By Dan Nonte, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-4314
Posted 2-15-07
GREENSBORO, NC – A Winston-Salem man imprisoned almost 20 years for a murder he didn’t commit will attend a showing of an award-winning documentary about his case and answer questions March 3.
After a 6 p.m. screening of “The Trials of Darryl Hunt” in Jackson Library’s Jarrell Lecture Hall, Hunt and his defense attorney, Mark Rabil, will answer questions from the audience. Donations will support The Darryl Hunt Project for Freedom and Justice, which helps exonerees and parolees rejoin society after prison.
The event, free and open to the public, is part of the Miscarriages of Justice course taught by Dr. Saundra D. Westervelt in the Department of Sociology. The course examines the role of policing, prosecution, criminal defense, public opinion and media coverage in wrongful convictions. Visits from exonerees such as Hunt help bring the subject matter to life.
“In the United States we have a lot of faith in our criminal justice system,” Westervelt says. “I’m a great believer in our criminal justice system, but it’s not perfect. It has flaws, things that can be improved so wrongful convictions don’t happen as often as they do.”
First aired in April 2007 on HBO, “The Trials of Darryl Hunt” recounts the investigation, trial and eventual exoneration of Hunt for the 1984 rape and first-degree murder of Deborah Sykes in Winston-Salem. It follows Hunt’s two decade journey from convicted murderer to free man, and in the process explores issues of race, class and the fallibility of our criminal justice system.
Hunt, who is black, was convicted of killing the young, white newspaper copy editor despite no physical evidence linking him to the crime. The primary evidence against him included testimony by questionable eyewitnesses, one known to be a former Ku Klux Klan member.
A jury comprised of 11 whites and one black convicted him. Spared the death penalty by one vote, he received a sentence of life in prison.
In 1994, DNA testing revealed that Hunt did not match any of the physical evidence found at the murder scene; however, he would spend another 10 years behind bars trying to convince the courts of his innocence. In 2003, the DNA was submitted for further testing and matched someone else.
That individual was taken into custody and confessed to Sykes’ murder. Hunt was exonerated of the crime in early 2004 and released from prison after almost 20 years behind bars.
“The Trials of Darryl Hunt” has won numerous awards for its exploration of the case, including best documentary awards from the Nashville, Palm Beach, Bend, Raindance and Ojai Film Festivals. The film was selected for the 2006 Sundance documentary competition and the Deauville American Film Festival.
The event is co-sponsored by the Department of Sociology, the Sociology Club, and the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
For more information, contact Westervelt at (336) 334-3697 or the Department of Sociology at (336) 334-5295. Pparking is free after 5 p.m. in Lot 7 behind the Graham Building. Campus maps are available online.
