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Bay Area Based Creative Lead & General Crew

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ABOUT THE CAUSE

Most people don't know this, but in California you can be sentenced to die in prison (Life Without Parole) for someone else's actions. In fact, it is one of the most common ways people in California get LWOP and it is called 'felony murder'. Our organization, Felony Murder Elimination Project seeks to undo this terrible law and provide justice to those who have served decades and decades in prison for events they are not responsible for. We are led by family members of those who are serving Life Without Parole - together we will bring hope for a more just criminal legal system.

What is the Felony Murder Law?
The felony murder rule allows a person to be charged with murder for a death that occurs during their participation in a felony, even if they did not kill anyone, intend to kill anyone, or in some cases even foresee the possibility that death could occur.

What is the Felony Murder Rule? Here's an example from FMEP Director, Joanne Scheer:

In 1990, Tammy Garvin waited in the car while her abusive boyfriend robbed a man. Tammy, a young black woman who had been sex trafficked since the age of 14, had been pressured by her abusive boyfriend to suggest one of her sex work clients for robbery. When the robbery was taking much longer than expected, Tammy left the car and entered the building to find that her abuser had killed the client. Horrified, Tammy fled the scene. Tammy was sentenced to Life Without Parole (LWOP), while her abuser was acquitted and walked free. This gross miscarriage of justice was not a mistake of the legal system, but was made possible through the felony murder rule. Felony Murder Elimination Project’s mission is to abolish the misguided laws that sentence vulnerable people with low culpability to the most extreme sentences available in our criminal justice system.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR
Words by Daniel Trautfield, FMEP Project Director

Felony Murder Elimination Project wants to show the terrible impact of felony murder laws. In order to do so, we need to break down what is a relatively complicated subject (felony murder) and show that it is illogical, inhumane, and unjust. We want to show that a broad constituency of people (family members, incarcerated people, victims, defense attorneys, prosecutors, legislators) support the overturn of these laws. We hope to make a four or five minute video that highlights a couple different perspectives on why we need change.

WE ARE CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR A BAY AREA-BASED CREATIVE LEAD VOLUNTEER TO TAKE CHARGE OF THIS PROJECT!!
Beyond that, we would love to work with anyone in the entertainment industry who is interested in contributing a specific skillset toward the telling of FMEP’s story! If remote positions are possible (post-production for example) we are open to that as well.

Interested in volunteering?

Click the Sign Up button below to fill out a simple & quick questionnaire!

PLEASE NOTE:
We understand that all of our volunteers are working professionals and will be donating their free time.

We do not know exactly where this project will be filmed. Most likely in Los Angeles, CA or Oakland, CA where FMEP is based out of. Remote work is welcome where possible.

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