HAIL MARY
“May the mirror's reflection cause you to pause, reflect”
END THE DEATH PENALTY, FREE TIM YOUNG
On Easter Sunday, 2025, Timothy James Young & Sofia Karim released Hail Mary an artwork addressed to Gavin Newsom, Governor of California
"We commend you for finding such a unique way to express your opposition to the death penalty and fully support your call to end it."
Mike Farrell, president of Death Penalty Focus.
"Thank you for your important work in raising awareness about the innocent people wrongfully sentenced to death in California and the many injustices of the death penalty in our state."
Natasha Minsker, former director of the ACLU of California's Center for Advocacy & Policy.
“"Art and poetry have the power to prick the consciousness of the complacent -- to inspire action. Everyone has something to bring to the collective efforts toward abolishing the death penalty, and what Mr. Young and his supporters have created does just that - the work inspires us to action. The thing about eggs, which to some seem so fragile, is that the more you cook them, the harder they get. To me this says, "Never Give up!" Indeed, we are at a tipping point on this issue in California, so don't stop. Keep fighting! Together we will win."
Abraham J. Bonowitz, Director/Co-Founder, Death Penalty Action
Artwork Description
From California’s death row, Young envisions boiling eggs as a metaphor for capital punishment.
We invited people to send videos of boiling eggs for our campaign. Images began to arrive from across the world in a remarkable show of international solidarity. They were compiled into a 17 minute 18 second video.
Created for Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025, Hail Mary consists of this video, an open letter from Timothy James Young to Gavin Newsom, Governor of California, and a copy of an extraordinary legal writ petition. Filed on April 9, 2024, at the California Supreme Court, the writ argues that the state’s capital punishment system “violates the state’s Constitution because of its racially biased implementation.” (Death Penalty Information Center)
The letter - sent to the Governor accompanied by a mirror - is presented as a diptych: one side comprises Young’s letter to the Governor; the other side shows the same letter but with the text whited-out.
Why?
Because we know that white-out was used to alter information in the evidence logs for Young’s case.
Timothy James Young has been jailed for 26 years. The 17 minute 18 second duration of the video is an estimation of the average time it took to die for the last 26 US state executions.
Hail Mary, Diptych, 2025
Click to watch clip of Hail Mary Video
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