dead Man Walking.” The daylong event follows an Oct. 8 discussion at FSU Law on capital punishment under the U.S. Constitution.
“Capital punishment continues to raise difficult questions about how state policies align with constitutional protections and international human rights standards,” said Erin O’Hara O’Connor, dean of the FSU College of Law. “These events give our students and the broader community a chance to examine competing arguments and learn directly from leaders, scholars and attorneys whose work has shaped death penalty law and policy.”
“Capital punishment continues to raise difficult questions about how state policies align with constitutional protections and international human rights standards.”
– Erin O’Hara O’Connor, dean of the FSU College of Law
The November symposium will feature keynote presentations by Elbegdorj, who led Mongolia’s efforts to abolish the death penalty, and Prejean, the internationally recognized advocate against capital punishment. The program will feature panel discussions on the legal landscape of capital punishment, methods of execution, international perspectives and the experiences of victims’ families.
The day will also include a screening and panel discussion of “The Window on Death Row,” a documentary following Joaquín José Martínez, the first Spanish citizen exonerated from a U.S. death row. Martínez and filmmaker Linda Freund will both serve as panelists and moderators at the symposium. Featured speakers include Corinna Barrett Lain of the University of Richmond School of Law, Robin Maher of the Death Penalty Information Center, Mario Marazziti, a former member of Italy’s Chamber of Deputies and William Schabas of Middlesex University London.
The symposium follows an Oct. 8 event hosted by the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies at FSU Law, “Debating Death: Is the Death Penalty Cruel and Unusual Punishment?” The discussion featured Jacob Eisler, FSU Law’s James Edmund and Margaret Elizabeth Hennessey Corry Professor, and Zack Smith, a University of West Florida professor and senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation.
The November symposium runs from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is free and open to the public. A livestream will be available for those unable to attend in person. For the full schedule, speaker biographies and registration details, visit law.fsu.edu/IHRDPS.