Sentencing the Victim

Liz Oakley began her career as a successful news producer in the mid-1980s. But after seven years in the trenches of television news, she decided it was time for a change. She moved to Charleston, South Carolina, taking a position as public relations director for a statewide non-profit organization. In 1994, Oakley formed Blue Lizard Productions, enabling her to work with a variety of production companies and advertising agencies producing corporate videos, commercial advertising, and designing and implementing public relations campaigns. In 1997, she merged Blue Lizard with IVS Video, Inc. and began producing programs ranging from historical documentaries to sales and promotional videos for international corporations. A winner of numerous awards celebrating excellence in video production, Oakley’s heart lies in productions that work to promote social justice and improve the human condition. Sentencing the Victim is her first feature-length documentary.

Joanna Katz is a Charleston, South Carolina native. A hairstylist for 15 years, she also acts in local theater. She began her work as an activist in 1991 by speaking publicly about her rape at a Take Back the Night vigil in Charleston. She went on to facilitate rape support groups with Charleston’s People Against Rape and has served on panels for education at the Department of Psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina. When Katz’s rapists began to come up for parole in 1996, her advocacy took a different turn, and she began working with Liz Oakley on Sentencing the Victim. Since then, Katz has spoken at numerous national conferences dealing with victims’ issues and has addressed a group at the U.S. Department of Justice. She is currently working with national victims’ advocates on the development of educational materials and pushing for policy changes to improve South Carolina’s parole process.