Washington, D.C. ñ The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial is pleased to announce the selection of Scott Turowís Ultimate Punishment as the winner of the 2004 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award. Special recognition was given to Mamie Till-Mobley (posthumous) and Christopher Benson for Death of Innocence. Selected from a field of over 80 nominees, these books represent the issues that were of paramount concern to Robert Kennedy.

Ultimate Punishment is a provocative account of Turowís personal experience as a lawyer on either side of the death penalty debate. In Death of Innocence, with the aid of writer Christopher Benson, Mamie Till-Mobley recounts how her quiet, yet determined quest for justice after her sonís brutal murder fueled the modern civil rights movement. RFK Book Award judge Alice Randall noted, ìIn making the choice to honor Scott Turowís elegant, vivid, concise, and persuasive book, we honor both Robert F. Kennedy and Mamie Till, who in their time spoke elegantly, concisely, and persuasively to a nation in need of catalyst and counsel to find the ground of simple truth.î

Each year, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial presents the Book Award to the author whose work reflects Robert Kennedyís concern for the oppressed; his commitment to justice, democracy and human rights; and his belief in the power of individuals to affect social change. Book Award Chairs Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. and John Seigenthaler, Sr. convened an independent and distinguished panel of judges, including noted author and CEO of the Aspen Institute Walter Isaacson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Samantha Power, novelist Alice Randall, and former U.S senator and ambassador James Sasser.

Past winners of the RFK Book Award include Vice President Al Gore, Congressman John Lewis, Toni Morrison, Randall Kennedy, Neil Sheehan, Robert Coles, Anthony Lukas, Stephen B. Oates and Jonathon Kozol.

The Robert F. Kennedy Book and Journalism Awards Ceremony were presented on Wednesday, May 12, 2004 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Mrs. Robert Kennedy presented awards to Scott Turow and Christopher Benson at the event. Robert Kennedy's belief that individual action could overcome injustice and oppression continues to inspire generations to change the world.

For more than three decades, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial has been dedicated to furthering his legacy by working for social justice and human rights through its domestic and international programs.