Post by CCADP on Mar 1, 2006 18:34:34 GMT -5
Greetings All!
It's March 1st, International Death Penalty Abolition Day! This marks the anniversary of the date that the State of Michigan became the first English speaking territory in the world to abolish the death penalty - March 1st, 1847. To be clear, this was Michigan's first legislative act - passed in the Spring of 1846, but it officially took effect on this day in 1847. SO, especially today, do something to advance the cause of Abolition, and also, do something that celebrates your own vision of a world without violence....
Read the story of the wrongful execution that led to Abolition Day at www.cuadp.org/history.html
See SCHEDULED EVENTS for YOUR area at www.cuadp.org/upevents-part1.html
See a list of activities and actions YOU can take TODAY at www.cuadp.org/publicaction.html
More ideas are at www.cuadp.org/dowhatu.html
Make a donation at www.compar.com/donation/donateform.html
WEAR the message at www.cuadp.org/abolitionwear.html
******************
Here are a few items of interest and notices by some of the groups exhibiting LEADERSHIP on this issue today....
Karl Keys Wrote:
Mark Osler offers up a new law review article entitled "Crucifixion & Execution : The Trial of Jesus Christ as a Death Penalty Sentencing Process" just in time for Abolition Day, Fat Tuesday & Ash Wednesday. The article offers an interesting juxtaposition of the trial of Jesus and modern capital punishment, surprisingly it comes off well done and might be worth a read if you have have ever wondered how to tie in with the christian based religious themes.
From the abstract at papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID882811_code583863.pdf?abstractid=882811&mirid=1:
Last year, I came to a remarkable conclusion: That the debate over the death penalty in the United States is largely among Christians, but has ignored the capital sentencing which is at the center of that faith. The result of this epiphany is Crucifixion & Execution: The Trial of Jesus Christ as a Death Penalty Sentencing Process.
In Crucifixion & Execution, I argue that the story of Christ parallels modern capital practice in many respects: Christ was turned in by a paid informant (Judas), arrested in a strategic manner, given an arraignment and stood mute, was tried, convicted and sentenced, appealed to two separate sovereigns, and finally was denied a pardon.
These similarities lead to two primary conclusions. First, the death of Jesus Christ, an innocent, indicts a modern death penalty system that continues to threaten the execution of innocent men and women. Second, the trial of Christ suggests structural reforms of capital sentencing, if we are to retain capital punishment.
************
In Tennessee....
For Immediate Release Contact: James Staub, Jr.
1 March 2006
(615) 554-7544
March 1st – Legislative Letter Writing Lobby Day
The Risk of Even One Innocent Person Being Executed is One We Can’t Bear
Nashville, TN – In communities large and small across Tennessee opponents of executions are writing letters to elected officials to promote alternatives to capital punishment to commemorate International Death Penalty Abolition Day.
Organizers of these statewide events point to the state of Michigan as one example that viable alternatives to the death penalty exist. “Michigan abolished capital punishment because they discovered 159 years ago that they could not trust the system to be fair and accurate,” said James Staub, Jr., a local organizer. “They learned too late that they had killed an innocent man. The first act of their new legislature when Michigan became a State was to abolish the death penalty.”
"I think Michigan made a wise decision 150 years ago (when the state abolished capital punishment),’ noted former Michigan Governor John Engler (R). “We're pretty proud the of the fact that we don't have the death penalty."
Organized citizens in Pulaski, Jackson, Chattanooga, Crossville, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Dickson, and elsewhere will hold letter-writing events that will target state elected officials.
“We are writing to ask support for House Bill 3895 that would enact a temporary halt, a ‘time-out’ on executions in Tennessee while a thorough study of the administration of our state’s death penalty system is conducted and publicly discussed,” continued Staub.
The first death row exoneration of the modern era in Tennessee is long overdue. Paul House through the use of DNA testing has been cleared of the rape of Carolyn Muncey in Union County. In January the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments regarding his actual innocence. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Justice Gil Merritt concluded that, “House has shown that is highly probable that he is completely innocent of any wrongdoing whatever…and should be immediately released.”
“The trend is one of questioning the death penalty as a tool of public policy,” said Staub. “The danger that innocent people will be executed because of errors in the criminal justice system is getting worse. The death penalty is a public policy that appears to exclusively target the working poor, those who kill white victims, and the mentally ill.”
“The risk of executing even one innocent person is too high a price for a democratic society to risk,” said Staub. “Let’s call a temporary halt to executions and let’s identify what’s wrong before we proceed any further.”
*************
Law Students Take Action Against Death Penalty
Wednesday, 1 March 2006, 12:08 pm
Press Release: US National Lawyers Guild
Law Students Take Nationwide Action Against The Death Penalty
Law students across the country are speaking out in opposition to the death penalty on March 1, 2006 as part of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Law Student Day Against the Death Penalty.
At least 32 law schools are participating in this national day of action and education. Participating students are organizing panel discussions, petition drives, protests, visits to death row and execution chambers, film series, and other activities to raise awareness and call for abolition.
The national day of action takes place amidst extraordinary death penalty-related news around the country:
· Last week, officials at San Quentin State Prison couldn't meet the demands of a federal judge who ordered licensed medical personnel to take part in the lethal injection of Michael Morales. This would violate medical ethics. The effect amounts to a moratorium in California, which has 650 death row inmates.
· Nationally, five inmates have had their executions put on hold since late January because of doubts surrounding lethal injection.
· On February 24, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously overturned the conviction of death row inmate John Robert Ballard. Once his acquittal is confirmed, Ballard will be the 123rd person exonerated and freed from death row in the U.S. since 1973.
NLG Executive Director Heidi Boghosian states, “Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun got it right in his 1994 Callins v. Collins dissent, when he avowed to ‘no longer tinker with the machinery of death.’ The members of the current Supreme Court should follow in Blackmun’s footsteps and at long last declare the death penalty unconstitutional.”
Founded in 1937 as the first racially integrated national bar association, the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. It has chapters in nearly every state and at 97 law schools.
***********************
In Pennsylvania
To: se-chapter@pa-abolitionists.org
From: Lisa Ziemer <southeast@pa-abolitionists.org>
Subject: Abolition Day is March 1
Friends,
March 1st is Death Penalty Abolition Day, marking the anniversary of the date in 1847 in which the state of Michigan became the first English speaking territory to abolish capital punishment. In honor of this occasion, I urge you all to call your representatives, senators, and Governor Rendell to encourage them to bring an end to the death penalty in Pennsylvania.
Also, don't miss the critically acclaimed play, The Exonerated. The play will be in Philadelphia March 3 and 4. I have included the press release below for address, times, and ticket prices. I am looking for volunteers to help distribute PAUADP literature at the event. Please email me if you are available.
Peace,
Lisa
****************
In New Jersey
March 1st - International Death Penalty Abolition Day
International Death Penalty Abolition Day, March 1, marks the day that Michigan became the first English-speaking territory in the world to abolish the death penalty. Please mark this special day in New Jersey by making one phone call - to former Governor Richard Codey, who signed the nation's first moratorium bill on January 12, 2006!
Tell former Governor Codey, who is the current New Jersey Senate President, that you oppose the death penalty and appreciate his leadership on the moratorium bill. Reach him at his district office at 973-731-6770.
"I think Michigan made a wise decision 150 years ago (when the state abolished capital punishment). We're pretty proud the of the fact that we don't have the death penalty."
--former Michigan Governor John Engler (R), New York Times, Sept. 22, 2000
******************
The Campaign to End the Death Penalty....
DEATH PENALTY AWARENESS WEEK
February 27 to March 3
To view events happening across the country and how you can
get involved, go to our website at www.nodeathpenalty.org
*****************
ARIZONA...
To: abe@njadp.org
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2006 19:34:52 -0700
Subject: International Death Penalty Abolition Day, AZ style
From: Claudia Ellquist <cequist@juno.com>
Abe,
Just a quick note to let you know that the apologies Ray Krone received
on February 21, at the Arizona legislature in Phoenix, were the
culmination of months of work by the Coalition of Arizonans to Abolish
the Death Penalty. It was easy enough to line up a liberal Democrat in
the House here, but the larger success was getting the conservative
Republican Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee to deliver the apology
there, making it a truly bi-partisan event.
Both men also participated in the press conference we set up, and heard
Ray remind them that there remain at least half a dozen innocent men on
Arizona's death row, for whom no DNA exonerations are possible. We
believe this to be the first time state lawmakers have offered a formal
apology to an exoneree, and we impressed the participants and the press
that history was being made.
We also had 35 persons from CAADP in attendance that day, getting to see
where their lawmakers work, and be seen by those lawmakers.
Other events that we have planned to celebrate International Death
Penalty Abolition Day/ Month are:
1. Ray was the keynote speaker at the CAADP annual meeting in Scottsdale
on the evening that he received his apologies.
2. Ray spoke to about 50 law students at the University of Arizona the
morning after the historic apology.
3. This was part of a 3 day event that included also a speech by a
former state Supreme Court Justice about how he came to oppose the death
penalty, and by author/activist Kathy Norgard, whose recent book "Hard to
Place" tells of her story as the mother of a death row inmate, as she
fought to save his life. It particularly discusses the fetal alcohol
syndrome that affected her adopted son's cognitive abilities and
behavior.
4. With the Arizona Death Penalty Forum we will be hosting a conference
on March 4 at ASU in Tempe, in anticipation of the ABA review of death
penalty practices and standards in Arizona.
5. We will also be hosting Sr Helen Prejean, in Tucson, on March 12, in
concert with the Arizona Capital Representation Project.
6. We are also making our copy of Deadline, the documentary about Gov
Ryan in Illinois, available to local churches and across the state,
following up our event last winter of showing it at a local Tucson
theatre, and particularly inviting law and journalism students, and
arranging speakers about it for their classes.
7. In January we tabled at the local theatre productions of The
Exonerated.
8. We continue the Cards for CAADP project of having folks write to
governors asking for clemency before scheduled executions. And out
project of having churches display our banner "Executions Have Always
Been Wrong."
--claudia ellquist for CAADP
*************
What are YOU doing today?
Drop me a note and tell me!
--abe
abe@abolition.org
"Talk is cheap. It's the way we organize and use our lives
every day that tells what we believe in."
-- Cesar E. Chavez
CONTRIBUTIONS TO CUADP ARE NOT TAX DEDUCTIBLE
A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL
INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE [FL] DIVISION
OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL FREE 800-435-7352
(FL only) OR 850-413-0840. REGISTRATION DOES NOT
IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION
BY THE STATE. REGISTRATION # SC-11170. NO PROFESSIONAL
SOLICITOR IS CURRENTLY ENGAGED WITH CUADP. 100% OF
ANY CONTRIBUTION GOES TO THE ORGANIZATION.
It's March 1st, International Death Penalty Abolition Day! This marks the anniversary of the date that the State of Michigan became the first English speaking territory in the world to abolish the death penalty - March 1st, 1847. To be clear, this was Michigan's first legislative act - passed in the Spring of 1846, but it officially took effect on this day in 1847. SO, especially today, do something to advance the cause of Abolition, and also, do something that celebrates your own vision of a world without violence....
Read the story of the wrongful execution that led to Abolition Day at www.cuadp.org/history.html
See SCHEDULED EVENTS for YOUR area at www.cuadp.org/upevents-part1.html
See a list of activities and actions YOU can take TODAY at www.cuadp.org/publicaction.html
More ideas are at www.cuadp.org/dowhatu.html
Make a donation at www.compar.com/donation/donateform.html
WEAR the message at www.cuadp.org/abolitionwear.html
******************
Here are a few items of interest and notices by some of the groups exhibiting LEADERSHIP on this issue today....
Karl Keys Wrote:
Mark Osler offers up a new law review article entitled "Crucifixion & Execution : The Trial of Jesus Christ as a Death Penalty Sentencing Process" just in time for Abolition Day, Fat Tuesday & Ash Wednesday. The article offers an interesting juxtaposition of the trial of Jesus and modern capital punishment, surprisingly it comes off well done and might be worth a read if you have have ever wondered how to tie in with the christian based religious themes.
From the abstract at papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID882811_code583863.pdf?abstractid=882811&mirid=1:
Last year, I came to a remarkable conclusion: That the debate over the death penalty in the United States is largely among Christians, but has ignored the capital sentencing which is at the center of that faith. The result of this epiphany is Crucifixion & Execution: The Trial of Jesus Christ as a Death Penalty Sentencing Process.
In Crucifixion & Execution, I argue that the story of Christ parallels modern capital practice in many respects: Christ was turned in by a paid informant (Judas), arrested in a strategic manner, given an arraignment and stood mute, was tried, convicted and sentenced, appealed to two separate sovereigns, and finally was denied a pardon.
These similarities lead to two primary conclusions. First, the death of Jesus Christ, an innocent, indicts a modern death penalty system that continues to threaten the execution of innocent men and women. Second, the trial of Christ suggests structural reforms of capital sentencing, if we are to retain capital punishment.
************
In Tennessee....
For Immediate Release Contact: James Staub, Jr.
1 March 2006
(615) 554-7544
March 1st – Legislative Letter Writing Lobby Day
The Risk of Even One Innocent Person Being Executed is One We Can’t Bear
Nashville, TN – In communities large and small across Tennessee opponents of executions are writing letters to elected officials to promote alternatives to capital punishment to commemorate International Death Penalty Abolition Day.
Organizers of these statewide events point to the state of Michigan as one example that viable alternatives to the death penalty exist. “Michigan abolished capital punishment because they discovered 159 years ago that they could not trust the system to be fair and accurate,” said James Staub, Jr., a local organizer. “They learned too late that they had killed an innocent man. The first act of their new legislature when Michigan became a State was to abolish the death penalty.”
"I think Michigan made a wise decision 150 years ago (when the state abolished capital punishment),’ noted former Michigan Governor John Engler (R). “We're pretty proud the of the fact that we don't have the death penalty."
Organized citizens in Pulaski, Jackson, Chattanooga, Crossville, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Dickson, and elsewhere will hold letter-writing events that will target state elected officials.
“We are writing to ask support for House Bill 3895 that would enact a temporary halt, a ‘time-out’ on executions in Tennessee while a thorough study of the administration of our state’s death penalty system is conducted and publicly discussed,” continued Staub.
The first death row exoneration of the modern era in Tennessee is long overdue. Paul House through the use of DNA testing has been cleared of the rape of Carolyn Muncey in Union County. In January the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments regarding his actual innocence. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Justice Gil Merritt concluded that, “House has shown that is highly probable that he is completely innocent of any wrongdoing whatever…and should be immediately released.”
“The trend is one of questioning the death penalty as a tool of public policy,” said Staub. “The danger that innocent people will be executed because of errors in the criminal justice system is getting worse. The death penalty is a public policy that appears to exclusively target the working poor, those who kill white victims, and the mentally ill.”
“The risk of executing even one innocent person is too high a price for a democratic society to risk,” said Staub. “Let’s call a temporary halt to executions and let’s identify what’s wrong before we proceed any further.”
*************
Law Students Take Action Against Death Penalty
Wednesday, 1 March 2006, 12:08 pm
Press Release: US National Lawyers Guild
Law Students Take Nationwide Action Against The Death Penalty
Law students across the country are speaking out in opposition to the death penalty on March 1, 2006 as part of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Law Student Day Against the Death Penalty.
At least 32 law schools are participating in this national day of action and education. Participating students are organizing panel discussions, petition drives, protests, visits to death row and execution chambers, film series, and other activities to raise awareness and call for abolition.
The national day of action takes place amidst extraordinary death penalty-related news around the country:
· Last week, officials at San Quentin State Prison couldn't meet the demands of a federal judge who ordered licensed medical personnel to take part in the lethal injection of Michael Morales. This would violate medical ethics. The effect amounts to a moratorium in California, which has 650 death row inmates.
· Nationally, five inmates have had their executions put on hold since late January because of doubts surrounding lethal injection.
· On February 24, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously overturned the conviction of death row inmate John Robert Ballard. Once his acquittal is confirmed, Ballard will be the 123rd person exonerated and freed from death row in the U.S. since 1973.
NLG Executive Director Heidi Boghosian states, “Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun got it right in his 1994 Callins v. Collins dissent, when he avowed to ‘no longer tinker with the machinery of death.’ The members of the current Supreme Court should follow in Blackmun’s footsteps and at long last declare the death penalty unconstitutional.”
Founded in 1937 as the first racially integrated national bar association, the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. It has chapters in nearly every state and at 97 law schools.
***********************
In Pennsylvania
To: se-chapter@pa-abolitionists.org
From: Lisa Ziemer <southeast@pa-abolitionists.org>
Subject: Abolition Day is March 1
Friends,
March 1st is Death Penalty Abolition Day, marking the anniversary of the date in 1847 in which the state of Michigan became the first English speaking territory to abolish capital punishment. In honor of this occasion, I urge you all to call your representatives, senators, and Governor Rendell to encourage them to bring an end to the death penalty in Pennsylvania.
Also, don't miss the critically acclaimed play, The Exonerated. The play will be in Philadelphia March 3 and 4. I have included the press release below for address, times, and ticket prices. I am looking for volunteers to help distribute PAUADP literature at the event. Please email me if you are available.
Peace,
Lisa
****************
In New Jersey
March 1st - International Death Penalty Abolition Day
International Death Penalty Abolition Day, March 1, marks the day that Michigan became the first English-speaking territory in the world to abolish the death penalty. Please mark this special day in New Jersey by making one phone call - to former Governor Richard Codey, who signed the nation's first moratorium bill on January 12, 2006!
Tell former Governor Codey, who is the current New Jersey Senate President, that you oppose the death penalty and appreciate his leadership on the moratorium bill. Reach him at his district office at 973-731-6770.
"I think Michigan made a wise decision 150 years ago (when the state abolished capital punishment). We're pretty proud the of the fact that we don't have the death penalty."
--former Michigan Governor John Engler (R), New York Times, Sept. 22, 2000
******************
The Campaign to End the Death Penalty....
DEATH PENALTY AWARENESS WEEK
February 27 to March 3
To view events happening across the country and how you can
get involved, go to our website at www.nodeathpenalty.org
*****************
ARIZONA...
To: abe@njadp.org
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2006 19:34:52 -0700
Subject: International Death Penalty Abolition Day, AZ style
From: Claudia Ellquist <cequist@juno.com>
Abe,
Just a quick note to let you know that the apologies Ray Krone received
on February 21, at the Arizona legislature in Phoenix, were the
culmination of months of work by the Coalition of Arizonans to Abolish
the Death Penalty. It was easy enough to line up a liberal Democrat in
the House here, but the larger success was getting the conservative
Republican Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee to deliver the apology
there, making it a truly bi-partisan event.
Both men also participated in the press conference we set up, and heard
Ray remind them that there remain at least half a dozen innocent men on
Arizona's death row, for whom no DNA exonerations are possible. We
believe this to be the first time state lawmakers have offered a formal
apology to an exoneree, and we impressed the participants and the press
that history was being made.
We also had 35 persons from CAADP in attendance that day, getting to see
where their lawmakers work, and be seen by those lawmakers.
Other events that we have planned to celebrate International Death
Penalty Abolition Day/ Month are:
1. Ray was the keynote speaker at the CAADP annual meeting in Scottsdale
on the evening that he received his apologies.
2. Ray spoke to about 50 law students at the University of Arizona the
morning after the historic apology.
3. This was part of a 3 day event that included also a speech by a
former state Supreme Court Justice about how he came to oppose the death
penalty, and by author/activist Kathy Norgard, whose recent book "Hard to
Place" tells of her story as the mother of a death row inmate, as she
fought to save his life. It particularly discusses the fetal alcohol
syndrome that affected her adopted son's cognitive abilities and
behavior.
4. With the Arizona Death Penalty Forum we will be hosting a conference
on March 4 at ASU in Tempe, in anticipation of the ABA review of death
penalty practices and standards in Arizona.
5. We will also be hosting Sr Helen Prejean, in Tucson, on March 12, in
concert with the Arizona Capital Representation Project.
6. We are also making our copy of Deadline, the documentary about Gov
Ryan in Illinois, available to local churches and across the state,
following up our event last winter of showing it at a local Tucson
theatre, and particularly inviting law and journalism students, and
arranging speakers about it for their classes.
7. In January we tabled at the local theatre productions of The
Exonerated.
8. We continue the Cards for CAADP project of having folks write to
governors asking for clemency before scheduled executions. And out
project of having churches display our banner "Executions Have Always
Been Wrong."
--claudia ellquist for CAADP
*************
What are YOU doing today?
Drop me a note and tell me!
--abe
abe@abolition.org
"Talk is cheap. It's the way we organize and use our lives
every day that tells what we believe in."
-- Cesar E. Chavez
CONTRIBUTIONS TO CUADP ARE NOT TAX DEDUCTIBLE
A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL
INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE [FL] DIVISION
OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL FREE 800-435-7352
(FL only) OR 850-413-0840. REGISTRATION DOES NOT
IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION
BY THE STATE. REGISTRATION # SC-11170. NO PROFESSIONAL
SOLICITOR IS CURRENTLY ENGAGED WITH CUADP. 100% OF
ANY CONTRIBUTION GOES TO THE ORGANIZATION.
