Washington City Paper: Contents for Mar. 2, 2007

Death Mettle
In the last six years, the District has had two death-penalty trials. A third is under way right now. Do you have what it takes to pick the jury?

Cover Story By Jason Cherkis and Chris Peterson

No. 5238 was among the prospective jurors in the 2002 trial U.S. v. Kevin Gray et al. This was a death penalty case, with the defendants ultimately convicted of multiple murders. No. 5238 was asked his feelings on the ultimate sanction. The prospective juror wrote, “I am against the death penalty because only God can raise the dead.”

It took more than two months to choose the jury in the Gray case. No. 5238 was bounced in a matter of seconds.

Jurors eventually spared the Gray defendants the death penalty and gave them life sentences instead. The same thing happened a year earlier in U.S. v. Tommy Edelin, an accused drug kingpin facing a 103-count indictment that included seven murders.

The reluctance of D.C. jurors to embrace death hasn’t deterred federal prosecutors from recruiting them to play Texas hangmen. In January of this year, the latest death penalty trial began, this time against alleged gang enforcer Larry Gooch.

In each case, the jury selection is murder. In the Gray proceedings, 6,500 people were summoned. Of those, almost 2,500 did not respond, another 1,038 were excused, and 591 were disqualified, leaving 694 potential jurors.

No. 5238 was one of those 694—people who actually showed up at the courthouse for service. These included citizens who refused to give the court their unlisted phone numbers, folks who attached copies of airline tickets to establish their absentee credentials, and others who undermined the ideal of an anonymous jury by signing their questionnaires. ... Continued

Issue of Mar. 2, 2007

News and Features

Death Mettle
Do you have what it takes to pick a District death-penalty jury?
Cover Story By Jason Cherkis and Chris Peterson
Pure Rubbish
Condo owner faces off with popular cafe over garbage.
The City By Amanda S. Miller
Conventional Wisdom
Taking You Behind the Scenes of America's Industry Confabs
The City By Rob Tierney
Service Industry
Rating D.C.'s Houses of Worship
The City By Aaron Leitko
Why I Switched
Distractions
Ernie Pook's Comeek
Comics By Lynda Barry
Lulu Eightball
Comics By Emily Flake
Red Meat
Comics By Max Cannon
thingpart
Comics By Joe Sayers
The City
Comics By Derf
Dirt Farm
Comics By Ben Claassen
Government Cheese
Comics By R. Jelani
Found Art
Distractions By T. D.
Post Secret
Distractions
Take That, Charter Schools
The Mail

Columns

The Mendelson Mandate
The designated council wonk has finally found his calling: councilmember most likely to piss off Mayor Adrian Fenty.
Loose Lips By James Jones
In The Years A.D.
T.C. Williams thrives on ex-mayor’s watch.
Cheap Seats By Dave McKenna
Let the Dead Lie
Savage Love By Dan Savage
Channel Serf
A week of subsistence in TV's vast wasteland
Television By Mario Correa

Eats

Pleasures of the Flesh
Abay Market serves up a real taste of Ethiopia: slabs of raw beef.
Young & Hungry By Tim Carman

Movies

Short Subjects
Reviewed: The Astronaut Farmer
Film Reviews By Mark Jenkins
Blood Feuds
Film Review By Tricia Olszewski
Neighborhood Watch
Film Review By Mark Jenkins
Hot and Bothersome
Film Review By Tricia Olszewski
Short Subjects
Reviewed: The Number 23
Film Review By Justin Moyer

Music

The Pop Quiz: Bad Brother
How bad is electronica artist Bad Brother? Super-baaad.
InDC
One Track Mind
What's new in the local music scene, a few minutes at a time
Music By Aaron Leitko
Spot the Drummer
Win a T-shirt
InDC

Theater

In & Out: Theater
Theater
Carnival Snooze
Theater Review By Trey Graham

Arts and Events

Beyond the Bono Nonsense
A new arrival in GMU's English department takes issue with stereotypes about Africa.
Arts By Britt Peterson
Everybody Is All-American
Heyday
By Kurt Andersen
Random House, 640 pp., $26.95
Books By Allen Barra
Planner’s Punch
Scott Berg’s book documents the life and work of Pierre Charles L’Enfant.
Artifacts By Mike DeBonis
Splitting the Scene
Matthew Borlik's profile of Carpark Records founder Todd Hyman
Artifacts By Matt Borlik

City Lights

This week's best in Arts and Entertainment.

Anatomies
To Saturday, March 31, at G Fine Art
Arts & Events By Jeffry Cudlin
Of Montreal
At 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, at the State Theatre, 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church. $14.
Arts & Events By Kim Rinehimer
Celebrating Kerala Cinema
To March 18, the Freer Gallery of Art’s Meyer Auditorium, 12th St. & Jefferson Drive SW. Free.
Arts & Events By Mark Jenkins
David Lindley: Uncertainty
1 p.m. Saturday, March 3, at Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Free.
Arts & Events By Kriston Capps
Dälek
With Destructo Swarmbots and the Caution Curves at 9:30 p.m. at the Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE. $12.
Arts & Events By Joe Warminsky
Jane Franklin Dance: Temporal Interference
At 7, 8, and 9 p.m. at the Warehouse Theater, 1021 7th St. NW. $15.
Arts & Events By Nick Green
The Rape of Europa
At 4:30 p.m. at the National Gallery of Art’s East Building Auditorium, 4th St. & Constitution Ave. NW. Free.
Arts & Events By Aaron Leitko
Young Rebels
At 3:30 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. $9.25.
Arts & Events By Mark Jenkins
Adem
With Badly Drawn Boy at 8:30 p.m. at the 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. $25
Arts & Events By Jason Cherkis
Elizabeth Kostova: The Historian
At 6:30 p.m. at the Ripley Center Lecture Hall, 1100 Jefferson Drive SW. $25.
Arts & Events By Matthew Borlik
Ken Alder: The Lie Detectors: The History of an American Obsession
At 7 p.m. at Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Free.
Arts & Events By Justin Moyer