Jax death penalty opponents to rally in honor of the late Shelby Farah

death penalty family

Death penalty opponents in Jacksonville are rallying Thursday night at an event honoring the late Shelby Farah.

Titled “Not In My Name,” the evening is billed as “bringing awareness about the death penalty and the trauma inflicted on victims and family members within the criminal justice system.”

Farah was just 20 when she was murdered during a robbery at the phone store where she worked. Her mother, Darlene Farah, has repeatedly and vocally spoken out against Shelby’s killer, 24-year-old James Xavier Rhodes, being sentenced to death. Farah wants Rhodes to receive a life sentence so that her family does not have to endure years of appeals.

State Attorney Angela Corey‘s office maintains the brutality of the crime justifies the death penalty for Rhodes.

The Thursday event, held at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church, is also slated to feature Death Row exonerees.

That church is affiliated with Pastor Reginald Gundy, who has worked on behalf of Corey challenger Wes White.

 

Melissa Ross

In addition to her work writing for Florida Politics, Melissa Ross also hosts and produces WJCT’s First Coast Connect, the Jacksonville NPR/PBS station’s flagship local call-in public affairs radio program. The show has won four national awards from Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI). First Coast Connect was also recognized in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 as Best Local Radio Show by Folio Weekly’s “Best Of Jax” Readers Poll and Melissa has also been recognized as Folio Weekly’s Best Local Radio Personality. As executive producer of The 904: Shadow on the Sunshine State, Melissa and WJCT received an Emmy in the “Documentary” category at the 2011 Suncoast Emmy Awards. The 904 examined Jacksonville’s status as Florida’s murder capital. During her years in broadcast television, Melissa picked up three additional Emmys for news and feature reporting. Melissa came to WJCT in 2009 with 20 years of experience in broadcasting, including stints in Cincinnati, Chicago, Orlando and Jacksonville. Married with two children, Melissa is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism/Communications. She can be reached at [email protected].



#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, William March, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Jesse Scheckner, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704