Documentary Film + Direct Action = Social Media

What happens when you see a documentary film that moves you? Do you feel sad? Helpless? It is important to remember that social justice documentary films are a form of social media that require follow up to be fully effective. In order to take the leap from informed yet helpless spectator to empowered social media activist, it requires further investigation and action.

At the Death House Door , one of the films chosen for our Human Rights Film Series , is a particularly poignant example of a way to take information from a film and act on it. At the Death House Door tells the story of Carlos DeLuna. DeLuna is one of the many convicts whose evidence and sentence do not match up. While he was at the scene of the crime, he did not have a single drop of blood on him, but was convicted of a very bloody stabbing. Further investigation makes it hard to agree with the conviction of DeLuna. However, he was not only convicted, he was executed.

At the Death House Door gives us the ammunition to investigate the current state of affairs. Today DeLuna is gone, but there are living death row inmates who are innocent.

American University's School of Communication Professor Rick Stack turned my attention to Troy Anthony Davis' case. Troy Anthony Davis was convicted of murder in 1991 and is scheduled for death on September 23rd, 2008. That is one week away. His story is compelling and worth researching. The majority of the witnesses have now recanted, claiming that their initial implication came about from fear of what police would do if they didn't cooperate.

Currently the Board of Parole and Pardons in Georgia is accepting letters and emails regarding correct action to be taken. They have the option to grant him clemency and review the trial with new information.

For more information regarding Troy's story or advice on a letter/email to write to the State Board of Pardon and Paroles, please visit the Amnesty International page for Troy Anthony Davis.

Social media comes alive when we use these amazing tools to take action. It allows us to write one simple letter, send it on and voice our opinions. With a critical mass of letters, the Georgia Pardon and Paroles Board will be faced with a more complicated situation, one that requires further analysis. I challenge you to do the research and ask yourself is Troy Anthony Davis worth fighting for?