BloggerSwap08 - the verdict

Our new “Blogger Swap” with the Telegraph got off to a flying start yesterday with a slightly-inflammatory blog about the death penalty by yours truly, which (predictably) stirred things up a bit. Comments were still coming as of this morning (hint – get over there and have your say) and the standard of debate was pretty high – ranging from a few “eye for an eye” hardliners to some close analysis of the moral arguments and of the Troy Davis case. There was even a reasonable number of people opposed to capital punishment – so our hopes of common ground were well-founded.

There will be more to come – look out for the next post on Ways and Means at the Telegraph and here on our blogs pages.

Last night also saw the launch of In Prison My Whole Life, a new film produced by Livia Firth which is released next week. The film tells the story of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther Party activist who has been in prison for murder in the United States since 1981, much of that time facing execution. The film also features interviews with writers Alice Walker and Noam Chomsky, as well as the musicians Mos Def, Snoop Dogg and Steve Earle.

It was described by one viewer (who is sitting next to me right now) as “a searing indictment of racism in Philadelphia in the 1970s and 80s and full-on critique of a dysfunctional US capital justice system”. Move over Jonathan Ross…

You can watch the trailer and get screening times etc here