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Life & Times Transcript
12/12/07 Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times -- Is justice served once a killer is convicted and sentenced to die? What if it takes decades to carry out the sentence? Steve Ipsen>> We see the victim's family members. Your child is murdered, the person gets the death penalty. This is not a success. You're going to have twenty to thirty years of torture and this case could be overturned. Val Zavala>> And then, the story behind a beloved Hollywood classic. [Film Clip] It's all straight ahead on tonight's Life and Times. Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Val Zavala>> If you're a convict sitting on death row in the state of California, you'll be sitting there for about seventeen years. That's twice the national average. The wait isn't just difficult for inmates. It can be excruciating for the families of the victims. Is it time to speed things up? Sam Louie has our story. Jane Bouffard>> This picture was taken just in December of 1995. They met some friends of theirs for lunch at Christmas. Sam Louie>> Pictures and memories are all that Jane Bouffard has left to remember her parents, Elmer and Gladys Benson of Southgate. Jane Bouffard>> These are two of my favorite pictures. They're older pictures taken about 1960, but it's mom fishing. She just looks happy and relaxed. Here is my dad. He was at the same fishing trip and they both looked very relaxed and happy. I really do like these two pictures. Sam Louie>> But there's a haunting image of her parents' past that she cannot forget. Jane Bouffard>> For three years, I think, I woke up every morning and the first thing I thought of was what they must have thought of when he was attacking them and stabbing them and how afraid they must have been. That was the first thing that I woke up with every morning. Sam Louie>> Twelve years ago, Jane's parents were victims of a brutal murder. They were stabbed repeatedly and their throats slashed. Jane Bouffard>> She's a little woman and she fought off this big guy that stabbed her, you know, over thirty-nine times and then my poor dad, to watch all that, sitting in a wheelchair and then have this guy come at him. I don't see how anybody can do something like that. I mean, that takes a cold-hearted person to do that. Sam Louie>> The killer, Samuel Zamudio, was the Benson's new next door neighbor. He had done some odd jobs for them. Late one night, he came back for more money. Jane Bouffard>> My mother opened the door and she knew who it was and said something to him. He barged into the house and he tried to borrow more money and, at that point, they probably said no and he then stabbed them to death. Sam Louie>> Zamudio was found guilty of first degree murder. He's sitting on death row at San Quentin. He's been there for ten years. That's because California has an enormous backlog in death penalty cases. Jane Bouffard>> Something has to be done so that we don't just all languish and wait for this to happen. Sam Louie>> There are six hundred fifty-two death row inmates in California. The state re-instituted the death penalty back in 1977, but since then, only a handful of them have been executed. Steve Ipsen>> In thirty years, there have only been thirteen executed. We've had fifty die of natural causes. Sam Louie>> Steve Ipsen is the President of the District Attorney's Association of Los Angeles County. Ipsen is hoping to speed up the time it takes from conviction to execution. Steve Ipsen>> The victims didn't get justice. What happens mostly is we see the victim's family members. Your child is murdered, the person gets the death penalty. This is not a success. You're going to have twenty to thirty years of torture and this case could be overturned. Sam Louie>> Ipsen believes there's a better way. He's working on a constitutional amendment that would speed up executions. Instead of all the death penalty cases going to the State Supreme Court, it would shift some of the cases to the lower courts. Steve Ipsen>> The backlog is in the hundreds, I think it's a five hundred case backlog. It would take seventeen years if they did nothing but hear death penalty cases to clear the backlog. That's how broken it is. Sam Louie>> If the amendment makes it to next November's ballot, Ipsen says that it would ease the tremendous backlog that's crippling the criminal justice system. Steve Ipsen>> It's the way to give them their day in court, which is what everyone wants. Everybody wants the same thing. Prosecutors, defense lawyers, the victim's families, defendants. Let's give them their day in court, but let's not wait twenty or thirty years to do it. Sam Louie>> But not everyone agrees. Michael Brennen is a USC Law School professor and practicing criminal defense attorney. Michael Brennen>> Merely having a few additional judges to review these cases at the California state level is not going to make a significant difference in the timing of the overall completion rate of a case. Sam Louie>> Brennen says that the real problem is the extreme shortage of defense lawyers. Michael Brennen>> We have some two hundred inmates on death row in California who don't have any lawyers, no defense lawyers representing them. One of the major backlogs in terms of timing is the fact that California cannot find and recruit enough qualified defense attorneys to handle death penalty cases. Sam Louie>> District Attorney Steve Ipsen agrees that there are not enough defense attorneys for death row inmates, but he says the legislature could fix that with a pay hike. Steve Ipsen>> They're not making enough money to attract the type of qualified attorneys necessary to handle the appeals. So that's what our legislature needs to do. They can simply pass a law allowing the Supreme Court to pay them more than they're making now. Michael Brennen>> That would speed up the process, but that means spending more money and California and most other states have not seen fit to make that a priority. Sam Louie>> As for the murder of Jane's parents, Zamudio's attorney has appealed his sentence. The process could add yet more years to the decade that this case has already spanned. How frustrating is it to not be able to see justice meted out? Jane Bouffard>> It's very frustrating. Like I said, it's like there's something hanging over you all the time. Maybe today, you're going to hear something. Something will happen. What if they overturn it? What if they send it back? What if it goes forward? What if then the next appeal process takes another ten years and they turn it back then? Sam Louie>> Ipsen and victim's rights groups are working to get the amendment qualified for next year's November ballot, but it would require more than a million signatures. Steve Ipsen>> This isn't a band-aid. This is the biggest, the most significant advancement in fixing the death penalty. Michael Brennen>> I don't think it's sufficient to say that we have to speed things up just because a group of people want it to go faster. Sam Louie>> It's been twelve years since Elmer and Gladys were murdered. Their grandchildren are now grown and Jane is sixty. She wonders if she will live to see the killer's sentence carried out. Jane Bouffard>> I would like to see it happen in my lifetime. I would like to see it happen while I can still walk on my own power into the room and watch the execution. I don't want to be wheeled in, and I would like to see that. Sam Louie>> I'm Sam Louie for Life and Times. Val Zavala>> So what do you think of the effort to speed up executions in California? You can post your opinion. Just go to kcet.org/lifeandtimes/blog. Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, plus transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org, scroll down the page and click on "Life and Times". Val Zavala>> Another round of Middle East peace talks is underway and some believe that it's time to talk about the possibility of sharing or dividing Jerusalem, but that issue is controversial even in southern California's Jewish communities, as we found out around our Kitchen Table. For a discussion about Jerusalem and peace talk strategy, we brought together UCLA Hillel Director, Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller, together with the Jewish Journal columnist, David Suissa. And kicking off our conversation is David Lehrer of CommUnity Advocates. David Lehrer>> The past few weeks have witnessed a very heated discussion within the Jewish community locally and a little bit nationally about an Orthodox Rabbi who wrote an Op Ed and then gave a sermon about the right of the Israelis to talk about the sharing of Jerusalem when negotiations come to that point. What's your take on it, Chaim? I know you have fairly strong views on this subject. Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller>> First of all, I think that what is rational is always appropriate. Everybody would agree that the idea of sharing is something rational, in fact. It's written into my understanding of the founding of the state of Israel. It's a principle that needs to be discussed. In terms of achieving a peace with Palestinians and the Arab world, we are actually returning to the partition agreement. This is in part a component of that. Secondly, the Orthodox community has lined up rather militantly in its opposition to any compromise. In fact, there's a campaign that was being waged that occasioned the Rabbi's response. He was asked to sign a document that Jerusalem would never be divided. He was only responding and saying we can't say that. To say it never would be divided would mean we are willing, that is, we Jews, for the sake of our religious principle, to become an obstacle to any possible compromise that could lead to a peace with our neighbors which is a dream of the state of Israel. Is that appropriate for the community to be an obstacle? David Lehrer>> David, is it? David Suissa>> Well, you know, there are many voices in the Jewish community and I'm proud of all those voices. I think there's a place for all the voices. So when we talk about disputing and having disagreements, there's an enormous amount of voices, especially in Israel, that go against the Orthodox voices that you talk about that talk about no compromise. So I think that's part of the condition of the Jewish world. Everyone plays a different instrument. The Orthodox instrument in this case is that we're dealing with an opposing party that has not shown a genuine interest in peace, that has not shown a genuine interest in concessions. I think there is a huge group, and I count myself among them. You know, I call it the group of Jews, we wish we were wrong Jews, who are desperate for peace, who want peace as much as any peace now left wing Jew. We want peace. We just think, at this point, it's not a smart negotiating technique to sort of show your cards. David Lehrer>> So you're saying that it's not smart negotiating and you don't say it's a violation of religious ethics or principle? David Suissa>> No. I have respect for the view that says it's a violation. One of the reasons I do is because the Christian churches, the Jewish synagogues were totally pilloried for years and decades until, you know, the Jews took over Jerusalem and made it a free city for all the religions of the world. So I've seen, you know, the goodness that's happened to Jerusalem since it's been part of Israel and I can understand why someone would say it should stay like this. I also can understand why a lot of Arabs don't want it to be part of Palestine, the ones that live in Jerusalem. I also understand why it's very dangerous to be able to, you know, open up neighborhoods of Jerusalem to a force like Hamas or to a terrorist entity that control bombs from westward to Santa Monica. So I understand that view, but I still love peace more than anything. I'm still willing. I just think, from a negotiating standpoint, it's premature and it's not a smart thing to do to go public. David Lehrer>> But the Rabbi on Pico Boulevard is not negotiating anything. He was simply saying that the Orthodox community ought not [technical difficulty]. David Suissa>> But we have to respect each other's instrument. I respect Chaim's instrument. I love the fact that you always want to reach out for peace. Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller>> I'm suspicious of people who love peace. David Suissa>> Well, you're suspicious of yourself then. Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller>> No, because I actually am interested in people who are willing to do things for peace. David Suissa>> I was in Gaza. Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller I'm not doing anything. But I'm talking about creating and understanding and a vision within our Jewish community that peace is our goal. The Rabbi is an educator. The Rabbi is not a politician. He's not negotiating. He's trying to move people a little bit in their understanding and allow their humanity to emerge. He deserves all the support that we can give him because, number one, it seems to me that he's acting in religious principle. Number two, [technical difficulty] face to the world that the community is an understanding one. David Suissa>> Chaim, that's very insulting. Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller>> One second. All right, perhaps -- David Suissa>> -- To say that there's no humanity on the Orthodox side is very insulting. Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller>> I do think that the Orthodox community is committed to a very narrow issue of what interest of the self -- David Suissa>> -- You view it as narrow. Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller>> Yes, but -- David Lehrer>> -- Isn't there also a question about the vitriol that was directed at him? I know from your past the vitriol that's directed to you when there is a perceived breach in the kind of monolithic front. I mean, it gets fairly nasty. David Suissa>> My red line is when you cut somebody out. My red line is when you talk about excommunicating, I won't talk to you anymore and all that. Then the second red line is personal slander. Those are sort of my two red lines. But within this arena, I love the passion. I love the fact that Jews sort of rise up. You call it vitriol; I call it deep-seated passion. Chaim and I are both very passionate. We're at different views and I love Chaim's passion. I just am in stark disagreement and I take offense to what you said where you assume that the Orthodox view has no humanity. I politely disagree and I'm offended by that. Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller>> Well, I think that the Orthodox view is fueled by theology. In other words, the claim is not that we're acting in the interest of the Jewish people. We are fulfilling God's word. Now that's analogous to what I hear in some other religion. It's a dangerous discourse and I think rational people ought to oppose that. I do want to add that, from a religious perspective, one could present an argument that Jerusalem is transcendent and beyond all claims of sovereignty. In fact, that was Clinton's notion that somehow God be given sovereignty over Jerusalem. It sounds like a ridiculous idea, but it's a way of talking to get people to begin to understand. David Lehrer>> Does God do zoning (laughter)? David Suissa>> But part of that attitude, Chaim, is not to put down the other side and accuse them of not having humanity. I think there's a lot of rational view when you say I don't want terrorists to live five miles from me at this point. I think that's very rational. I think it's very rational to say that Israel has brought a lot of freedom and wonderful dignity to Jerusalem. David Lehrer>> Well, I think this rational civil debate has been wonderful and I wish it could continue, but we're not going to solve the problem here and we've run out of time. Thank you, David, and thank you, Chaim. Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller>> Thank you, David. David Suissa>> Thank you. Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address: Life and Times 4401 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90027 You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org. Val Zavala>> It's one of the most popular Christmas songs ever, simply called "The Christmas Song" or "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire". It's been recorded by everyone from Nat King Cole to the Temptations, but no one knows the story behind "The Christmas Song" better than the daughter of one of the writers. Vicki Curry talked with Daisy Torme. [Film Clip] Vicki Curry>> So did you ever hear the story of how he wrote that song? Daisy Torme>> Oh, yeah. We've heard that story a million times and especially at Christmastime at his shows. But the story is this. My dad was just nineteen years old and had a musical writing partner who wrote songs with him, a songwriting partner named Bob Wells. Bob lived in the Toluca Lake kind of area. This was back in the day where you could just walk into somebody's home. You didn't have to worry about it. Toluca Lake, beautiful sort of early Hollywood area, gorgeous, you know. So my dad went over. I think it was July. Bob was nowhere to be found. So dad just went over to the piano which was his thing and saw these four lines of text and it was the four first lines of "The Christmas Song", "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire, Jack Frost Nipping at Your Nose" and so on and so on. Eventually, Bob showed up. Came in from the kitchen or something. My dad said, "What is this?" He said, "Mel, I'm nothing but hot." That's the quote. "I'm nothing but hot." So he had tried, you know, a cool shower, jumping in the pool, a cold drink, and nothing was working. He was nothing but hot. So he thought, "I'll sit down and maybe write something Christmassy because maybe it'll cool me down." About twenty-five minutes or half an hour later, "The Christmas Song" was finished and they were so excited about it that they called Nat Cole right away. They drove it over right away and played it to Nat Cole and that's when Nat said, "That's my song." I think the story behind it is just as magical as the song itself. [Film Clip] Vickie Curry>> And yet your father was Jewish. Daisy Torme>> You know, it takes a Jew to write a song like that. It does. This is the thing. It almost takes somebody completely secular, just to be serious for a minute. I think it does take somebody who is completely secular and just out in the world and more being an American or what have you to write a song that is so inviting for everyone. I mean, it's not a religious song. It's a Christmastime, holiday song that wishes everyone from four to ninety-two, you know, a very merry Christmas. It's really supposed to put its arms around everyone. Vicki Curry>> When you hear that song, what do you most think of? Daisy Torme>> For me personally, the song has taken on much deeper meaning since my dad died. Since then, I don't want to sound too corny or whatever, but whenever I hear it now, I do feel like it's just a little tap on the shoulder from up above and just a little message of, you know, "I'm here. I'm around. You can't get rid of me even if you tried." [Film Clip] Vicki Curry>> Now you're a musician also, right? Did you ever get a chance to perform publicly with your dad? Daisy Torme>> Yeah. In fact, I did a show that was shown on KCET, my very first job. I think I was eight turning nine. My father did a show called "The Christmas Songs" and I came in and sang "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" with my father. [Film Clip] Daisy Torme>> And it's sort of nice. We come right back to the beginning because it was the Christmas songs. You know, it was all about Christmastime and just being with your family and your friends and singing these great songs, you know, that we love so much. Vicki Curry>> Daisy Torme, thank you so much for taking the time to share your memories with us. Daisy Torme>> You are so welcome. Happy holidays. Happy holidays, KCET. I love you. Val Zavala>> The Christmas season is not just for poinsettias. It's also the time when desert succulents bloom, but if you can't make it to the desert, there's no better place to go than Huntington Gardens in San Marino. Kitty Connolly>> I love the desert garden and the winter because the Aloes come in bloom. Our garden is one of the largest collections of Aloes in North America. Aloes are from a climate that's a lot like ours. There's a lot of them come from South Africa, so they have dry summers and wet winters and they are really easy to grow because they're tolerant of dry conditions, so they're very forgiving plants. They channel water into the center of the plant because all these leaves growing are rose up so they bring all the water into the roots and then a lot of them have succulent reeds that store water in them. They flower really well. One of the things I like about them is they're in flower over a long period of time because they have many, many flowers on each plant. So on this one, the bottom flowers have bloomed and these haven't opened yet. So over the course of weeks, it's going to beautifully be in bloom. Aloes are amazing. They're really quite wonderful. Here we have a plant that -- the other ones that we were looking at were more orange and yellow and this one has this beautiful rose color. Here's a flower. It hasn't opened yet, so it's a very deep rose and then, as they open, they turn into this lovely coral tipped with green and blue. The flowers, as they mature, as a sign to the hummingbirds and other pollinators that they're ready, they change their angle and they hang downward so they're receptive for the birds to come up in. So that's a sign as well as the color. This warns them that there's something coming in this one. Now it's ready. Aloes can be great garden plants. They're not really fast growers, but in your garden can fill every kind of need that you have for one. We're actually underneath a Tree Aloe here, so if you want a big plant, you can get those too. They put a lot of energy into their reproduction. We have this sweet little plant that is not all that big, but this flower which is three feet tall coming out of it is because they want to reproduce. Most people have Aloes that they've gotten as cuttings from friends, like you can cut a leaf off an Aloe Vera and get a new plant. These, they produce wonderful amounts of nectar and attract bees and hummingbirds. There's a bee right there going in. The bees transfer the pollen from one plant to another and then the plant uses the pollen to make seeds. So these will each form seeds and it will also reproduce by seeds, so you can get little Aloes coming up in your garden as the seeds spread. You'd think of deserts as being really harsh, lifeless places, but in fact, there are all sorts of things going on in them. Also, this time of year, it's a wonderful place to visit because it really comes alive in the winter. Val Zavala>> And the best time to enjoy the desert blooms are between now and February. And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time. Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Sponsored in part by:  | |
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