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Photographing the Community on Tennessee’s Death Row

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From 2010 to 2015 I was incarcerated in Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, the Tennessee prison that houses death row for the men’s system. On one side of a gate, 250 of us lived in a “support staff” unit working maintenance, landscaping, kitchen service or whatever else kept the facility operational. On the other side of the gate were maximum-security prisoners and those in protective custody, and a unit just for the condemned.

South Korea: Families demand death for crew

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South Korean Ferry Disaster
The highly charged trial of 15 crew members from the South Korean ferry disaster began to shouts of "murderers" from victims' relatives, who called for the defendants to be executed.

With divers still searching the submerged vessel for bodies and emotions sky-high nearly two months after the tragedy, there are concerns over how fair the trial in the southern city of Gwangju will be.

The Sewol ferry was carrying 476 passengers, including 325 high school students, when it capsized and sank on April 16.

So far 292 have been confirmed dead, with 12 still unaccounted for.

Captain Lee Joon Seok and three senior crew members are accused of "homicide through wilful negligence," which carries the death penalty.

11 other members of the crew are being tried on lesser charges of criminal negligence.

They entered the courtroom to angry cries from some relatives, prompting a warning from 1 of the 3 judges that the hearing would be halted if there were further disturbances.

Outside the courthouse, other relatives demonstrated with placards, one of which appealed to the judges to "let the family members execute them."

The bulk of the charges arise from the fact that Lee and the others chose to abandon the 6,825-tonne ferry while hundreds of people were still trapped inside the heavily listing vessel before it capsized.

A handful of crew members who stayed and tried to guide passengers to safety were among those who died.

The tragedy unleashed a wave of public anger, as it emerged that incompetence, corruption and greed had all contributed to the scale of the disaster.

Much of that rage focused on Lee and his crew, especially after the coastguard released a video showing the captain, dressed in a sweater and underwear, scrambling to safety.

The prosecution said the defendants had ample opportunity to conduct a proper evacuation, but preferred to abandon ship in the knowledge that the passengers left behind would die.

Lee Gwang Jae, a lawyer representing the captain, suggested his client was being made a scapegoat.

"He could not take steps to rescue (passengers) because the ship tilted heavily," said Lee, arguing that the charge of murder should not stand. Police are still searching for the absconding ferry owner.

Source: Agence France-Presse, June 11, 2014
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