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Dateline: 26th August, 2005
Human Rights Award for The Exonerated Amnesty International today (Friday 26th August) announced the winner of the 2005 U Win Tin Freedom of Expression Award. Judges were captivated by The Exonerated, Erik Jensen and Jessica Blank’s play at the Queen’s Hall, which uses extracts of documentary evidence to illustrate six interweaving accounts of miscarriages of justice. Sonny Jacobs,who was at the centre of the production, spent sixteen years on death row before being exonerated. She was presented with the award by festival impresario Ricky Demarco at the Scotsman Fringe Awards Ceremony this morning. The judging panel for the award, which recognises excellent theatre raising human rights issues, consisted of David Taylor (Head of Drama, Scottish arts Council), Joyce McMillan (chief theatre critic, The Scotsman), Neil Cooper (chief theatre critic, The Herald) Mark Fisher (theatre critic, Scotland on Sunday) and Stephanie Knight (Director of the RBS Centre for Community Arts Research and Practice, QMUC). Commenting on their decision, the panel issued the following statement: “The Exonerated was tremendously powerful, the clear winner. "This beautifully crafted production is delivered in an astonishing ensemble performance, in which the static staging offers a poignant sense of stillness. "This is drama for true reclamation. Sonny Jacobs’ voice is very clear in terms of forgiveness and universal reconciliation. There remains at least a grain of hope that if people are determined to fight, the existing US criminal justice system can be moderated.” Rosemary Burnett, Programme Director, Scotland of Amnesty International said, “We are delighted that such a stunning production has won the Freedom of Expression Award. The Exonerated emphasises that the judicial system in the USA discriminates against those who are poor and those who are black. The production points out that even when a person has been proved to be innocent, they have often been kept on Death Row through sheer vindictiveness. Amnesty in Scotland is currently campaigning for a fair retrial in the case of Kenny Richey, the Scot on Death Row in the USA, and the parallels with his case are striking. “We were very impressed with the overall standard of the four shortlisted productions which between them addressed the themes of violence against women, torture, the death penalty and the war on Iraq. These shows looked beyond the surface of human rights issues as they are often presented in the media.” The winner was chosen by the judging panel from a shortlist that also included:
Philip Fisher interviewed Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen in Edinburgh. Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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