Sentencing the Victim

Contact: Cara White 843/881-1480 carapub@aol.com Randall Cole 415/356-8383 randall<em>cole@itvs.org Wilson Ling 415/356-8383 wilson</em>ling@itvs.org

For the program companion website, visit www.pbs.org/sentencingthevictim

(Charleston, SC) — July 27, 2004 — South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford will perform a ceremonial signing of Bill S.935, a new law designed to make the parole process easier on the victims of crime. The new law was inspired by the experiences of Charleston native Joanna Katz, a rape survivor who shared her story in the documentary film SENTENCING THE VICTIM, which aired nationally on the PBS series Independent Lens in March of this year. SENTENCING THE VICTIM was the highest-rated single episode of the Emmy®-nominated series during the 2003-2004 season. Signing of the bill will happen on July 28, 2004 at 11 A.M. in the Grand Courtroom of the Charleston County Courthouse, located at 84 Broad Street.

In 1988, Joanna Katz and a friend were abducted at gunpoint, brutally raped, beaten, and systematically tortured by five men for over five hours. SENTENCING THE VICTIM tells the story of how a blood-soaked 19-year old was able to walk away from her attackers, save her friend from certain death and fight for the convictions of her assailants.

But that is only part of the story. Despite their 30-to-35-year sentences, Katz's attackers became eligible for parole after serving only a fraction of this time. Before the passage of S.935, criminals in South Carolina who participated in a group assault received separate parole hearings on separate days. Victims who wished to oppose parole for their attackers, as did Katz, had to subject themselves to an emotionally agonizing experience that must be repeated year after year. In order to ensure that her attackers would remain behind bars, Joanna Katz traveled over 100 miles from her home in Charleston to the state capital of Columbia numerous times every year to attend separate parole hearings for each of the five men who assaulted her.

S. 935 corrects many of the injustices suffered by Joanna Katz and other victims of violent crime in South Carolina.

1) The new law requires that parole hearings for all codefendants convicted of a single crime be heard on one day, ensuring victims will never have to oppose parole more than once every two years.

2) The new law also allows victims outside of the Columbia area to testify before the Parole Board via a closed circuit two-way television system, making the process accessible to those who would otherwise not be able to travel. Trident Technical College in Charleston, S.C. will be the first of three future sites that will be utilized for the satellite videoconferencing for victims in South Carolina.

3) The law requires that S.C. Probation, Parole and Pardon Services provide victims with review information on all defendants who meet parole eligibility prior to the parole hearing date. The new law was made possible by the lobbying efforts of the S.C. Victims Assistance Network and was introduced by Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, and supported by S.C. Representative Bobby Harrell, R- Charleston.

"The victim has had enough pain, without being re-victimized by the criminal justice system,” said Laura Hudson, public policy coordinator for the S.C. Victim Assistance Network. "Joanna Katz has accomplished what few victims are able to do — turn her personal tragedy and pain into positive change, both for herself and the unknown victims of the future.”

"To see this project come full circle is truly amazing. This film began with a conversation over a haircut and is ending, almost ten years later, with meaningful legislation for victims in South Carolina. I think that speaks volumes as to the power of this medium and one story told,” said Liz Oakley, Co-Producer and Director of SENTENCING THE VICTIM.

"We're extremely proud that the PBS broadcast of SENTENCING THE VICTIM helped bring about this change,” said PBS President and CEO, Pat Mitchell. "As our country's only public service media company, PBS and its stations are devoted to making a difference in communities nationwide.”

"When I sat down to watch SENTENCING THE VICTIM, I couldn't stop watching,” said Independent Lens Series Producer, Lois Vossen. "I knew that anyone who saw Joanna's story would be moved by her honesty and quiet courage. This film represents the best of independent filmmaking by telling a personal story with a message that inspires audiences and has the great potential to impact communities."

The film will be receiving the Community Awareness Through the Media Award at the American Probation and Parole Association's 29th Annual Training Institute in Orlando, Florida on July 25th, 2004.

The program's interactive companion website is www.pbs.org/sentencingthevictim features detailed information about the film, including an interview with the filmmakers, cast and crew bios, as well as links and resources pertaining to the film's subject matter. The site also features a "talkback” section where hundreds of viewers have shared their ideas and opinions.

SENTENCING THE VICTIM Credits

Produced by: Liz Oakley and Joanna Katz Directed by: Liz Oakley Videography: Ed Bates Edited by: Liz Oakley and Ed Bates Graphic Design by: Ed Bates

                            Steven Katz

About Independent Lens

Independent Lens is a weekly series airing Tuesday nights at 10 P.M. on PBS. The acclaimed anthology series features documentaries and a limited number of fiction films united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement and unflinching visions of their independent producers. Independent Lens features unforgettable stories about a unique individual, community or moment in history, which prompted Nancy Franklin in The New Yorker to write: "Watching Independent Lens...is like going into an independent bookstore—you don't always find what you were looking for but you often find something you didn't even know you wanted.” Presented by ITVS, the series is supported by interactive companion websites, and national publicity and community outreach campaigns. Further information about the series is available at www.pbs.org/independent lens. Independent Lens is jointly curated by ITVS and PBS, and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding provided by PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts.

About ITVS

Independent Television Service (ITVS) funds and presents award-winning documentaries and dramas on public television, innovative new media projects on the Web and the weekly series Independent Lens on Tuesday nights at 10 P.M. on PBS. ITVS is a miracle of public policy created by media activists, citizens and politicians seeking to foster plurality and diversity in public television. ITVS was established by a historic mandate of Congress to champion independently produced programs that take creative risks, spark public dialogue and serve underserved audiences. Since its inception in 1991, ITVS programs have revitalized the relationship between the public and public television, bringing TV audiences face-to-face with the lives and concerns of their fellow Americans. More information about ITVS can be obtained by visiting www.itvs.org. ITVS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American People.

Community Connection Projects

ITVS selected SENTENCING THE VICTIM as one of its Community Connections Projects (CCP), supporting the film through a variety of community, campus and professional development engagement activities and resources. This program ensures that social-issue television programs achieve their potential impact, reaching the audiences for which they were created, and which are sometimes difficult to reach through broadcast alone.

The SENTENCING THE VICTIM outreach team and its partners (including American Probation and Parole Association, Security on Campus, Victims and the Media) worked with Joanna Katz to develop an outreach campaign, targeted to crime victims and survivors; families, friends and colleagues of victims; criminal justice professionals; hospital and mental health professionals; public policymakers and educators.

This campaign educated these audiences about the short and long term impact of violent crime on victims and their families; the ways in which participation in the criminal justice process can further traumatize victims and their families and the benefits of their participation to their healing process; the sensitive treatment of victims and their families by criminal justice and allied professionals, colleagues and friends and how their treatment can affect a victim's ability and capacity to heal in the aftermath of a violent crime. The materials developed also offered recommendations to improve treatment of victims and their families by criminal justice and allied professionals, colleagues and friends.

For more information about ITVS's Community Connections Project and to download materials for SENTENCING THE VICTIM, visit www.itvs.org/outreach/sentencingthevictim.

About PBS

PBS is a private, nonprofit media enterprise that serves the nation's 349 public noncommercial television stations, reaching nearly 90 million people each week. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions. PBS is the leading provider of educational materials for K-12 teachers, and offers a broad array of educational services for adult learners. PBS' premier kids' TV programming and Web site, PBS KIDS Online (pbskids.org), continue to be parents' and teachers' most trusted learning environments for children. More information about PBS is available at pbs.org, the leading dot-org Web site on the Internet. PBS is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.

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Contact:

Cara White 843/881-1480 carapub@aol.com Mary Lugo 770/623-8190 lugo@negia.net Randall Cole 415/356-8383 x254 randall_cole@itvs.org

Program companion website, visit www.pbs.org/sentencingthevictim

(San Francisco, CA) — On June 17, 1988, Joanna Katz's life changed forever. That night, she and another woman were abducted at gunpoint, brutally raped, beaten, and systematically tortured by five men for over five hours. The story of how a blood soaked 19-year old was able to walk away from her attackers, save her friend from certain death and fight for the convictions of her assailants is the compelling, and often mesmerizing, foundation for SENTENCING THE VICTIM.

But that is only part of the story — despite their sentences of 30 to 35 years, Katz's attackers were eligible for parole after serving only a fraction of their respective sentences. For the past seven years, her frequent appearances before the parole board have been documented, and the revelations are shocking. With each hearing, she opens old wounds. With each hearing, she wonders who was really sentenced.

This is the story of one woman's journey to heal, and to open our eyes to the inequities of our judicial system. There are implications that we as a society must consider and lessons that police officers, victims‚ advocates, families, doctors and health care workers, attorneys, and parole boards must learn. It's about turning empathy into action. It's about turning something horrible into something good.

A film that explores the issue of victims' rights, SENTENCING THE VICTIM will air nationally on the PBS series Independent Lens, hosted by Don Cheadle, on Tuesday, March 2nd at 10:00 P.M. (check local listings).

The program's interactive companion website is www.pbs.org/sentencingthevictim features detailed information about the film, including an interview with the filmmakers, cast and crew bios, as well as links and resources pertaining to the film's subject matter. The site also features a "talkback” section for viewers to share their ideas and opinions, preview clips of the film and more.

SENTENCING THE VICTIM Credits

Produced by: Liz Oakley and Joanna Katz Directed by: Liz Oakley Videography: Ed Bates Edited by: Liz Oakley and Ed Bates Graphic Design by: Ed Bates

                            Steven Katz

Featured Interviews (in order of appearance)

Joanna Katz, Co-producer and subject

Dr. Sidney Katz, father of Joanna Katz and retired Professor Emeritus from the Medical University of South Carolina.

Jack Sinclaire, attorney who was Joanna's Chief Counsel during the time of her case.

Georgia Meloy, Charleston County Police Department investigator covering rape cases for the City of Charleston Police Department during the time of Katz's case. She is now retired.

Diane Katz, mother of Joanna Katz and retired quality assurance director of Charleston County Hospital.

Sherry Monk Fortenberry, Katz's rape crisis counselor during the time of her case and a volunteer People Against Rape. Fortenberry now works as a nurse.

About the Filmmakers

Liz Oakley (Director/Co-Producer)

Liz Oakley began her career as a successful news producer in the mid 1980's. However, after 7 years in the trenches of television news, she decided it was time for a change. Oakley moved to Charleston, SC taking a position as Public Relations Director for a statewide non-profit organization.

In 1994, Oakley formed Blue Lizard Productions, enabling her to work with a variety of production companies and advertising agencies producing corporate videos, commercial advertising, and designing and implementing public relations campaigns.

In 1997, she merged with IVS Video, Inc. and began producing programs ranging from historical documentaries to sales and promotional videos for international corporations. A winner of numerous awards celebrating excellence in video production, Oakley's heart lies in productions that work to promote social justice and improve the human condition. Sentencing the Victim is her first feature length documentary.

Joanna Katz (Co-Producer)

Joanna Katz is a Charleston, S.C. native. A hairstylist for 15 years, she also acts in local theater. Katz began her work as an activist in 1991 by speaking publicly about her rape at a Take Back the Night Vigil in Charleston. She went on to facilitate rape support groups with Charleston's People Against Rape and served on panels for education at the Department of Psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina.

When Katz's rapists began to come up for parole in 1996, her advocacy took a different turn and she began working with Liz Oakley on SENTENCING THE VICTIM. Since the release of the film, Katz has spoken at numerous national conferences dealing with victims' issues and has addressed a group at the U.S. Department of Justice. She is currently working with national victim's advocates on the development of educational materials and pushing for policy changes to improve South Carolina's parole process.

About Independent Lens

Independent Lens is a weekly series airing Tuesday nights at 10 P.M. on PBS. The acclaimed anthology series features documentaries and a limited number of fiction films united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement and unflinching visions of their independent producers. Independent Lens features unforgettable stories about a unique individual, community or moment in history, which prompted Nancy Franklin in The New Yorker to write "Watching Independent Lens...is like going into an independent bookstore—you don't always find what you were looking for but you often find something you didn't even know you wanted.” Presented by ITVS, the series is supported by interactive companion websites, and national publicity and community outreach campaigns. Further information about the series is available at www.pbs.org/independent lens. Independent Lens is jointly curated by ITVS and PBS, and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding provided by PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts.

About ITVS

Independent Television Service (ITVS) funds and presents award-winning documentaries and dramas on public television, innovative new media projects on the Web and the weekly series Independent Lens on Tuesday nights at 10 P.M. on PBS. ITVS is a miracle of public policy created by media activists, citizens and politicians seeking to foster plurality and diversity in public television. ITVS was established by a historic mandate of Congress to champion independently produced programs that take creative risks, spark public dialogue and serve underserved audiences. Since its inception in 1991, ITVS programs have revitalized the relationship between the public and public television, bringing TV audiences face-to-face with the lives and concerns of their fellow Americans. More information about ITVS can be obtained by visiting www.itvs.org. ITVS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American People.

About PBS

PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a private, nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 349 public television stations. Serving nearly 90 million people each week, PBS enriches the lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services on noncommercial television, the Internet and other media. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, the leading dot-org Web site on the Internet.