Outside In

Outside In is a 53 1/2-minute video documentary that looks at California's death row through the eyes of several people who regularly visit death row prisoners. Those featured include a woman who visits her son; another who visits the man who murdered her daughter; a death row attorney; a priest who witnessed an execution; a number of death-penalty activists; and the sister-in-law of an executed Viet Nam veteran. Interviewees paint a collective portrait of death row not as a den of monsters but as a place of remarkable humanity, where those considered irredeemable by society struggle to make meaningful lives inside the belly of the beast, with the support and love of people on the outside.

Marin County residents Buff and Cynthia are the co-producers and directors of the documentary. For the past five years, they have been regular visitors to San Quentin's death row themselves. The idea for their film grew out of their interactions with other visitors, who have some remarkable stories to tell. The film has a definite point of view -- that death row prisoners are human beings, however monstrous their crimes might have been. We hope it will be a genuine contribution to the ongoing conversation in this country about capital punishment.

To request a copy of this film, please contact Buff Whitman-Bradley.

Buff and Cynthia Whitman-Bradley are political activists and long-time opponents of the death penalty. They have written, spoken out, organized, and demonstrated against capital punishment, and are members of a number of groups working for the abolition of state-sanctioned killing. They live in Marin County, California, and visit San Quentin's death row regularly. In addition, they visit a woman prisoner in the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California. Outside In is their first film.