Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

MO Runs Risk of Executing Innocent Man

2012-02-29T19:34:00.000-05:00

The flawed justice system of the United States is once againat risk of executing another potentially innocent person.

The case involves Reggie Clemons, who was sentenced to deathfor the 1991 murder of Julie and Robin Kerry. Clemons case represents achecklist of everything that is wrong with the death penalty, including poorlegal representation, a “stacked” jury, racial discrimination, police coercion,lack of physical evidence, prosecutorial misconduct and questionable witnesses.

In April 1991, Thomas Cummins was with his two cousins,Julie and Robin at the Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis. While there theycountered Clemons, Antonio Richardson, Marlin Gray and Daniel Winfrey.According to reports, the two only spoke briefly before parting ways. Shortlyafter the two women plunged into the river to their deaths and were followed byCummins who swam to shore. Cummins later told police that the four youths rapedhis two cousins, robbed him and forced them to jump into the bridge. After theywere convicted, Richardson had his sentence reduced to life in prison and Graywas executed in 2005. Winfrey, who was the only white member of the group,plead to a lesser charge in exchange for his testimony against the other three.Clemons still remains on death row and continues to maintain his innocence.

There is a lot of skepticism surrounding Cummins story.Despite being forced to jump from the bridge, police said his hair was dry and neatlycombed. He also sustained no apparent injuries from the fall. Further doubtarose when Cummins failed a lie detector test. Finally, Cummins later admittedthe Kerry sisters fell from the bridge after an argument, which was caused byCummins making a sexual advance on one of them. He was then convicted of themurder, but later after meeting with prosecutor Nels Moss he identifiedClemons, Richardson, Gray and Winfrey as the four youths he encountered on thebridge on the night of the murder. The four men were arrested and chargesagainst Cummins were dropped.

Reggie Clemons was sentenced to death on April 2, 1993. Onthe same day, Thomas Cummins filed a police brutality lawsuit and said hisoriginal confession had been beaten out of him. The suit was settled out ofcourt for $150,000. Clemons confessed to raping the two women, but denied anyinvolvement in their deaths. However, he later retracted the statement and saidpolice had beaten his confession out of him. Several witnesses said they sawClemons with a swollen face after his interrogation, and the Judge who presidedover his arraignment ordered Clemons be taken to a hospital. Despite thisobvious evidence of police brutality, the confession was admitted at trial andused as evidence.

Clemons defense was far from adequate during the trial. Hislawyer was suspended from practicing law after numerous complaints, and hisco-council held a full-time job in another state while representing Clemons.

Racial bias was also evident throughout the case.Particularly in the sense that the two murder victims were white, the threeconvicted men were black and both primary witnesses were white. Also, a Judgeruled that six jurors were improperly dismissed at jury selection and thatClemons death sentence should not stand. However, the ruling was overturnedbecause Clemons’ lawyer failed to properly preserve the claim for federaljudicial review.

After the Supreme Court stayed his 2009 execution, a “specialmaster” was assigned to the case to determine whether Clemons’ conviction is reliableand whether he should be put to death. Clemons has a hearing in March 2012, which willdetermine whether he is eligible for a new trial, whether he is taken off deathrow or if he remains at risk of being executed.

Based on the evidence, Reggie Clemons did not murder Julieand Robin Kerry in April 1991. His innocence is clear, but it must be made wellknown to the state of Missouri that executing Clemons would be anotherunforgivable mistake committed by the justice system of the United States.

To aid Reggie, write Governor Jay Nixon by filling at theform at: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?aid=14230&b=6645049&c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG

Abolishing the Death Penalty in PA Could Save Millions

2012-02-24T18:00:00.000-05:00

Common Please Court Judge Benjamin Lerner has recommendedthat Philadelphia spend an additional $340,00 on capital-case attorneysbringing the total to $540,000 per year. Meanwhile, states such as Illinoisthat have abolished the death penalty are saving $4.7 million per year sincethe death penalty was abolished. Based on the figures, which seems like abetter option?

A recent study in Philadelphia by Judge Lerner concludedthat the “compensation of court appointed capital defense lawyers in Philadelphiais grossly inadequate, both as to the dollar amount of compensation and as tothe compensation schedule provided by the present fee system.”

As it is now, capital-defense attorneys in Philadelphia getpaid less than any other county in the state. According to Judge Lerner, thislow-pay system “unacceptably increases the risk ofineffective assistance of counsel in individual cases.” Because of this, JudgeLerner recommended a $340,000 increase to the $200,000 that was spent in 2010.

But wouldn’t it make more sense to savemoney yearly rather than spend more?

Illinois, who abolished the deathpenalty in March 2011, is saving $4.7 million yearly because of cutbacks madeat the State Appellate Defender’s office.

While it is important that we make sureeach defendant receives a fair trial with adequate defense, abolishing thedeath penalty in PA is undoubtedly the better option. Not only does iteliminate the risk of executing an innocent person, but it would save moneythat could be used elsewhere.

Racial Justice Act to be Introduced Next Week

2012-02-18T12:33:00.000-05:00

Pennsylvania HB 1996, the Racial Justice Act will be introduced next week. The act recognizes that race has been shown to a factor in many capital cases. In fact, prosecutors in Philadelphia were trained on ways to eliminate racial minorities from juries in death penalty eligible cases. There's even a videotape detailing ways to avoid the appearance of racism in striking potential jurors. Jack McMahon, former Philly prosecutor, even explains why it's important to keep blacks from serving on juries.

HB 1996 isn't a Get Out of Jail Free card by any means. It simply allows an individual sentenced to death the opportunity to bring evidence of racial discrimination in front of a judge. The burden of proof is on the person appealing the sentencing phase of the trial. If the judge finds that race was a factor in that individual being sentenced to death, he or she may commute the sentence of death to a sentence of life in prison without parole. In Pennsylvania, a life sentence really is a life sentence and an individual sentenced to life will die in prison.

HB 1996 will be considered after the legislature comes back in session in March. Now would be a good time to call your PA House Representative and express your support for HB 1996 and request that he or she become a co-sponsor.

Stop back here often for updates or better still, follow our blog. You can also find breaking news and action opportunitties on our facebook page, www.facebook/padp.org and on twitter where we're @padp_org.

Will Pennsylvania Supreme Court Consider U.S. Supreme Court Message?

2012-02-16T15:20:00.000-05:00

Pennsylvania's Supreme Court has the opportunity to consider the message from the US Supreme Court on the unreliability of eyewitness identification. Follow this link to read more from our friends at the Pennsylvania Innocence Project.

http://innocenceprojectpa.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/u-s-supreme-court-to-reconsider-use-of-eyewitness-testimony

PA to follow NC in Addressing Racial Bias in Death Penalty

2012-02-16T12:49:00.000-05:00

Racism has been a blemish on the record of the United Statessince the colonial era. Despite many laws, acts and movements to abolishracism, it unfortunately still remains prominent in society. Now, we claim thatracial discrimination does not occur in our country, such as during a trialwhere a black male could be sentenced to death. However, many factors point toracist tendencies in the courtroom, but some states, such as North Carolina,are fighting back.

The first case involving North Carolina’s Racial Justice Acthas concluded. It involves Marcus Robinson, who was convicted of murder in1994. The RJA allows death row inmates to present evidence of racial bias to ajudge, and if the judge rules that there was racial injustice presentthroughout the process that inmate’s sentence will be changed to life withoutparole. Robinson’s case is the first under the RJA that will hopefully set thebar for the 150 cases to follow.

Robinson’s defense is arguing that prosecutors did not allowAfrican Americans to serve on the jury based on the color of their skin. AMichigan State University study showed that in more than 173 death penaltytrials from 1990-2010 prosecutors struck black jurors more than twice as oftenas non-black jurors.

Philadelphia took a very proactive approach in preventingAfrican Americans from serving on a jury. District Attorneys in Philadelphiaunderwent training sessions, during which they were taught how to effectively hideracial bias while eliminating blacks from the jury pool.

Quotes from the tape include:

“Let’sface it, … there’s the blacks from the low-income areas[,] … you don’t wantthose people on your jury.”

And

“Youknow, in selecting blacks, you don’t want the real educated ones.”

Do you find it hard to believe that this sortof racism still exists in America? Watch the video for yourself: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5102834972975877286

Pennsylvania’s version of the Racial JusticeAct, House Bill 1996, is scheduled to be introduced to the House next week. Althoughthere is currently a study underway in PA regarding the death penalty, theHouse needs to pass HB1996 now to prevent anyone from being unjustly executed.

How Many Exonerations Will it Take?

2012-02-07T15:25:00.000-05:00

How many innocent people must we put on death row before werealize our system is flawed? How long should we run the risk of executing aninnocent person before we abolish a system that has lost a considerable amountof support over the years?

The recent exoneration of Joe D’Ambrosio on January 23, 2012marked the 140^thexoneration since 1973. Of the 140, six have comefrom Pennsylvania, but 219 people still remain on death row in the state.

In 2011, Gussie Vann of Tennessee was the 139^thexoneree when Senior Judge Donald P. Harris overturned Vann’s 1994 conviction. Thiswas yet another example of ineffective assistance of council. InVann’s case, the Judge ruled, in part, that the defense attorney’s inadequatepreparation allowed Vann to be convicted based on ““inaccurate,exaggerated and speculative medical testimony."

If we have exonerated 140 people since 1973, how many of the3,222 people currently on death row are innocent? And more importantly, howmany of the 1,279 people were, in fact, not guilty of the crimes for whichthey were sentenced to die?

Beccaria Kickstarter: A Note from Aja Beech

2012-02-02T12:50:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends,

I am so excited to say that Beccaria was accepted for a Kickstarter Fundraising opportunity- now to raise the funds! Below is a link to the project where donations can be made and some more information about Beccaria, a chapbook of art and poetry on the death penalty. Donations can start at $1- and every little bit helps. We need to raise $750. Please consider making a small donation and make sure to pass this on.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/695585959/beccaria

Beccaria is a chapbook of poetry which brings awareness to the death penalty in Pennsylvania. The chapbook is a compilation of the art and poetry of murder victims' family members, current death row inmates and exonerated death row prisoners. The first printing of the chapbook was funded through a Leeway Art and Change Grant. This project is to fund the second printing. The chapbook in its entirety can be viewed here.

The Leeway Foundation site states the intention of the chapbook "is to make a powerful artistic statement that could potentially encourage those that read it to consider whether the death penalty truly serves the needs of victims or the community at large."

Read a review of Beccaria here

Beccaria contributers:

Delbert Tibbs, David Keaton, Mary DeWitt, Reginald Lewis, Jan Williams, Devon Williams, Elizabeth Johnson, Hasan Shakur, Aja Beech

Sincerely,

Aja Beech

267-639-6169

beech.aja@gmail.com

OH Continues to Tinker with Death

2012-01-26T13:49:00.000-05:00

Ohio officials have agreed to an order issued by U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost to postpone the February 22^nd execution of Michael Webb. Webb is accused of setting the fire that killed his 3 ½ year old son Mikey. Webb continues to assert his innocence and says someone else started the fire.

Webb’s attorneys claim the fire chief on the scene used methods that 20 years of arson science have deemed invalid, according to arson-expert Gerald Hurst. They also contend that police failed to follow up on a lead that pointed to the boyfriend of one of Webb’s daughters.

In an eerily similar Texas case, Todd Willingham was executed for setting a fire that killed his three daughters. After the fact, additional arson experts, hired by the forensic commission concluded that the fire was most likely accidental. Hurst had authored a report that challenged the conclusion made by the Texas State Fire Marshal’s office. The execution went forward despite Hurst’s analysis.

Ohio’s postponement of Webb’s execution is only the most recent one as the state continues to tweak its lethal injection process, which Judge Frost calls “haphazard.”

Poll Regarding the Case of Robert Gattis

2012-01-26T11:43:00.001-05:00

Newsworks.org recently posted a poll regarding the case of Robert Gattis and whether the clemency granting by DE Governor Jack Markell makes a statement about the death penalty.

To vote in the poll, visit:

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/component/apoll/apoll/354-do-you-think-go

Governor Grants Clemency to Robert Gattis

2012-01-17T14:43:00.000-05:00

Today DE Governor Jack Markell granted clemency to Robert Gattis. Mr. Gattis suffered horrible abuse as a child and from many different people -- people that he should have been able to trust. This is an historic moment in Delaware's history. The Board of Pardons recommended clemency, the Governor granted it, and Delaware's largest newspaper published an editorial in support of clemency.

That decision is both fair and just. Mr. Gattis will now spend the rest of his life in prison. He will be afforded the opportunity to provide guidance to his sons as he continues to remind them to conduct themselves appropriately and to take responsibility for their actions.

Many faith leaders spoke out in favor of clemency. Gattis' former jailers said that execution was not the appropriate punishment for him. A forensic psychologist said the abuse suffered by Mr. Gattis was among the worst that he had ever seen. Former judges and prosecutors agreed. Delaware citizens spoke out and joined in the requests for clemency. People from other places, some far away, were moved to action when they learned that the state of Delaware planned to execute a man for whom the death penalty was a disproportionate punishment, especially given that neither the judge nor the jury had heard the evidence of his childhood abuse and that the jury had not voted unanimously to sentence him to death.

Governor Markell deserves our thanks and respect for what he described as one of the most difficult decisions he has ever faced in his career. Please join me in sending him messages of gratitude and commending him for making the right decision.

On twitter, he's @GovernorMarkell and I'm sure he would appreciate a show of public support as he is surely going to face criticism for his decision. You can also comment on the story here:
http://delonline.us/y4wwFj He needs to hear from us now.

Take a moment to savor this victory. There will be more to come as long as we keep the pressure on our elected officials.

With gratitude for all of the work that you do for justice,

Kathleen

Capital Punishment vs Pro Life and Our Candidates' Positions

2012-01-11T11:14:00.000-05:00

“I dream of a world where we can commit our social resources to the development of human life and not to its destruction.” This quote by Benazir Bhutto was said in a pro-life speech, but it is important to note that it can also relate just as much to ending capital punishment. True, the abortion abolitionists have almost coined the term pro-life to the extent that their cause is the first, and in most cases the only thought that comes to people’s minds when they hear this phrase, but it is important to think critically about everything that being “pro-life” encompasses.

It is difficult to imagine justifying that one is pro-life, yet is in favor of the death penalty; this goes against the very definition of the term. Arguments are raised comparing the innocence of the unborn to the guilt of the inmates on death row, but we must keep in mind that the prisoners would still face grave repercussions for their unlawful actions, without the actual taking of their lives. In no way are they acquitted or pardoned of their crimes; their punishment will simply take a different, more humane route. It is also important to note the very real possibility of the inmate on death row being innocent. Since 1973, 139 people who were on death row have been found innocent and were exonerated. In addition to that, there are several instances of people who have already been killed through capital punishment who now have strong evidence to prove their innocence. It is for these reasons, that when we claim our staunch stance of being pro-life we should not pick and choose the situations for when we hold true to this statement, but rather embrace all of the cases for which it can be applied.

With the presidential race quickly approaching and the primaries on our doorsteps, we should take a minute to review what the candidates believe regarding capital punishment being pro-life, at least in the more well-known connotation of the term. The general Republican consensus is “pro-life”, so much so that a handful of the population votes Republican solely for this reason alone. Out of the candidates running for the Republican nomination, it is important to note that Fred Karger is against government interference on the matter, and Mitt Romney recently changed to the pro-life stance, but the rest have all always sided for pro-life.

Regarding their feelings on the death penalty, only Ron Paul is staunchly against it based on the possible innocence factor, and Rick Santorum avoids the subject, but seems divided. In fact, Rick Perry has proudly issued the “ultimate justice” as he says to 234 Texans during his term as governor and says he has no qualms about whether or not they were innocent. It is astounding how a party can be known for being “pro-life”, yet the majority of the candidates support and, in some cases, even push laws through in favor of capital punishment. Furthermore, as the world saw with the infamous Troy Davis travesty, President Barack Obama tries to avoid the issue of capital punishment altogether, and as witnessed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, his health care reform bill, he is clearly not pro-life either.

Whoever ends up winning the Republican nomination, or even the presidency, an important thing to know is that upholding or abolishing the death penalty is the decision of the individual states. It is for this reason that in order to get this irreversible punishment abolished, we must write to our own state representative and express our opinions, thoughts, and criticisms on the subject. To find your own Pennsylvanian representative to write to, you can visit this website and see who represents your county.

Justice and Victory

2011-12-16T12:43:00.000-05:00

This week the nation saw unprecedented victories not just for the death penalty abolition movement but also for human rights and justice in the United States.

In Ohio, Supreme Court Justice Paul E. Pfeifer stood up against the death penalty calling it a "death lottery," stating to the House Criminal Justice Committee that the death penalty

"makes no sense when you can have life with out the possibility of parole. I don’t see what society gains."

This public statement adds much needed support to Ohio's House Bill 160 that would abolish the death penalty in the state if passed.

In North Carolina, governor Beverly Perdue vetoed Senate Bill 9 that would repeal the state's Racial Justice Act, which was put in place for prisoners sentenced to death. If a judge determines that race was a significant factor in a death penalty trial, the sentence must be reduced to life without parole. Governor Perdue said in a statement,

"it is simply unacceptable for racial prejudice to play a role in the imposition of the death penalty in North Carolina."

While the governor is a supporter of the death penalty, her veto of the bill represents a profound move towards greater social justice and equality in the country.

Here in PA, great strides towards abolition are being made as Senate Resolution 6 passed this past Wednesday, December 14. The resolution, which can be read in full here, establishes a bipartisan task force and advisory committee that will conduct a study of the death penalty in Pennsylvania in collaboration with the Justice Center for Research at Penn State, the Pennsylvania Interbranch Commission on Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Fairness, and the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission.

We have gone without the death penalty in Pennsylvania before. From 1972 to 1978, Pennsylvania was without capital punishment after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional based on the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Furman v. Georgia. Capital punishment was reinstated in 1978 and since that time Pennsylvanian has sentenced more than 350 people to death yet has executed only three.

This year, numerous studies have come out examining the issues surrounding Pennsylvania's capital punishment and criminal justice system, including one by the Pennsylvania Advisory Committee on Wrongful Convictions which can be found here or read PADP's analysis of it here, and examined the issues surrounding eye-witness identification, among other things. Another study released by the Philadelphia Inquirer found issues with Pennsylvania's defense lawyers and unfair trials.

Even more exciting for death penalty abolitionists everywhere is the Death Penalty Information Center's Year End Report, which was released this Thursday, December 15th. The report cited that death sentences have dropped significantly in recent years and noted a 75% drop since 1996. Richard Dieter, DPIC's Executive Director and author of the report said,

"Executions, death sentences, public support, the number of states with the death penalty all dropped from previous years. Whether it’s concerns about unfairness, executing the innocent, the high costs of the death penalty, or the general feeling that the government just can’t get it right, Americans moved further away from capital punishment in 2011.”

Each of these new developments represent a growing trend across the country in support of the abolition of capital punishment and a move towards greater justice, equality, and human rights for the nation. They symbolize the forward progression that the United States can accomplish if ordinary citizens are not silent and do not allow themselves to be complicit in the crimes of the government. Great figures like Martina Davis Correia, who passed away December 2, motivate and inspire us to act and to voice our dissent in the state sanctioned murder that is capital punishment. We must work in Martina's memory, and in honor of other great abolitionists like her, to end capital punishment in this country and not let these new opportunities and new cries of support for abolition go unnoticed.

PA Senate passes SR 6!

2011-12-14T16:10:00.000-05:00

Andrew Hoover, Legislative Director of the ACLU reported today that PA bill SR 6 passed with no debate. SR 6 is a resolution to establish a committee to conduct a study into capital punishment in Pennsylvania and report their recommendations derived from the data.

Hoover noted that because it is a resolution it does not need to pass the House.

Read the resolution here.

Ohio Supreme Court Justice stands with Abolition Movement

2011-12-14T15:52:00.000-05:00

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul E. Pfeifer called the state's death penalty a "death lottery" this morning, stating to the House Criminal Justice Committee that the death penalty "makes no sense when you can have life with out the possibility of parole. I don’t see what society gains."

Ohio's legislative panel is currently considering House Bill 160 that would abolish the death penalty in the state. Pfeifer has been working to abolish the death penalty for the past few years in Ohio, despite being one of three state senators that initially brought the state's death penalty law back in 1981.

Follow along here: @OhStopExecution

NC Governor vetoes SB to repeal Racial Justice Act

2011-12-14T15:08:00.000-05:00

A quick word of praise for North Carolina governor Beverly Perdue who vetoed a bill (SB 9) that would repeal the 2009 Racial Justice Act. The Racial Justice Act was put in place for prisoners sentenced to death. If a judge determines race was a significant factor used in a death penalty trial the sentence must be reduced to life without parole.

The governor said in a statement, "it is simply unacceptable for racial prejudice to play a role in the imposition of the death penalty in North Carolina."

North Carolina and Kentucky are the only states with laws like the Racial Justice Act.

Help fund this project!

2011-12-04T21:24:00.000-05:00

Please, help support this project!
The film is titled, "Bloodsworth: An Innocent Man," about Kirk Bloodsworth, the first death row inmate to be exonerated by DNA evidence.
You can donate through Kickstart to help to get this much needed film created and help to put a human face on this important issue! Let's End This Thing!

In Memoriam: Martina Davis Correia

2011-12-02T08:52:00.000-05:00

Today we mourn the passing of Martina Davis Correia, sister of Troy Anthony Davis and tireless fighter of the death penalty. Martina died this Thursday at the age of 44 after a long fight with breast cancer and a 22 year battle to free her brother Troy from death row until his execution by lethal injection this past September.

Martina was unflagging in her efforts to clear her brother Troy's name and resolute in her commitment to end the unjust capital punishment system in the U.S. Curt Goering, chief operating officer of Amnesty International USA, said of Martina,

“Our hearts are breaking over the loss of this extraordinary woman. She fought to save her brother’s life with courage, strength and determination, every step of the way. She was a powerful example of how one person can make a difference as she led the fight for justice for Troy Davis, even as she endured her own decade-long battle with cancer.
"She was a tenacious fighter, a graceful inspiration to activists everywhere, and a true hero of the movement for human rights. At this sorrowful time, we at Amnesty International offer our profound sympathy to her family.”

Martina gave us much to work for. After the passing of her brother on September 21, 2011, Martina pledged to continue the fight against capital punishment and refused to see his death as a failure. She said,

"I want people to know that we didn't fail. As long as we keep hammering away at this thing, as long as we refuse to give up, we haven't failed. We'll be doing what Troy would have wanted us to do."

Laura Moye, Death Penalty Abolition Campaign coordinator for Amnesty International USA was with Martina during her last moments in the hospital. In a statement she made to Atlanta Progressive News, Moye said of Martina,

“She was a true champion and hero for human rights in the U.S. and beyond. She changed all of us and she changed this world. We know her spirit is very strong and is going to continue to be a force for changing this world for the better."

We absolutely cannot let the passing of Troy and now, the passing of Martina, to be in vain. We will mourn them both and we will remember the hardships of their family over these past few months and years. We will remember and we will be thankful for their commitment to ending this unjust system of state-sanctioned murder. We will do these things and we will also pick up the torch that both Troy and Martina carried and we will work just as tirelessly as they did to end capital punishment. We must make Martina proud and honor her name by continuing the work that she felt so passionately about.

Photo: World Coalition Against the Death Penalty/Wikimedia

Article also published at The Progressive Playbook.

Capital Punishment and the 8th Amendment

2011-11-30T13:51:00.001-05:00

“Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders.” This quote by Albert Camus is only the tip of the iceberg regarding how the death penalty is unconstitutional. One of the clauses that is broken by this irreversible punishment is the 8^th Amendment that states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted”. Unfortunately in our American society, it seems as if this amendment is not being followed, specifically with regard to the death penalty. In the United States, 34 states are practicing inhumane punishment in the form of the death penalty, a system that is becoming considerably more unusual throughout the world. You can read which states have retained this punishment here.

The death penalty is inhumane because there is no way to know whether or not the alleged criminal is feeling pain while being executed. Since the first two chemical solutions injected into the person’s body are used to induce a coma and then to paralyze them, we can get no sense of the possible physical distress that the person being executed is feeling. The intention is for the person not to feel pain, but because we cannot ask them about their experience afterward, we can only speculate.

Additionally, the lethal injection process is certainly not foolproof. With any kind of medication, certain people require higher doses in order for the desired effect to take place. Lethal injection is no different. The coma may not be successfully induced, or the paralysis fully in effect before the final chemical is injected to stop the heart, making the execution all the more painful and inhumane. To read more about lethal injection, you can visit this article on deathpenalty.org.

Finally, capital punishment violates the 8^th Amendment by being unusual. Nearly half of all countries have completely abolished the death penalty, and an additional 17% have at least abolished it in practice. The United States stands as the only Westernized country that retains the death penalty and it is in the top five countries with the highest execution rates as shown by this chart. In 2010, the US only had fewer executions than China, Iran, North Korea, and Yemen. To be grouped with such countries, many of which the US criticizes for their disregard for human rights, shows the disgrace in our backward beliefs and policies.

Praise for Oregon

2011-11-24T22:16:00.000-05:00

This Tuesday, November 22, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber made a courageous move for justice and put a temporary reprieve on the execution of Gary Haugen for the remainder of his term as governor. Governor Kitzhaber’s decision was announced just weeks before Haugen was set to be executed after waiving his right to another round of appeals and volunteering for execution. Haugen would have been the third person executed in Oregon in the past 49 years since the death penalty was reinstated.

Governor Kitzhaber announced his decision stating that while he oversaw both executions during his term, one in 1996 and one in 1997, he made those decisions despite his deep personal convictions against the death penalty. He said,

“At the time I was torn between questions I have about the morality of capital punishment and my oath to uphold the Oregon constitution. Those were the most agonizing and difficult decisions I made as governor and I have revisited and questioned them over and over again for the past 14 years. I do not believe those executions made us safer. Certainly I don’t believe they made us more noble as a society. And I simply cannot participate once again in something that I believe to be a moral wrong.”

Kitzhaber cited a number of arguments used against death penalty, including the fact that it is not a deterrent to future crime, problems with inadequate defense, and the high costs of the death penalty. As Oregon has only executed two individuals since its reinstatement, both of whom volunteered, Kitzhaber called the death penalty in Oregon effectively an incredibly expensive life term, saying it is a perversion of justice that he would not participate in any longer.

“Oregonians have a fundamental belief in fairness and justice and justice that is swift and certain. But the death penalty as it is practiced in Oregon today is neither fair nor just and is neither swift nor certain and it is not applied equally to all. In my mind it is a perversion of justice.”

Finally, Kitzhaber called on the people of Oregon to re-evaluate the current system of capital punishment, one that he said, “fails to meet the basic standards of justice,” adding that it is not his decision alone to end the death penalty and that it is time for the state to have a debate on the issue.

“Today we can no longer avoid the question,” said Kitzhaber in his announcement regarding the efficacy and legitimacy of the capital punishment system, and this statement is true for all 34 states in the U.S. who still have the death penalty. It is time that we all, as a nation, engage in a serious debate on whether we want to be in the company of countries like China, Iran, North Korea, and Yemen, who are the four countries with the highest number of executions worldwide with the U.S. as the fifth highest.

It is time we ask ourselves whether we want to be known as a leader in human rights, or as a country that still employs a system that is highly expensive, that is racially and socio-economically skewed, and that is draconian and backwards. It is atrocious that a country that aims to lead the rest of the world in so many ways could allow itself to lag so far behind when it comes to capital punishment. We must follow the path that countries around the world have already paved and abolish the death penalty across the U.S. Governor Kitzhaber has already made a step in the right direction. It is time that the rest of the nation join in and end this barbaric system.

View Governor Kitzhaber’s announcement here:
Governor Kitzhaber issues reprieve – calls for action on capital punishment

Article also published at The Progressive Playbook.

Two Months

2011-11-21T19:36:00.000-05:00

It's been two months since Troy Davis was executed by the state of Georgia and yet I still find it hard to believe that we allowed it to happen. Yes, we allowed it to happen. Sure, we signed petitions, made phone calls, sent emails and some of us did even more. We wrote letters to the editors of our local newspapers. We tweeted, talked to our friends, wore our "I AM TROY DAVIS" shirts. We watched Amy Goodman reporting live from the protest site near the death house. We held our collective breath and then dared to hope again when word came that something was happening at the Supreme Court. When we heard that the execution had not been stayed and that the execution, no, the murder, of Troy Davis was actually going to happen, we were horrified -- not surprised really, but horrified still.

This past weekend I gathered with friends and colleagues who dedicate their lives to abolitioning the death penalty. It was great to see them and yet I felt distant, almost numb. Is Troy really dead? Being with my fellow abolitionists felt surreal. Last time we were all together, Troy was still alive and we were hopeful.

We did a post mortem of the campaign to save Troy. Post mortem - I never realized what a chilling phrase that is. We listened as those who were there that night told their stories. I am so proud of their work and humbled to be among them. We learned from each other, made plans and pledged to continue the fight.

But when I returned to my room each night, I cried. I am still so overwhelmed by sadness and disbelief. How did we let this happen? How is it, that as a country, we still cling to the hope that executing a human being will make things better? How long will we believe in the false promise of closure? What is the source of our lust for revenge? What is it going to take to end the killing? How on earth can the agents of our government be such cold-blooded killers?

I have so many questions tonight and so much sorrow in my heart. I know we tried to stop the execution of Troy Anthony Davis. It wasn't enough. We have to do better. We have to demand that our legislators change the laws that give a state the right to commit murder in our names. We have to talk to our county commissioners and tell them that spending one penny in an attempt to commit murder is wrong and that we will not tolerate it any longer. We have to go to court when the sentence of death is sought. We have to be there to watch, to take notes and to look into the eyes of those who would kill in our names. We have to show the prosecutors and judges and jurors that they do not do their work in a vacuum. We have to educate ourselves on how this insanity can still happen in the United States of America and, most of all, we have to stop the killing. We have to stop it now. We cannot let this continue. We are all Troy Davis.

The Reggie Clemons Case

2011-11-16T20:15:00.000-05:00

The Reggie Clemons case reads like a manual for anti-death penalty advocates: no physical evidence links him to the crime, alleged police coercion, prosecutorial misconduct, questionable eye-witness testimonies, inadequate legal representation, a stacked jury, and questions of race, according to Amnesty International.

Reggie Clemons was convicted and sentenced to death in St. Louis, Missouri as an accomplice in the murder of two white women in 1991. The women, Julie and Robin Kerry, were killed as they fell from the Chain of Rocks Bridge into the Mississippi River.

Along with Clemons, three other youths were arrested and three of them, all African-American, were given the death sentence. One of them, Marlin Gray, was executed in 2005. The fourth man, Daniel Winfrey, was offered a lesser offense in exchange for testifying against Clemons.

As stated before, no physical evidence linked Clemons to the crime. His conviction relied mainly on two eye-witnesses, the first of which was Winfrey. The second eye-witness was Thomas Cummins, cousin of the two victims, who initially was picked up by authorities and confessed to the crime. He later identified Clemons and the other suspects as the perpetrators and charges against him were dropped.

In addition to the questionable testimonies, there seems to have been clear misconduct throughout the criminal justice process. To begin with, Clemons claims that he confessed to raping one of the victims under the pressure of police brutality. Two other suspects also alleged the same mistreatment and witnesses attest to seeing Clemons’ face swollen following the police interrogation. Clemons retracted the confession and maintains his innocence of all charges.

As is the case with many capital cases, inadequate legal representation for Clemons was clear and Clemons’ lawyer was later suspended from practicing law after various complaints were filed. In addition, there was clear prosecutorial misconduct, according to four federal judges who have all agreed that the prosecutor’s tactics were overly aggressive and abusive. The prosecutor compared Clemons, who had no criminal record, to a serial killer. Again, the prosecutor received various complaints from both state and federal courts.

The question of race is one that plays in very clearly in the Clemons case. There have been clear trends shown concerning biases regarding the race of the victim. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, over 75% of cases that result in execution were when the murder victim was white, even though only about 1/2 of murder victims nationally are white. In the Clemons case, both of the victims were white, the two main eye-witnesses were white, and the three convicted defendants were black. In addition, a 2002 U.S. District Court judge ruled that the death sentence of Clemons should not stand since six prospective jurors were excluded improperly in jury selection, resulting in a stacked jury that was unrepresentative of the population of St. Louis. This ruling, however, did not stand and was overturned by a higher court on technical grounds.

Clemons has a new hearing date set for March 5th, 2012 and there will be a huge push among abolitionists throughout the country to get him off death row. Regardless of your moral feelings on capital punishment, is seems clear that a country which considers itself to be a bastion for human rights around the world, would want to end a system which is clearly racially skewed and rife with mistakes that have put innocent men to death before and, if not stopped, will do it again. Missouri has executed 68 people since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Let’s not add one more name to that list.

Article also published at The Progressive Playbook.

Photo credit: Amnesty International

Moving toward a Moratorium

2011-11-09T20:17:00.000-05:00

A report released on The-News-Leader.com by Andrew Welsh-Huggins of the Associated Press today announced that Ohio’s 30-year-old death penalty law will be examined by a committee, which was convened by Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor. According to O’Connor, the purpose of the committee is not to decide if Ohio should have capital punishment, but rather to build a fair and impartial analysis of the law. During the time of the committee, which was given just over a year to complete the study, there will be an unofficial moratorium on the death penalty in the state, as three executions have already been postponed and another inmate has requested a postponement of his Nov. 15 execution date as well.

While this is not an end to the death penalty in Ohio by any means, it is a signal that dialogue has begun surrounding the issue, a dialogue that will hopefully spark debate among the additional 33 states in the U.S. that still have capital punishment on the books. After all, the systemic issues with Ohio’s capital punishment system are certainly not unique to the state. In fact, the issues with capital punishment go far deeper than simply a moral issue of whether it is permissible for the State to take the life of one of it’s citizens. The death penalty system is one that is clearly unbalanced in terms of race, class, and geography.

According to The Death Penalty Information Center, 96% of the states where the death penalty has been reviewed have shown a clear pattern of race-of-victim or race-of-defendant discrimination. Additionally, over 75% of the murder victims in cases that resulted in execution were white, despite the fact that only 50% of murder victims are white. In terms of socio-economic imbalance, nearly all the defendants in capital cases cannot afford their own attorneys and are given court-appointed attorneys, which, according to recent studies in states like Pennsylvania, such as this one, these court-appointed attorneys are often over-worked and under-paid, and many times lack the experience necessary to take on a capital case (read more here). Within states that allow the death penalty, the quality of representation or the likelihood that a court will pursue the death penalty often varies from county to county, making the system one that is not only rife with classism and racism, but also one that is arbitrary, based more on the color of the victim’s skin and on the county the crime was committed in then on the severity or proof of the crime.

And not only is this system a gross violation of human rights in this country, it is also costs more than life without parole. The Death Penalty Information Center notes that in Kansas, capital cases are 70% more expensive than cases of life without parole. In Florida, it costs the state $51 million a year over what it would cost to give all first degree murder cases life without parole. This trend is similar across all 34 states with the death penalty still in place. In such difficult economic times, it is hard to imagine why a system which has been proven to be a failure in terms of deterrence of future crimes and which is clearly racially skewed, geographically skewed, and socio-economically skewed, is allowed to continue in this country. With fewer and fewer people in support of the death penalty every year, it is time that we have some serious debate about our criminal justice system and our medieval capital punishment system. Ohio has begun the discussion. Now it is time for the remaining 33 states to do the same.

Article also published at The Progressive Playbook.

Hank Skinner Breaking News

2011-11-07T16:50:00.001-05:00

This afternoon the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay of execution for Hank Skinner. But it's a mixed bag. The court issued the stay to allow time to consider whether to grant DNA testing, not to actually grant DNA testing. Why not just test the DNA? What have they got to lose?

The court order states in part, "Because the DNA statute has changed, and because some of those changes were because of this case, we find that it would be prudent for this Court to take time to fully review the changes in the statute as they pertain to this case."

Consider away! Bottom line is that if there is even the slightest chance that Hank Skinner is not guilty of the crime for which he is to be executed, we need to test the DNA!

Thanks to all of you who have been making phone calls and signing petitions in the interest of justice. Stay tuned for more information as we get it.

The Case for Hank Skinner

2011-11-01T12:43:00.000-04:00

On March 18, 1995, Henry Watkins "Hank" Skinner was convicted of murdering his girlfriend, Twila Busby, and her two adult sons, Randy Busby and Elwin Caler. The three individuals were brutally murdered on December 31, 1993 in Pampa, Texas, as Twila was bludgeoned to death and the two sons were stabbed.

It has been fifteen years since Skinner's conviction, and in March, 2010, just thirty five minutes before Hank was scheduled to be executed, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay of execution in order to consider Skinner's request for DNA testing, something that was not done during his trial in 1994. Ultimately, while the Supreme Court ruled in Skinner's favor, it did not grant Skinner the actual DNA testing, instead, under the Civil Rights Act of 1871, the Supreme Court ruled that Skinner could sue the county D.A.

It is not as if there wasn't any DNA evidence to test. In fact, there were many DNA samples taken from the crime scene, including a rape kit, blood samples, samples of biological material from underneath Twila Busby's fingernails, suggesting that she fought back at her assailant, and a windbreaker with more blood samples, human hairs, and perspiration stains. There is also evidence that another man, Twila's uncle, had been stalking her the night of the murder and had a violent past with Twila.

Despite the plethora of DNA evidence and the pleas of seven of the 12 jurors on the case to test the DNA, the state of Texas has refused to test the samples in the Skinner case. Skinner is set to be executed on November 9th, and judging by the actions of Georgia in killing Troy Davis this past September despite so much doubt, we cannot assume that justice will be paid by our failing court system. We need to act now and prevent Texas from executing what may very well be an innocent man. Texas has done it before in 2004 when they executed Cameron Todd Willingham, despite expert arson evidence that could have exonerated him.

We need to act now. Please contact Gray County (TX) District Attorney Lynn Switzer and Governor Rick Perry and urge Texas to test Hank Skinner's DNA and not to execute another man. You can also sign this petition and show your support.

Photo credit: Amnesty International

Article also published at The Progressive Playbook

Announcing Polly Underwood Scholarship

2011-11-01T12:15:00.000-04:00

LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE AGAINST

THE DEATH PENALTY, SEPTEMBER, 2011

1 Keystone Plaza, Suite 200 Harrisburg, PA. 17101-2044 ph. 866 800 7278

Dear Student:

The Legislative Initiative against the Death Penalty has established an essay contest for high school students who are in the eleventh grade. The essays should discuss some facet of the death penalty and be submitted between October 1, 2011 and April 30, 2012. The award is $1000 to be deposited directly into the student’s account at the college of his or her choice.

LIADP thinks that it is extremely important to encourage students to learn about capital punishment. It is our belief that those who study the death penalty will soon oppose it. As part of our effort to educate students about this issue we have given scholarship tickets in the past to the play, “Dead Man Walking” and to our annual Fred Speaker Memorial Lecture and dinner. We believe that students who write about the death penalty will become aware of its sad history and the work of those throughout history who have seen its folly.

We encourage all eleventh grade students to take part in the scholarship competition. LIADP has enclosed a student set of directions and applications. These materials are also available by email from joan@turningflower.org.,by United States Postal Service --- LIADP, PO Box 15, Loysville, PA. 17047, and on the Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty web site, www.padp.org.

The scholarship is in memory of Pauline Underwood of Harrisburg and Shippensburg, who worked tirelessly for the abolition of the death penalty into her ninety-second year and who passed away in January 2011. Polly’s letters were published in Central Pennsylvania newspapers as recently as 2010.

Joan W. Anderson

President LIADP

APPLICATION FOR UNDERWOOD

MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

SUBMIT BETWEEN OCTOBER 1, 2011 AND APRIL 30, 2012. SEND A COPY

OF THIS FORM WITH THREE COPIES OF YOUR ESSAY.

DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ON YOUR ESSAY.

STUDENT LAST NAME ___________________________________________________

FIRST NAME______________________________BIRTH DATE___________________

STREET ADDRESS____________________________________________________________

CITY______________________________________________STATE______ZIP_________

PHONE________________________CELL PHONE____________________________

EMAIL__________________________________________________________________

NAME OF HIGH SCHOOL_________________________________________________

STREET ADDRESS_______________________________________________________

CITY, STATE, AND ZIP____________________________________________________

TELEPHONE NUMBER__________________________________________

FACULTY ADVISOR ________________________________________________

STUDENT SIGNATURE ______________________________________________

Send to LIADP, P.O. Box 15, Loysville, PA 17047

ESSAY DIRECTIONS:

1. ESSAYS ARE TO BE WRITTEN BY STUDENTS IN THE ELEVENTH GRADE. ESSAYS SHOULD BE RECEIVED BY LIADP BEFORE APRIL 30, 2012. ORDINARILY YOUR ESSAY SHOULD BE NO MORE THAN 750 WORDS IN LENGTH.*

2. YOUR ESSAY MAY BE BASED ON THE HISTORY OF THE DEATH PENALTY AS WELL AS YOUR SPIRITUAL BELIEFS OR ETHICAL VALUES. STATISTICAL EVIDENCE AND SOCIOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS WILL BE WELCOMED. QUOTATIONS AND PARAPHRASING SHOULD BE PROPERLY DOCUMENTED WITH EITHER FOOTNOTES OR ENDNOTES.

3. SOME QUOTATIONS ARE SUPPLIED WITH THIS APPLICATION. YOU MAY CHOOSE ONE OF THESE OR USE A QUOTATION THAT IS NOT ON OUR LIST. YOU MAY REFER TO THE IDEAS OF SOMEONE ELSE THAT YOU RESPECT.

4. YOUR ENTRY SHOULD INCLUDE A BIBLIOGRAPHY.

5. THE ESSAY SHOULD BE THOUGHTFUL AND SHOW SENSITIVITY TO THE COMPLEXITY OF THE ISSUE OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.

6. THE ESSAY MAY ALSO BE USED TO FULFILL A SCHOOL OR HOME SCHOOLING ASSIGNMENT. IFYOUR ESSAY WILL BE USED FOR AN ASSIGNMENT THE ACCEPTABLE LENGTH OF THE ESSAY MAY NEED TO BE ADJUSTED. (*CONTACT LIADP AT THE ADDRESS BELOW IF YOU NEED TO DISCUSS THE LENGTH OF YOUR ESSAY.)

7. BY ENTERING YOUR ESSAY IN THE CONTEST YOU ARE GIVING THE LIADP PERMISSION TO PUBLISH IT.

8. PLEASE SUBMIT A COPY OF YOUR APPLICATION WITH YOUR ESSAY AND SEND TO: LIADP, PO BOX 15, LOYSVILLE, PA. 17047 OR TO joan@turningflower.org.

Please submit a copy of your application with three copies of your essay. Do not put your name on the body of the essay. Send application and essay copies to: LIADP, P.O.Box 15, Loysville, PA 17014. Phone number 1-866-800-7278

Join Sen Leach at Annual Dinner 11/15/11

2011-10-31T14:33:00.000-04:00

Sponsor of Death Penalty Repeal Bill to Speak at Annual Dinner

Senator Daylin Leach, sponsor of Senate Bill 423 to repeal Pennsylvania’s death penalty, will be our presenter at this year’s Fred Speaker Memorial Dinner on November, 15, 2011. This annual dinner is co-sponsored by the Legislative Initiative Against the Death Penalty and Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. Please join us as we thank Senator Leach for his leadership and to hear his thoughts on why it’s time to end capital punishment in Pennsylvania.

Super Buffet

40 Noble Blvd.

Carlisle, PA

November 15, 2011 at 6 PM

Tickets are very affordable at only $12. per person which includes both the meal and the gratuity.

Please be sure to include your email, mailing address, phone number and the number attending when you register. Checks made out to LIADP may be mailed to: LIADP, PO Box 15, Loysville, PA. 17047

You may also purchase your tickets online through Network For Good at http://bit.ly/rFMvw5 Please be sure to write “Fred Speaker Memorial Dinner” in the Designation field and include the number of individuals attending, e.g. “Fred Speaker Memorial Dinner – 6”

Please join us and bring your friends, both those that are already abolitionists and those that are unsure. We hope to see you there!

About Senator Leach

Elected in 2008, Senator Daylin Leach serves Pennsylvania’s 17^th District which includes parts of Montgomery and Delaware Counties. He was born in Philadelphia in 1961. He attended Temple University, where he graduated with a degree in political science, and earned a law degree from the University of Houston Law Center in 1983. After law school, Daylin moved back to southeast Pennsylvania where he practiced law for 17 years focusing on general litigation. Daylin also taught constitutional law, legal ethics and First Amendment law as an adjunct professor at Cedar Crest and Muhlenberg colleges.

For more information about Senator Leach, visit http://www.senatorleach.com/about/biography.htm

Scholarship Opportunity

2011-10-31T10:12:00.000-04:00

There is a scholarship opportunity sponsored by the Legislative Initiative Against the Death Penalty (LIADP) for high schools students in the eleventh grade. The scholarship is an essay contest and the essays should focus on some facet of the death penalty. Essays can be submitted between now and April 30, 2012. The award is a $1,000 prize that will be deposited directly into the student's account at the college of his or her choice.

More information and an application can be found at LIADP, P.O. Box 15, Loysville, PA 17047 or from joan@turningflower.org.

The scholarship is in memory of Pauline Underwood of Harrisburg and Shippensburg, PA, who worked towards the abolition of the death penalty until she died in January 2011 at the age of 92.

A Failed System

2011-10-29T11:17:00.000-04:00

As Pennsylvania's courts gain more and more national attention, it is time we ask ourselves if we want to continue to be known for having one of the most ineffective and unjust criminal justice systems in the country.

Recently, a study released by the Pennsylvania Advisory Committee on Wrongful Convictions found the state's criminal justice system is in need of serious reforms due to, among other things, inadequate funding for defense, the inefficacy of eye-witness testimonies, and inadequate or inaccurate scientific evidence.

Additionally, a Philadelphia Inquirer study that examined the past three decades of death penalty appeals in PA found that 125 out of 391 capital cases, nearly one-third, have been reversed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 due, for the most part, to mistakes by defense lawyers that deprived the defendant of a fair trial. These mistakes are oftentimes due to the fact that defense lawyers in PA are paid very little and are given little time and little resources to make their case. According to the Inquirer study, court-appointed lawyers in Philadelphia are paid $2,000 for trial preparation and a mere $400 per day in court while a "veteran defense attorney said required a minimum outlay of $35,000 to $40,000.

Following on the heels of these two studies, the New York Times released an editorial stating that the death penalty simply must go in the state. The editorial notes that while Pennsylvania is one of the states that most imposes the death penalty, it is the lowest among those who carry out the death sentence with 208 men and women on death row and no one executed since 1999. Since 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated in the United States, Pennsylvania has executed only three individuals. The editorial notes that this low number of executions cannot take away from the extreme failings of the justice system in the state, saying,

"These abysmal facts vividly show that the death penalty cannot meet constitutional standards. Among the state’s egregious failures is not providing adequate defense counsel in capital cases."

The editorial goes on to note that of the bar's 13,000 lawyers, less than 30 are willing to take on these capital cases, and it is no surprise given the appalling work load and the inadequate pay allotted to them.

What is most striking about the editorial outside of these appalling facts about the failings in Pennsylvania's justice system, is that most of the death penalty cases in the state are more than a decade old. This means that fewer and fewer juries are seeking the death penalty in recent years, thus showing that support for capital punishment, at least in Pennsylvania, seems to be shrinking.

Given the clear failures of the justice system in Pennsylvania and the fact that fewer and fewer of the state's citizens are actually in support of capital punishment, it seems necessary that this unjust system should be put to an end. Senate Bill 423, if passed, would prohibit the use of the death penalty in Pennsylvania. It is imperative that we petition our senators and urge them to co-sponsor this bill. As the New York Times editorial said

"There is no argument in favor of maintaining a barbaric, arbitrary and expensive system of capital punishment."

It's time to end this thing.

Reforming our Justice System

2011-10-24T14:12:00.000-04:00

This week, the Pennsylvania Advisory Committee on Wrongful Convictions released a report calling for serious reforms to Pennsylvania's criminal justice system. The report examined issues involved in wrongful convictions, including eye-witness identification, false confessions, a lack of or inaccurate DNA or scientific evidence, incorrect or perjurious testimonies from informants, inadequate legal representation, and aggressive tactics in the legal system.

The study cites that since 1989, 273 post-conviction exonerations in 34 states and the District of Columbia have occurred. These exonerations represent failings in the legal system, both for the innocent person wrongfully convicted and jailed, and for the victim of the crime, as well, whose perpetrator has not been caught. The study notes that these exonerations,
"Cast a disturbing doubt on the reliability of eyewitness identifications, confessions,
and overly aggressive practices within the adversarial legal system. Victims can often be mistaken in their identifications of perpetrators, especially when influenced, often unintentionally, by subtly suggestive procedures for lineups, photo arrays, and showups."
According to the study, along with other studies that have been conducted, eye-witness accounts are notoriously unreliable. In fact, this September, the American Judiciary Society, in collaboration with the Police Foundation, the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing, and the Innocence Project, found that sequential line-ups – which is where the officer doesn't know which person is the actual suspect and witnesses are offered one suspect photograph at a time, rather than all at once – are more accurate. Also according to the Innocence Project, false eye-witness identification is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions in the nation, accounting for over 75% of the 273 people exonerated.

The report released this week also cited interrogation tactics as a source of wrongful convictions, saying,
"Interrogation techniques applied to suspects are calculated to obtain a confession and recurrently “work” against innocent suspects, especially those who are inexperienced, suggestible, unintelligent, mentally defective or anxious to end the interrogation."
What the study notes is that oftentimes, aggressive techniques by interrogators and officers sometimes elicit false confessions or admissions of guilt, due to the personalities or mental capacities of the suspect being interviewed. What is just as disturbing in the study is that it found that the suspect's lack of funds for a lawyer can lead to wrongful convictions as well, noting,
"Many defendants cannot afford a private attorney and therefore receive less thorough representation by overworked public defenders and appointed counsel. In many places, this lack of adequate representation is due to underfunding of public defender offices and substantial underpayment of appointed counsel representing indigent defendants."
This idea that representation can make the difference in a trial is nothing new. With regards to capital cases, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, the quality of representation is oftentimes a deciding factor in whether or not a defendant will receive the death penalty instead of life without parole.

What is perhaps the most disturbing, among all of these issues with the criminal justice system in Pennsylvania as well as nationally, is that the death penalty is still on the table for 34 states. Not only is our entire system corrupt and flawed, it also has the authority to decide when a criminal is guilty enough to live or die. Our system, which is based on faulty eye-witness testimonies, which coerces, as the study says, those who are "inexperienced, suggestible, unintelligent" or "mentally defective", into giving false confessions, which gives over-worked and under-employed public defenders cases where defendants cannot afford a private attorney, is given the ability to kill men and women, despite the overwhelming and pervasive flaws that have put the innocent bars and, in some cases, executed them.

This study highlights what many have known all along and that is first, we need a radical overhaul of the criminal justice system in this country and second, we need to end this barbaric, this racially skewed, this socio-economically skewed system that is the death penalty. These issues are not exclusive to Pennsylvania, they are endemic of the entire system. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, Pennsylvania has only executed three people, however, the population of death row in PA is 219 people. Not only is the death penalty a moral issue, it is also an issue of cost. A prisoner on death row costs up to three times as much as a prisoner who is given life without parole. Even if we ignore the staggering human rights issues that plague the death penalty, in these very tough economic times, we cannot ignore the fact that exuberant amounts of money are being spent on maintaining this barbaric practice.

It is time we end the death penalty. Tell your PA senator to co-sponsor SB423 and end the death penalty in Pennsylvania for good.

Moving Forward

2011-10-18T13:13:00.000-04:00

Although it has been happening painfully and slowly, the U.S. is beginning to show promise as capital punishment is becoming less and less favorable throughout the country. A New York Times editorial from Oct. 14, The Death Penalty's De Facto Abolition, highlighted this positive move forward as the United States struggles to catch up with the rest of the world with regards to the death penalty.

"From their annual high points since the penalty was reinstated 35 years ago, the number executed has dropped by half, and the number sentenced to death has dropped by almost two-thirds. Sixteen states don’t allow the penalty, and eight of the states that do have not carried out an execution in 12 years or more."

We still have far to go, however. As many people are aware, September marked a very dark day for the U.S., when Georgia decided to execute Troy Anthony Davis, a man who spent many years on death row and was finally killed on September 21, 2011, despite too much doubt about his case. On that same day, Lawrence Brewer, a man convicted of the most henious of hate crimes whose guilt was not under question, was also executed in Texas, marking the 475 execution in the state since 1976 when the death penalty was re-instated.

In Pennsylvania, we have a lot of work to do as well. Pennsylvania currently has 219 people on death row, and, while PA has only executed 3 individuals since 1976, the death penalty remains a wildly expensive, and racially/socio-economically unbalanced program.

We can take so much, however, from such travesties as the Troy Davis case, just as Troy himself did when he stated to Amnesty International,

"The struggle for justice doesn't end with me. This struggle is for all the Troy Davises who came before me and all the ones who will come after me. I'm in good spirits and I'm prayerful and at peace. But I will not stop fighting until I've taken my last breath."

Troy and his family never stopped fighting and Troy's sister, Martina Correia, vowed even after his death to continue the fight against capital punishment in ALL cases. We all, across the planet, fought hard to save Troy's life and we will continue that fight even in the face of adversity. We will continue to fight for those whose guilt is questioned, like Troy, and even for those, like Lawrence Brewer, whose guilt is clear and whose motives are abhorrent. We will fight for those who have clearly been wronged by the justice system and we will fight for the racist murderer. We will fight for them because we know that no one has the right to take the life of another. Continue this good fight. End the death penalty in Pennsylvania and end the death penalty in the United States.

Former death row inmate released from Tennessee prison

2011-10-07T12:33:00.001-04:00

Tennessee prison released Gaile Owens, a woman who spent the past 26 years on death row and came within just two months of being executed, on Friday, from the Tennessee prison for women. She was put on death row for hiring a stranger to kill her husband in 1985. Last year, her death sentence was dropped to life in prison, which, at the time, was a 30 year sentence and she was released early on good behavior.

Owens, who was a battered wife, did not use her husband's abusiveness as part of her defense because, her supporters say, she did not want her sons to find out about the physical and sexual abuse. However, Governor Phil Bredesen, who made the decision to spare her life, said he made the decision because, he said, prosecutors had tried to cut a deal with Owens saying that if she pleaded guilty they would not seek the death penalty. However, her co-defendant would not accept the plea bargain and Owens was put on trial.

This is yet another case that shows the inefficiency and unjust death penalty system. For 26 years, this woman was kept on death row, at a cost that is shown to be as much as 3x more expensive than a sentence of life without parole, due to the single-person cells and increased security measures. Taxpayers pay hundreds of millions of dollars per state to keep up this costly, not to mention, immoral, program. What's more, the state of Tennessee came dangerously close to executing a victim of sexual and physical abuse by her husband, and needlessly taking another life.

Luckily, Gov. Bredesen had the courage to not allow this to happen. What we need to see in this country is more of the same. Right now, in 34 states in the U.S., as of Jan. 2011, 3251 people are on death row (http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/). With a financial crisis going on in this country, would it not be beneficial for everyone to end this program that dumps millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars into a system that the majority of Americans don't even support? And what's more, the U.S. prides itself on being a leader in human rights, yet we have thousands of people on death row, a system that Europe, and many other countries, have already done away with.

It is time to end this terrible system that has proven itself to be ineffective and unjust. Please contact your representatives and tell them to end the death penalty!

(Photo credit: AP)

The United States of America: A Beacon for Civil Rights

2011-10-04T17:40:00.000-04:00

Amnesty International released this map in March, 2011: http://blog.amnestyusa.org/deathpenalty/u-s-in-top-5-for-executions-worldwide/. The map shows which countries have abolished the death penalty world-wide. According to Amnesty, more than 2/3rds of the countries of the world have either abolished the death penalty or have not executed anyone within the past decade. In the U.S., 1/3 of the states have also elected to abolish the death penalty. This past year, 2010, however, the U.S. has ranked top five for the MOST executions carried out across the planet, only surpassed by China, Iran, North Korea, and Yemen, as illustrated by this graph from Amnesty International:

It is troubling to see that the U.S., which holds itself in high esteem for its human rights strides over the past century or so, has managed to retain a policy of such a draconian and barbaric nature. All across the world, the U.S. condemns the leaders of other countries for not allowing a basic level of human rights that we in the U.S. consider to be fundamental. These include such great ideals as in our first amendment: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the right to assembly, and the right to petition the government. These basic rights we allow our citizens and demand from other countries, and yet, something that seems so obviously unjust and uncivilized, such as capital punishment, has still managed to continue in this country, meanwhile other nations surpass us by abolishing this abhorrent system.

It is atrocious that a country that aims to lead the rest of the world in so many ways could allow itself to lag so far behind when it comes to capital punishment. Not only is capital punishment detestable on a moral level, it is also ineffective, as there is no evidence that it deters future crime, racially imbalanced, with a statistically higher number of minorities on death row (most especially when the victim is white), socio-economically imbalanced, with more lower-class individuals on death row, and it is far more expensive than sentencing someone to life without parole.

What is obvious is that the death penalty cannot continue in this country if we wish to maintain our standing in the world as a leader in human rights. We must follow the path that countries around the world have already paved and abolish the death penalty across the U.S. In order to end on a positive note, the following list is from Amnesty International's web page of countries that have abolished the Death Penalty since 1961:

Abolitionist for all crimes:
• Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Iceland, Panama, San Marino, Uruguay, Venezuela
Abolitionist for ordinary crimes:
• Austria, Denmark, Finland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland
No Executions in the Past 10 Years and A Policy Not to Carry Out executions
• Andorra, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Cape Verde, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay

Lawrence Brewer

2011-10-02T10:40:00.000-04:00

After so much attention paid to the execution of Troy Davis in Georgia on September 21st, 2011, I thought it necessary to remember someone else who was executed on the same day in Texas. Lawrence Brewer's execution passed with little or no fanfare, as the eyes of the world were focused on Georgia. Brewer was convicted for the 1998 murder of James Byrd Jr., a black man from Texas. Byrd was brutally beaten and dragged from the back of a pickup truck by Brewer, along with John William King, also on death row, and Shawn Berry, given life without parole.

The guilt of these men is not under question in what is one of the worst hate crimes in recent history, and the men were openly involved in white supremacist groups. However, it is important to remember that for even the most heinous of crimes to which there is overwhelming proof of guilt, the death penalty remains unjust, wildly expensive, and a reaction of vengeance, not of justice. As human beings, our natural inclination is that of revenge. We desire to see those that hurt us or hurt those closest to us to have pain inflicted back upon them. We imagine in our own minds that taking the life of a criminal who has taken innocent life will somehow balance the scales. These emotions, while common and natural, are not things we should desire in our legal system. The law is meant to supersede our fickle, volatile human responses to things that upset us. It is meant to use rationality and reason, not an animal desire to inflict pain on others.

So while I am revolted by the actions of Lawrence Brewer, I do not celebrate his death. I do not see that the scale of justice has been balanced by his death, rather, it has been tipped even further. As a nation that proclaims itself to be a pillar of human rights and a guiding light to other nations on the way justice should be carried out, it is time that we abolish the death penalty in this country, as every European nation has already done, and as countries around the world have done.

The Fight Continues

2011-09-22T16:20:00.000-04:00

I watched dumbfounded last night as the state of Georgia and the U.S. Supreme Court decided to murder Troy Davis at 11:08 p.m. It is disgusting, it is disappointing, and yes, it is even discouraging to see that all of the work that so many people did to try to save Troy ended with his death. Yet, it is important that we all remember the words that Troy himself said,

he struggle for justice doesn't end with me. This struggle is for all the Troy Davises who came before me and all the ones who will come after me. I'm in good spirits and I'm prayerful and at peace. But I will not stop fighting until I've taken my last breath."

We need to take a lesson from Troy today and understand that while we may not have been able to spare Troy last night, while the government may have ignored our cries to spare him and to end these unjust, state-sanctioned murders, while it may seem bleak and hopeless now, we must not stop our fight to end the death penalty in the United States. We must, as Troy said, not stop fighting until we take our last breath. We must not let Troy's death be in vain. Today, as we mourn Troy's death we must also be revitalized, and know that the fight is not over, and, if nothing else can come of this, there is at least fuel to our fire to end capital punishment in this country. Troy will not die for nothing. When the day comes that the government finally listens to our cries and sees that the death penalty is arbitrary, racially skewed, and socio-economically skewed, and when they decide to put a moratorium on the death penalty, then we will thank Troy for the terrible sacrifice that he made so bravely in the name of justice.

Don't give up the fight. Stand tall against the death penalty and do not be discouraged. Today, our thoughts are with Troy's family in mourning. Tomorrow, our thoughts will be focused on ending this injustice in our country.

Troy Davis: Ten reasons why he should not be executed

2011-09-21T14:58:00.000-04:00

From Ed Pilkington at The Guardian.

In 2007 the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, the body which has the final say in the state on whether executions should go ahead, made a solemn promise. Troy Davis, the prisoner who is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 7pm local time on Wednesday, would never be put to death unless there was "no doubt" about his guilt.
Here are 10 reasons why the board – which decided on Tuesday to allow the execution to go ahead – has failed to deliver on its promise and why a man who is very possibly innocent will be killed in the name of American justice.
1. Of the nine witnesses who appeared at Davis's 1991 trial who said they had seen Davis beating up a homeless man in a dispute over a bottle of beer and then shooting to death a police officer, Mark MacPhail, who was acting as a good samaritan, seven have since recanted their evidence.
2. One of those who recanted, Antoine Williams, subsequently revealed they had no idea who shot the officer and that they were illiterate – meaning they could not read the police statements that they had signed at the time of the murder in 1989. Others said they had falsely testified that they had overheard Davis confess to the murder.
3. Many of those who retracted their evidence said that they had been cajoled by police into testifying against Davis. Some said they had been threatened with being put on trial themselves if they did not co-operate.
4. Of the two of the nine key witnesses who have not changed their story publicly, one has kept silent for the past 20 years and refuses to talk, and the other is Sylvester Coles. Coles was the man who first came forward to police and implicated Davis as the killer. But over the past 20 years evidence has grown that Coles himself may be the gunman and that he was fingering Davis to save his own skin.
5. In total, nine people have come forward with evidence that implicates Coles. Most recently, on Monday the George Board of Pardons and Paroles heard from Quiana Glover who told the panel that in June 2009 she had heard Coles, who had been drinking heavily, confess to the murder of MacPhail.
6. Apart from the witness evidence, most of which has since been cast into doubt, there was no forensic evidence gathered that links Davis to the killing.
7. In particular, there is no DNA evidence of any sort. The human rights group the Constitution Project points out that three-quarters of those prisoners who have been exonerated and declared innocent in the US were convicted at least in part on the basis of faulty eyewitness testimony.
8. No gun was ever found connected to the murder. Coles later admitted that he owned the same type of .38-calibre gun that had delivered the fatal bullets, but that he had given it away to another man earlier on the night of the shooting.
9. Higher courts in the US have repeatedly refused to grant Davis a retrial on the grounds that he had failed to "prove his innocence". His supporters counter that where the ultimate penalty is at stake, it should be for the courts to be beyond any reasonable doubt of his guilt.
10. Even if you set aside the issue of Davis's innocence or guilt, the manner of his execution tonight is cruel and unnatural. If the execution goes ahead as expected, it would be the fourth scheduled execution date for this prisoner. In 2008 he was given a stay just 90 minutes before he was set to die. Experts in death row say such multiple experiences with imminent death is tantamount to torture.

Article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/21/troy-davis-10-reasons?newsfeed=true

UPDATE on Troy Davis

2011-09-21T13:11:00.000-04:00

Just a few quick updates on Troy Davis:

A defense attorney for Troy Davis, Stephen Marsh, said today that Georgia Department of Corrections have denied his request to administer a polygraph test to Davis. Why the request was denied is still not known. Davis is still scheduled to be executed this evening, September 21, 2011, at 7 p.m.

The list of supporters for Davis has grown, as even supporters of the death penalty urge the George Board of Pardons and Paroles to reconsider their decision to not grant Davis clemency. William Sessions, former head of the FBI under Reagan, the Pope, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Former President Jimmy Carter, and Georgia Supreme Court Justice Norman Fletcher have already made their support for Davis known. Additionally, former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr has stated that while he supports the death penalty, there is simply TOO MUCH DOUBT to execute Troy Davis. Also, Mark White, former governor of Texas who preside over the executions of 19 people during his time in office has also shown his support for Davis saying he should not be executed.

Clearly, the huge push by human rights groups and other groups across the country have been working, as the phone lines for the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles have been busy throughout the day. I urge all of you to continue calling and emailing the Board to reconsider and grant Davis clemency. Call them at: 404-656-5651 or email: clemency_information@pap.state.ga.us OR webmaster@pap.state.ga.us. Or contact Judge Freesemann at pfreesemann@chathamcounty.org.

Keep up the campaign!

Troy Davis and our "Justice" system

2011-09-20T18:15:00.000-04:00

I am dumbfounded at the decision today by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to NOT allow Troy Davis clemency. His execution is set for tomorrow, September 21, 2011, and it seems his chances for yet another stay of execution are slimming, despite the intense attention Davis's situation has received over the past few weeks.

In an amazing display of the ways in which social media can motivate scores of people, groups such as Amnesty International, anti-death penalty groups, and other human rights and religious organizations have managed to gather over 1million signatures to be taken to the Board to petition them to spare Davis's life. Unfortunately, despite these signatures and the cries of such individuals as Former President Jimmy Carter, Georgia Supreme Court Justice Norman Fletcher, and Pope Benedict XVI, the Board has decided to allow what is effectively a state-sanctioned lynching.

It was a failure in the justice system that put Davis here. As Nation reporter, Dave Zirin, puts it in his article "Tomorrow, Georgia Murders Troy Davis," he says that while Davis has maintained his innocence from day one, "He was the wrong color, in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong bank account and the wrong legal team, so he was thrown into the death house with little fanfare." After all, death penalty cases are, more often than not, racially and socio-economically skewed, with more death sentences being handed out when the victim is white, the person on trial is a minority, and the person has little finances for decent legal council. And it is a gross miscarriage of justice that keeps Davis on death row, as the evidence for his innocence mounts.

But Davis's innocence is really not the issue here. What does matter is that there is simply too much doubt of the man's guilt for him to be executed. Davis's conviction is for the 1989 killing of Savannah, Georgia officer, Mike MacPhail. Davis was put in jail because of nine eye-witness testimonies that placed him at the shooting, seven of which have since recanted their testimonies entirely. One jury member that convicted Davis even stepped forward to the Board and told them she would not have convicted him, given what she knows now. Additionally, three jurors have signed affidavits saying the same thing. Aside from eye-witness testimonies, there was and is no evidence linking Davis to the murder.

For Davis, the options are slimming. Quickly. The Supreme Court could intervene in the case or the Board could withdraw its death warrant, after all, they permitted a stay of execution three times previously. What is likely is that regardless of the outcome of this particular case, the American people are beginning to lose faith in the justice system and its flaws are becoming more and more apparent. As Troy sits in his cell, waiting out what may be his final hours, the conversation on the death penalty in America seems to be changing. Perhaps this will lead to a final moratorium on state-sanctioned murder in the United States. I just hope that Troy Davis's life isn't lost before that happens.

Too Much Doubt

2011-09-15T15:07:00.001-04:00

The last two weeks have been tough. First, on September 6, 2011, Judge Jeffrey Manning of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas formally sentenced William Poplawski to death. Then, after an evidentiary hearing that took 2 & a half days, the same Judge Manning denied PCRA relief to Richard Baumhammers FROM THE BENCH. No need to think about, it, Judge, it's only a CAPITAL CASE! But the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had a great editorial today, comparing the callousness of Rep. Ron Paul's answer to Wolf Blitzer's question about an indigent man who had no money nor health insurance but collapsed and needed six months of health care by saying that in a free society, people have to have responsibility for themselves (in other words, if he dies, he dies) with the reaction to Brian Williams' question to Gov. Rick Perry about how many executions over which he's presided as Governor of Texas and the applause of the crowd before Williams even finished the question. Those folks are cold, mean, and selfish. I don't believe that's who we are as a people. And of course, Governor Perry and other Texas governors have presided over the executions of people who were very likely innocent of the crimes -- like Cameron Todd Willingham, Gary Graham, and Leonel Herrera.

Troy Davis' Execution Day set

2011-09-07T22:13:00.000-04:00

After more than 20 years on death row and countless pleas of his innocence, Troy Davis' day of execution has been set for September 21, 2011 by the Georgia prison system.

Davis was convicted in the 1989 killing of Savannah, Georgia, police officer Mark MacPhail. Throughout his time on death row, Davis has maintained his innocence. Four times, the Georgia prison system has set a date for his execution and four times it has been prevented. Davis' conviction was based on the eye-witness testimonies of nine individuals; seven of which have since recanted or changed their testimony.

Of all the arguments against the death penalty, perhaps the most compelling is the fact that innocent people have been executed before, and innocent people can be executed again. Now, with Troy Davis' execution imminent, it is of the utmost importance that we speak up against the horrible injustice that is the death penalty.

His execution has been stopped before and it can be stopped again. Here is what you can do to help:

Sign this Amnesty International Petition and oppose the death penalty for Troy Davis : http://bit.ly/mR9VSQ

Rally with others around the country. Sign up with Amnesty International: http://bit.ly/rniZoM

Spread the word on your Facebook and Twitter. Use the hash tag #TooMuchDoubt

Powerful statement from lawyer of Teresa Lewis who was executed

2011-09-07T16:20:00.000-04:00

Dear friends:

Below is a message from Andrea Bible, of the National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women. Her email appeared in our mailboxes today, and with her permission, we're sharing it with you. It's long, but incredibly important. We thank her, the National Clearinghouse, and all of you for what you do.

Dear ones:
Today I am grieving.
I am grieving because last night, just after 9pm Eastern time, people in the State of Virginia killed Teresa Lewis.
I am grieving because the people who were given the power to decide whether or not to kill Teresa Lewis were unswayed by new evidence showing she was not the mastermind behind the crimes, as the judge who sentenced her to death believed her to be.
I am grieving because we live in a country where politicians and the courts believe it is ok to use the state's resources to kill someone.
I am grieving because we live in a country where politicians and the courts believe it is ok to use the state's resources to kill someone who functions at the level of a 13-year-old.
I am grieving because my colleagues and I, Teresa's attorneys, and many other advocates and supporters around the country who worked to prevent her senseless and unnecessary death were not powerful enough to stop it.
I am grieving because the alternative that I was fighting for -- that Teresa's life be spared -- would have meant that she would have spent the rest of her life prison in conditions of isolation and deprivation.
I am grieving because I keep hearing the voice of my friend Susan, who at age 19 plead to 25-to-life to avoid the death penalty for killing the man who held her hostage and abused her, saying, "It was exactly like my abuser. The state said that they were going to kill me, just like he used to tell me."
I am grieving because there are women whom I respect, admire, and am inspired by -- like Tracee, Ellen, Susan, Sara, and countless others -- who also faced the death penalty and now are serving Life Without Parole sentences.
I am grieving because I am remembering Deborah Peagler, who died earlier this year of lung cancer after being released from CA prison after serving more than 26 years; Debbie plead guilty in 1983 to avoid the death penalty, only to have her attorneys discover documents in 2005 showing that the prosecutor knew at the time that they did not have sufficient evidence against her to pursue the death penalty.
I am grieving because I know that the men who Teresa Lewis and her co-defendants killed didn't deserve to be killed either.
I am grieving because today, the state of Georgia is preparing to kill Brandon Rhode, whose execution was postponed earlier this week after he tried to commit suicide.
I am grieving because 35 states still have the death penalty, and there are 14 executions scheduled between now and the end of the year, and another six already scheduled in 2011.
I am grieving because our prisons are full of black and brown people, poor people, queer, transgender and gender non-conforming people, people with mental health issues, people with disabilities, people who have been subjected to horrors, people who have been neglected, people who are incredibly talented artists, people who are loving parents, people with incredible gifts, people who deserve the opportunity to express their full potential, people who deserve to live free of fear and deprivation, and people who, despite all they have endured, manage to sustain more moments of dignity and resistance and humor and humanity than I ever would have imagined possible.
I am grieving because sometimes it feels like too much; too much suffering and oppression and trauma and violence to stop.
I am grieving and I am outraged.
And I am hopeful.
I am hopeful because I know that I am a part of a powerful movement for justice, for healing, and for collective liberation.
I am hopeful because even in my grief, I feel profoundly connected to all of you who share this commitment to building another world, one where all people have access to the material, educational, emotional, and spiritual resources necessary to be safe in thrive in our communities.
I am hopeful because I am privileged to work with amazing women who join me everyday in the struggle for justice.
I am hopeful because I know that people all over the world expressed opposition to the killing of Teresa Lewis.
I am hopeful because I have witnessed, and been a part of, countless acts of resistance to the forces of violence and oppression.
I am hopeful because many of those acts of resistance have resulted in powerful, meaningful, liberatory changes.
I am hopeful because I don't have to look all that hard to see evidence that we are doing it, we are building the world we want and deserve.
I am hopeful because I have to be. There is no alternative.
And I am grateful.
I am grateful to each of you for being a part of the struggle alongside me, in your own ways.
I am grateful for the ways that each of you sustain me and my spirits, even from afar.
I am grateful for the many expressions of support and solidarity that people sent to Teresa, her attorneys, my colleagues, and me this week.
I am grateful to Teresa's attorney and to the countless other volunteer attorneys throughout the country who dedicate themselves to fighting for justice.
I am grateful that Gaile Owens, who was set to be executed by the State of Tennessee next Tuesday, had her sentenced commuted in July to life with the possibility for parole by Governor Bredesen.
I am grateful for the countless organizations and affinity groups and collectives and individuals who work so determinedly to create the change we want to see and to build the world in which we all deserve to live.
I am grateful for the opportunity to confront the dissociation and fatigue that comes from absorbing too much suffering and trauma, to tap into my grief and outrage, to express myself, and to move, once again, toward action.
And I am grateful for this life and the chance to be my best self. I hope to do right by it.
Onward,
Andrea
PS: Today I am going to make a donation to the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty in Teresa Lewis' honor. If you want to join me in doing so, you can donate online at http://ncadp.org/
I also am feeling especially proud of the work of the National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women this week; if any of you want to send them some love this week, too, you can go to http://www.ncdbw.org/more.htm
And I also am always grateful for the work and leadership of Critical Resistance and their vision of creating genuinely safe and healthy communities that respond to harm without relying on prisons and punishment. To support their work, go to:http://criticalresist.live.radicaldesigns.org/article.php?id=55

Flawed Science, Flawed Morals, Flawed Justice

2011-09-07T16:11:00.000-04:00

This weekend, CNN published a story explaining that a Texas state board ruled that arson investigators used "flawed science", resulting in the execution of an innocent man in 2004. In 1991, Cameron Todd Willingham was accused of deliberately starting a fire which killed his three daughters in their Corsicana Texas home. Now, 19 years after Mr. Willingham was first falsely accused, 18 years after Mr. Willingham was sentenced to death, and 6 years after he was executed by the state of Texas, the Texas Forensic Science Commission--among others--has found that this human being was, in fact, determined to be guilty by means of "flawed science". The evidence, reviewed by three different panels of experts, concluded that the fire should not have been ruled by arson. Thus, Mr. Willingham's trial was unfounded and Texas has not only unjustly added another name to the 462 inmates they have executed since 1976, but ended the life of an innocent human being.

That Mr. Willingham's life was ended prematurely by the state of Texas is not only flawed science, but flawed morals, and flawed justice. The death penalty is irreparable; it cannot be undone. If mistakes are made--as they have been in the past, and will certainly continue to be made in the future--it is not something the state can "fix" with money, programs, or studies. A human being's life is gone forever. Mr. Willingham is far from the first innocent man to be executed, however. The cost of murdering an innocent human being is far too high a price to pay for an inefficient, ineffective, and expensive form of punishment/deterrence. The execution of innocent men like Cameron Todd Willingham is a travesty for the state of Texas, the United States, and humanity as a whole. By executing human beings, the United States sacrifices any moral high ground that it may claim in its judicial process, and the fact that every year innocent lives are stolen because of a broken criminal justice system only further underscores the appalling nature of the death penalty, and the pressing need to ban this barbaric form of punishment. The death penalty is permanent. Nothing will bring back Cameron Todd Willingham. However, we can honor the memories of fallen innocent human beings by working to save the lives of the innocent human beings currently on death row, and the countless others who will inevitably be sentenced to death in the future. We must ban the death penalty in Pennsylvania, the United States and the world, forever.

Cameron Todd Willingham's final words:

"The only statement I want to make is that I am an innocent man convicted of a crime I did not commit. I have been prosecuted for 12 years for something I did not do. From God's dust I came and to dust I will return so the Earth will become my throne. I gotta go, Road Dog."

Source

Posted by Aaron Spanger, PADP Intern, July 26, 2010
http://nodpinpa.blogspot.com/2010/07/flawed-science-flawed-morals_26.html

Kevin Keith Appeal

2011-09-07T16:09:00.000-04:00

PADP, in conjunction with the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, is asking you to please take action to save the life of a potentially innocent man. Kevin Keith has been on death row since 1994. He was sentenced to death for the murder of Marichell Chatman, her seven-year-old daughter, Marchae, and her aunt, Linda Chatman, in a trail which lasted only three and a half months, and was based on potentially faulty eye-witness identification. Despite overwhelming evidence supporting his innocence, Kevin Keith is scheduled to be executed on September 15, 2010.

However, Mr. Keith's clemency hearing is set for August 11. We urge you to add your name to the clemency petition now, to forward this message to friends and ask them to join you by adding their names as well, and to share this information on Facebook, Twitter, and whatever other networking tools you use.

Please sign the petition, and help save yet another life.

Kevin Keith's website.

Posted by Aaron Spangler, PADP Intern, July 22, 2010
http://nodpinpa.blogspot.com/2010/07/kevin-keith-appeal.html

House Bill - 996 Public Hearing

2011-09-07T16:04:00.000-04:00

On Monday July 19, 2010, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Judiciary Committee held a public hearing concerning House Bill 1996 (also known as the Racial Justice Act), which amends Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, eliminating the possibility of the use of the capital punishment if "race was a significant factor in a decision to seek or impose the sentence of death". This bill seeks not only to lessen the number of individuals that receive the death penalty, but also to mend the appalling racial disparity on death row.

Among the presenters for the hearing were Rev. Dr. Roger Thomas, co-chair of the Pennsylvania Committee for the Analysis and Reform of Our Criminal System, who offered both a factual and spiritual analysis of the Act; Robert Brett Dunham, Assistant Federal Defender for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, who presented shocking statistics about the racial disparities of death row, both on a state and national level; and Jeremy J. Collins, Director of the North Carolina Coalition for a Moratorium, who offered a spirited testimonial regarding the effectiveness of North Carolina's own Racial Justice Act, which went into effect August 11th of last year.

Read an analysis of the Act from The Independent: here.

What follows is PADP Director, Dave Kenyon's testimony to the House Judiciary Committee regarding Pennsylvania's Racial Justice Act:

July 14, 2010

The Honorable Thomas R. Caltagirone

Chairman, House Judiciary Committee

106 Irvis Office Building

PO Box 202127

Harrisburg, PA 17120-2127

The Honorable Ron Marsico

Chairman, House Judiciary Committee

218 Ryan Office Building

PO Box 202105

Harrisburg, PA 17120-2105

Dear Chairman Caltagirone and Chairman Marsico,

Thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony for the July 19 House Judiciary Committee hearing on House Bill 1996. This legislation would provide a course of action for defendants facing death sentences in the commonwealth when the imposition or charge of capital punishment was sought in the case on the basis of race. Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty supports HB 1996, and on behalf of the 12,000 members of PADP, I urge you and the members of the committee to support this legislation.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, of the 220 inmates on death row, 59%, are black. This ratio is extremely high when considering the population of African Americans in Pennsylvania is slightly less than 11%. Of the 130 black inmates on death row, 71% are from Philadelphia County. While blacks make up 44.8% of the population of Philadelphia County, a staggering 88.5% of the death row inmates from Philadelphia are black. Clearly, there is a disproportionate number of minority convictions for capital cases in Pennsylvania.

The American Bar Association warned of exactly this kind of racial (and geographical) skewing in it Pennsylvania Death Penalty Report. The recommendations resulting from the ABA report suggest the Commonwealth should eliminate racial and geographical bias from its death penalty system. House Bill 1996 would begin to address the need to alleviate a grave injustice that plagues Pennsylvania's judicial system. It will not be a panacea.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recommended the Commonwealth adopt a Racial Justice Act in its 2003 report Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Imposition of the Death Penalty. Citing the need for legislative action as implied in McCleskey v. Kemp, the report suggests codifying the ability of defendants to use statistical information to argue racial discrimination. By enacting HB 1996 Pennsylvania would join Kentucky and North Carolina in the attempt to enshrine the equal protection rights of the accused.

Both the ABA and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court advocate for a comprehensive data gathering system to track capital cases in the Commonwealth. The need for data to monitor the judicial system is great, particularly to gauge the effect if HB 1996 is passed.

The citizens of Pennsylvania deserve to reside in a society free from racial discrimination. Flagrant use of racial bias in seeking or imposing the death sentence in Pennsylvania erodes the judicial integrity of Pennsylvania and denigrates the concept of equality in the United States. House Bill 1996 can help to reverse the inherent injustice of racial and ethnic bias that is rampant in the system. It is for the aforementioned reasons PADP urges you to support this legislation.

Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty thanks the House Judiciary Committee for the opportunity to express our position on this matter. Please feel free to contact us with any comments or if any additional information is needed.

Sincerely,

Dave Kenyon

Director, PADP

114 Walnut St.

Suite 3

Harrisburg, PA 17101

(717) 236-4840 phone

(717) 236-4850 fax

dkenyon@padp.org

Posted by Aaron Spangler, PADP Intern, July 21, 2010

http://nodpinpa.blogspot.com/2010/07/hb-1996-public-hearing.html

William C. Holland

2011-09-07T16:01:00.000-04:00

While speaking to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections about inconsistencies in their records, we at PADP learned that on June 27, 2010, William C. Holland--a man who was awaiting execution by the state of Pennsylvania--had died of 'natural causes' at the age of 54. Mr. Holland had been sentenced to death on February 7th, 1986, meaning that he had been on death row for 24 years.

Yet there is no mention of him in area newspaper columns, obituaries, or even the state Department of Corrections. Mr. Holland's name has been all but erased from the records; a simple screen displaying the message 'prisoner not found' is all that results from of a search for his name on the Department of Corrections website. Mr. Holland is far from the first to suffer this fate. Because Pennsylvania has only executed three individuals since its reinstatement, to be sentenced to execution is nearly a guarantee that you will die on death row. However, the economic cost of maintaining prisoners on death row for such a long period of time is significantly higher than a 'life without parole' sentence. Meanwhile, the state legal system remains bogged down with endless case appeals. The Death Penalty Information Center examines the time between sentencing and execution on a national scale here:

(source)

There is no reason to doubt that the number is significantly higher in 2010.

If the death penalty were eliminated, this economic, social, and political cost would not be exacted upon the taxpayers of the state of Pennsylvania without their consent, and those on death row would not have to join the countless others--like William C. Holland--who have died waiting for the state of Pennsylvania to demonstrate its disregard for social justice.

Posted by Aaron Spangler, PADP Intern, July 7, 2010
http://nodpinpa.blogspot.com/2010/07/william-c-holland.html

Four More Scars

2011-09-07T15:59:00.000-04:00

Governor Ed Rendell has added four more human beings' names to the list of those waiting to be executed by the state of Pennsylvania.

In a press release dated June 25, 2010, Governor Rendell signed the death warrants of James W. VanDivner, 61, of Fayette County; Anthony Fletcher, 54, of Philadelphia; Dennis L. Miller, 47, of Chester County; and Bryan Sean Galvin, 45, of Berks County, increasing the grand total of death row inmates to 220.

The warrants are four more scars of hypocrisy for both the judicial system of Pennsylvania, and the state as a whole. These scars burn deep into our society, and they are not allowed to heal, as our elected officials continue to sacrifice the lives of human beings--and the credibility of our judicial system--for the sake of political gain. The example set by Governor Rendell throughout his eight year administration has been abhorrent. The Governor is responsible for signing the warrants of nearly half (108) of the 220 individuals currently residing on death row. Mr. Rendell could have used these cases as an opportunity to take a stand against capital punishment. He could have refused to send these 108 individuals to their deaths. Instead, Mr. Rendell has sought to end the lives of four more individuals, bog down the legal system even further, and cost the taxpayers of this state money that they cannot afford to spend in these trying economic times.

Furthermore, the statistics of Governor Rendell's death penalty warrants are concerning in the racial disparity of the cases. According to the Pensylvania Department of Corrections, 58 of the 108 death penalty warrants were for black individuals. This means that 53% of the individuals sentenced to death by Governor Rendell were black, in a state which is 85% white, and 11% black. This is a truly alarming statistic, especially coming from a politician whose political resume entails both the District Attorney and Mayor of Philadelphia. In the most populous city in the state, Mr. Rendell could have/should have gained first hand exposure to the terrible inequality in the Pennsylvania Justice System. Mr. Rendell could have used this experience to gain credibility in a fight against capital punishment on both a state and national level. Instead, he has chosen time and again to sacrifice our credibility for the sake of an outdated, ineffective, and hypocritical form of punishment. With these four new death penalty warrants, the Governor is adds more scars of hypocrisy to our state. I wonder how many more it will take for us to no longer recognize ourselves.

Posted by Aaron Spangler, PADP Intern, July 26, 2010
http://nodpinpa.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html

Narrowing the Perception Gap

2011-09-07T15:52:00.000-04:00

Perhaps the largest obstacle to the abolition of the death penalty in Pennsylvania is a perception gap which permeates deep into our society, influencing people of all ages and walks of life. This gap is highly detrimental, impeding our knowledge of the truth about our judicial system, and denying our society the right to equal justice and representation. The fact that Pennsylvania has executed only three people since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976 has allowed the issue of capital punishment to slip from the public’s mind. Yet still the death penalty remains, threatening to execute 223 human beings in Pennsylvania alone. The money spent on maintaining this costly form of punishment serves to merely perpetuate the need for arduous and sluggish appeals, siphoning money which could be better allocated towards fixing our broken criminal justice system. Yet the public does not see this side of the story. The true economic costs of executing a human, the racial imbalances of the death row population, and the ineffective representation given to many death row inmates is rarely printed on any campaign pamphlet or mentioned on the floor of the state legislature. For many, the death penalty is an unquestionable foundation of our judicial system, if only as a result of historical precedent. However, if the true costs of the death penalty were widely known and distributed, this highly detrimental perception gap would close. The universality of the issue would be widely recognized; that this is not a liberal or conservative issue, it is a common sense issue.

In this fast-paced and highly interconnected world, the ability to close the perception gap is easier and more attainable than ever before. In short, there is no longer an excuse for not being ‘in the loop’. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and the many thousands plugging away in the blogosphere provide an exciting and extremely powerful resource to mobilize and galvanize our supporters, as well as gain new advocates. An informal, five question survey I created and distributed via Facebook to 100 of my friends was highly informative. Of the respondents—14% of which were under 18, and 85% of which were 18-35—33% did not even know that Pennsylvania has the death penalty. Also, 46.5% believed that there were only 0-100 people on death row, despite the fact that over 220 currently reside there. Furthermore, the respondents were evenly distributed when asked how many people they thought had been executed in Pennsylvania since 1976, with 24.5% answering ‘0-10’, 24.5% answering ‘10-50’, 30.6% answering ‘50-100’, and 22.4% answering ‘over 100’. From even this small sample, it is obvious that perceptions of the death penalty (in this case, amongst young people) are inaccurate, and new media and social networking websites represent a vital opportunity to expand our reach to the public. Vast amounts of information can be distributed to countless constituencies and individuals in the blink of an eye. This includes legislators. If we can prove to our lawmakers that we not only understand the issue at hand, but have a sizable and active following, we can enact an instant but lasting impact on the legislative landscape of Pennsylvania. Before any of this can happen, however, we must work tirelessly to close this destructive and debilitating perception gap, and to tear down the curtain shielding the issue of capital punishment from the public’s eyes. We must tweet, vlog, blog, and wall-post this issue to our friends, co-workers, and most importantly: our legislators. Despite all the political and economic turmoil of our modern lives, we have proven just how interconnected we can be as a society. Let us use this rapidly growing unity gain a twenty-first century awareness of an age-old problem.

Posted by Aaron Spangler, PADP Intern, June 16, 2010
http://nodpinpa.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html

Currently undergoing construction

2011-09-02T13:09:00.000-04:00

PADP's blog is currently undergoing construction. Please visit our website at: http://padp.org/ for more information. Our blog should be up and running in the near future.

Thanks!
Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty