Benetton exploits murder victims
Mike Marchand
Questionable Freedoms
For seventh and eighth grade, I attended John Young Middle School in Mishawaka. Among my classmates was a kid named Mike Fulford, who lived across the street from me. Mike and I never got along tremendously well — in fact, he once challenged me to a fight after school. However, his sister, Annie, was nice to me. I went to Marian High School and she attended Mishawaka High School, so we were never really close after that. Her boyfriend, Leif, was planning on proposing to her on her 18th birthday, April 17, 1997.
Annie Fulford was murdered on Dec. 20, 1996, when she and Leif interrupted a burglary at Mike's trailer. Leif, in some insane attempt to get revenge on the four African-Americans involved in Annie's death, went on a random shooting rampage of blacks on the near northwest side of South Bend between Feb. 12 and 26, 1997.
When Annie and I attended Young, clothes made by the Italian-based company Benetton were the rage. How atrociously ironic, then, that last month Benetton introduced "We, On Death Row," a "photo essay" of more than two dozen death row inmates from penitentiaries in North Carolina, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Nebraska, desecrating the memory of Annie and other innocent victims like her.
Although neither Leif nor any of the men responsible for Annie's death await execution, I am still affected by someone who does. On March 4, 1989, one of my mother's friends from high school, Lisa Bianco, was bludgeoned to death with a shotgun barrel by her ex-husband, Alan Matheney. He was on an eight-hour pass from prison, where he was serving a sentence for battery because he abused her. Matheney has exploited almost every appeal defense imaginable, including that Bianco and then-Saint Joseph County Prosecutor Michael Barnes were romantically involved and therefore arranged for his conviction. Two of his appeals were denied by the U.S. Supreme Court. Nine years have passed since his original execution date.
The "We, On Death Row" ad campaign by Benetton is not their first project that has sparked controversy. Other borderline-outrageous Benetton ads featured a baby with its umbilical cord still attached, two horses having sex and a priest kissing a nun. Benetton defends "We, On Death Row" as a "photo essay" that serves as a "means for reviving debate over the death penalty." This is a blatant smokescreen to hide a flagrant political statement that exploits the victims of heinous crimes to sell clothing.
Furthermore, seven inmates were offered $1,000 to shoot the ad, in accordance with a European law that requires compensation for anyone pictured in an advertisement. Two inmates accepted, one of whom is Nebraska convict Jeremy Sheets.
Although the ad campaign only lists Sheets as being incarcerated for first-degree murder and the use of a knife in the commission of a felony, what Benetton doesn't tell you is that he was convicted of raping and murdering a 17-year-old honors student, although he maintains his innocence.
An overwhelming majority of the questions asked were softball lobs covering everything from politics and sports to their childhoods. By overlooking the violent nature of the crimes, "We, On Death Row" explicitly attempts to sympathize with the convicted vicious criminals interviewed.
Benetton is beginning to feel the backlash of its campaign, and rightly so. The British watchdog group Advertising Standards Authority is reviewing the program and might pull the ad and place Benetton under future probation.
Sears has pulled all Benetton USA clothing from all 400 of its stores that carry the line. Missouri's Attorney General is suing Benetton, claiming that they fraudulently misrepresented interviews with four inmates as being sponsored by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and that the interviews would appear in Newsweek.
Protests are underway at the United Colors of Benetton flagship store in New York and at another outlet in Houston. Five parents of victims of the "We, On Death Row" inmates were on hand at the New York demonstration. John Peebles remarked on how his child's killer stated in his interview that he hasn't felt rain in 13 years: "He hasn't played in the rain in 13 years? He didn't even give my son 13 seconds. He just mowed him down." The tragic irony for me is that Peebles' son Edward was shot during a botched robbery.
If the statements of those parents aren't enough, then listen to Lisa Bianco's mother Millie: "By glorifying and representing those who are character-deficient, we move in direct opposition to what is best for our society. We remove accountability and the rights of victims."
That's the bottom line. Whatever Benetton's purpose for "We, On Death Row," they reopened wounds of not only the families of the victims of those inmates portrayed, but also anyone even marginally affected by acts of violent criminals.
Mike Marchand would like to dedicate this column to the memory of Annie Fulford, April 17, 1979 — Dec. 20, 1997. May she rest in peace.
All Viewpoint Stories for Monday, February 21, 2000
