An Outline of the Elements of Clemency Videos in Capital Cases

Clemency Video Features

Length of Video

Relevant Dates

• Date of the video
• Date of execution if scheduled

Audience Specifically Addressed

• State's Governor
• Pardon Board
• Victims/Survivors
• Defendant's Family Members
• Defendant's Community
• Activists
• Policymakers
• Broadcasters
• General public (request is made that citizens support the clemency petition)
• Target audience is ambiguous/unknown (narrative is aimed at no specific audience)

Defendant's Demographic Characteristics and Background as Revealed in Video

• Gender
• Race/Ethnicity
• Age at time of video (either a specific age or within these categories: <18, 18-25, 25-40, 40-60, 60+)
• Age at the time of the crime
• Education level
• Prior/Other felony convictions
• State convicted in

Victim Characteristics as Revealed in Video

• Gender
• Race/Ethnicity
• Age
• Relationship to defendant
• Stranger to defendant

Primary Narrative Type

• Mitigating Circumstances
• Rehabilitation
• Innocence
• Procedural Irregularities
• Sentencing Inequity

Secondary Narrative Type

• Mitigating Circumstances
• Rehabilitation
• Remorse and Mercy
• Innocence
• Procedural Irregularities
• Sentencing Inequity
• Combination
• None

Mitigating Circumstances Narrative Features

• Mental Retardation
• Mental Illness
• Traumatized Childhood
• Sexual abuse as a child
• Specific stories of childhood abuse provided
• Youth invoked
• Elderly status invoked
• Event in childhood analogized to the crime
• Victim was culpable to some degree
• Drug abuse/alcoholism
• Treatment sought for substance abuse, but ineffective
• Offenses against the defendant during incarceration
• Introduction of evidence of mitigating circumstances denied at trial

Rehabilitation Narrative Features

• Person has "changed"
• Religious Rehabilitation
• Specific religion given
• Rehabilitation without religion
• Third parties confirm that the defendant has changed
• Good deeds in prison enumerated
• Worse world without them (others say it would be)
• Projection that the defendant will continue performing good deeds if allowed to live
• Comparison of world if defendant was allowed to live versus killed

Remorse and Mercy Narrative Features

• Admission of guilt or responsibility for the crime
• Expression of remorse
• Apology or expression of sympathy for the victim and victim's loved ones
• Plea for mercy by loved ones
• Theoretical challenge to retributive theory of justice
• Legal theory of the role of clemency included
• Challenge to the death penalty in general (as inhumane, immoral, unconstitutional, etc.)
• Emphasizes that the governor has control over the life of an individual

Innocence Narrative Features

• Explanation of legal role of clemency as a check on judicial mistakes
• Witnesses Speak
• Problem with trial
• Jurors acknowledge problem in trial
• New evidence of innocence has arisen
• Problem after Trial
• No recourse beyond clemency
• What problems occurred and why are explained
• No reason why the defendant is innocent provided in video

Procedural Irregularities Narrative Features

• Explanation of how mistake impacted trial
• Emphasis on Clemency as a Final Option
• Specific examples of trial irregularities given
• Police Impropriety
• Specific reasons why defendant is innocent
• Jury Discrimination
• Discrimination in jury selection
• Prosecutorial abuse
• Evidence tampering

Sentencing Inequity Narrative Features

• Sentence of accomplice provided
• Accomplice was more culpable than defendant
• Life without parole was unavailable option at time of sentencing
• Similar case(s) with lighter sentence provided
• Jurors claim they would have sentenced differently
• Compare sentence to an accomplice in the crime
• Compare sentence to others with similar crimes

General Storytelling Techniques

• Use of Narrator-identified or unidentified
• Use of titlecards (text on screen)
• Use of interviews
• Defendant appears
• Defendant appears confined by wire or glass
• Defendant speaks but does not appear
• Defendant's absence is explained
• Family Members speak
• Expert Witnesses speak
• Teachers speak
• Social Workers/Advocates speak
• Ministers/Spiritual Advisors speak
• Fellow Inmates speak
• Pen Pals speak
• Friends speak
• Prison officials/employees speak
• Non-acquaintances speak (people the
• defendant has not really interacted with)
• Victim's loved ones speak
• Interviewer heard questioning people
• Ending with call to action or other advocacy goals for audience

Visual Elements

• Images of death chamber or house
• Images of prison
• Images of the crime scene and other pertinent locations
• Images/clips of evidence
• Images/clips associated with mitigating circumstances
• Images of defendant before the crime
• Images of defendant during trial
• Images of defendant in prison
• Images of defendant's family
• Images of the victim
• Images of pertinent documents
• News and archival footage

Audio or Sound Elements

• Narration
• No one speaks on behalf of defendant
• A few people speak on behalf of defendant (no more than 6)
• Many people speak on behalf of the defendant (more than 6)
• Background music
• Synchronous sound
• Sound effects

Expressions of Emotions

• 1 or more persons (other than defendant) cries
• Defendant cries
• Children speak on behalf of defendant
• People beg for clemency
• Impromptu interviews
• People speak from pre-written segments
• Portrayal of the death penalty process

Clemency Video Backstory

Production responsibilities of lawyers

• Scriptwriter
• Interviewer
• Narrator
• Producer
• Cinematographer
• Editor

Length of production time

Approximate cost of production

Distribution targets

• Governor
• Pardoning authority
• Lawmakers and Policymakers
• General public

Media deployed

• Internet
• Broadcast media
• Private screenings
• Public screenings
• Disk duplication and distribution

Approximate cost of distribution

Response or action requested

• Petition or letter writing
• Donations
• Marches or rallies

Impact

• Defendant's case
• Defendant
• Victim or victim's survivors
• Defendant's family and friends

Outcome of case

• Date of execution
• Date of commutation
• Current status