9:05 a.m., Nov. 24, 2009----A University of Delaware professor and a former student now at Vanderbilt University Law School recently reconnected to stage a well-attended debate on the death penalty held Nov. 9 in Nashville, Tenn.

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UD alumnus Andrew Cunningham, who is now a law candidate at Vanderbilt, was working with other students to plan a guest speaker for the presentation and thought a debate could be even more interesting than a lecture. And he quickly thought of Ken Haas, professor of criminal justice, as a compelling speaker on the topic of the death penalty.

“It's one of those issues that is always current and everyone has some sort of opinion on, rather than more focused areas like environmental law, health law, etc.,” Cunningham said. “So I thought that if we could put it together, it should draw a large crowd.”

Cunningham met with Haas to discuss the planning of the event, and to ask the professor if he would participate and speak against capital punishment. “Andrew knew I had published law reviews on that topic so he stopped by in the summer and we talked about possibilities,” Haas said. “I'm always up for a debate.”

On the other side of the death penalty question, Cunningham was able to secure as a debater Joshua Marquis, district attorney for Clatsop County, Oregon.

The debate was coincidentally scheduled for the day before the execution of John Allen Muhammad, who directed the Washington, D.C., area sniper attacks in 2002, leaving 10 dead. That gave the event even more attention from the surrounding community and media.

About 230 people attended the debate, leaving it standing room only in Vanderbilt Law School's Flynn Auditorium. The debate was moderated by Christopher Slobogin, professor of law at Vanderbilt and an expert in criminal procedure, mental health law and evidence.

Marquis and Haas debated for nearly an hour and at the end it was up to the audience to judge the winner. Haas had suggested an Oxford style debate in which the winner is chosen depending on the door through which the audience exits. The opponents are each represented by one door and whichever one sees the most members leave through their door is declared the winner.

As it turned about, about the same number of people exited through each of the two doors and thus a tie.

“As expected, both participants did an amazing job and each stated that it was a highlight in his career, so we were thrilled that it turned out so well.” Cunningham said. “Perhaps unexpectedly, although fitting, was that the audience exit revealed a division that was too close to call.”

The video of the debate is now on YouTube, and that has only reflected this success with its five star rating and hundreds of views.

Haas cited that the night was a success because of a bond made at the University of Delaware. “I was a UD undergraduate and so was Andrew, so it's quite a Blue Hen connection here,” Haas said. “We just had a ball.”

Article by Erica Cohen