MEDIA ADVISORY
For immediate release
March 29, 2007
(Toronto) - As part of the new "Law, Religion and Society" series at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, on March 29, 2007, Prof. Jim Phillips from the U of T Faculty of Law and Prof. Rosemary Gartner from the Centre of Criminology at U of T, will discuss their fascinating book: Murdering Holiness: The Trials of Franz Creffield and George Mitchell.
In this case-study of seduction, a sensational double murder, a trial and suicide in early twentieth century Seattle, the authors explore the relationships among formal and informal law, gender relations, religious intolerance, vigilantism, and the insanity defense.
Calling upon issues of law, order and the moral standards of an intolerant society that affords the individual little legal protection, they will discuss the cultural and social structures that affect, and in some instances pervert, the application of the law and the functioning of the justice system.
"In researching and writing this case-study, our objective was to recapture how a small group of ordinary people strove to remake or repair, according to their own visions, the world in which they lived," says Prof. Jim Phillips from the U of T Faculty of Law. "We reveal the tensions between the individual and conformity, the search for moral perfection, and the sometimes blurred line between legal and illegal actions."
The "Law Religion and Society" series at the U of T Faculty of Law was launched in 2006 in response to growing public awareness about religion and its influence on modern society. In order to increase accessibility to a wider public audience this discussion will be broadcast live on the web from the Faculty of Law website.
Who: Profs. Jim Phillips and Rosemary Gartner
What: Law, Religion, and Society Discussion Series: Murdering Holiness
Where: Faculty Lounge, Flavelle House, Faculty of Law, 78 Queen's Park
When: Thursday, March 29, 2007; 7 pm to 9 pm
-30-
For more information, please contact:
Ana Manao, External Relations, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
(416) 946-5722 or ana.manao@utoronto.ca
