Robert Blecker Wants Me Dead

Robert Blecker Wants Me Dead
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTed Schillinger
Produced byBruce David Klein
StarringRobert Blecker
CinematographyTed Schillinger
Matthew Howe
Edited byKendrick Simmons
Release dates
  • April 25, 2008 (2008-04-25) (USA Film Festival)
  • February 27, 2009 (2009-02-27)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Robert Blecker Wants Me Dead is an independent documentary film about retributivist death penalty advocate Robert Blecker[1] and his relationship with Daryl Holton, a death row inmate who murdered his own four children, and who was executed by the state of Tennessee in September 2007. The film was directed by Ted Schillinger and produced by Bruce David Klein.

The film was completed in November 2007 and made its world premiere on April 25, 2008, at the USA Film Festival in Dallas, Texas, as an official selection of the festival.[2][3][4] The film was also an official selection of the 2008 Rhode Island Film Festival[5] and the 2008 Cork Film Festival.[6] It won a Gold Kahuna Award at the 2009 Honolulu International Film Festival.[7]

Robert Blecker Wants Me Dead was released theatrically on February 27, 2009. The New York Times said the film was "compelling" and Film Journal International called it "captivating."[8][9] The Washington Post described it as a fascinating look at "the vast amount of wiggle room between being for the death penalty and being against it."[10] The film made its television premiere on April 19, 2009, on MSNBC. It was released on DVD in 2010.

  1. ^ "Robert Blecker New York Law School faculty bio". Archived from the original on 2013-09-02. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  2. ^ "USA Film Festival announces lineup for 2008". Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  3. ^ Like a Bat Out of Hell, the USA Film Festival Schedule is Released
  4. ^ USA Film Festival announces highlights[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Rhode Island International Film Festival 2008 lineup". Archived from the original on 2012-02-23. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  6. ^ "Cork International Film Festival 2008 lineup". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  7. ^ Honolulu International Film Festival 2009 Gold Kahuna Winners Archived 2009-04-25 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ New York Times review
  9. ^ Film Journal International review
  10. ^ Washington Post review