For immediate release
June 24, 1997


NPR Documentary Murder, Punishment and Parole In Alabama Wins American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award


Washington, DC-- The 2-part National Public Radio® series Murder, Punishment and Parole in Alabama, which aired on All Things Considered®, has won the 1997 Silver Gavel Award in the radio category of the American Bar Association's Gavel Awards. The series, produced by Margaret Low Smith and reported by All Things Considered host Robert Siegel, revealed a criminal justice system beset by the financial difficulties of keeping violent offenders in long-term incarceration. The executive producer for All Things Considered is Ellen Weiss.

The fortieth annual Gavel Awards will be handed out during the annual meeting of the American Bar Association in San Francisco on August 5th.

More than 6 million Americans listen to All Things Considered each week. Since its debut in 1971, the newsmagazine has garnered broadcasting's highest awards, including the George Foster Peabody Award and the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award.

National Public Radio, a membership organization of 570 public radio stations nationwide, produces and distributes the award-winning programs All Things Considered®, Talk of the Nation®, Weekend Edition® and NPR's Performance Today®.