[CUADPUpdate] Death of a Friend & The Unseen Victims

[Abraham J. Bonowitz]

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Greetings All,

If I recall correctly, I met MaryRuth Weir on the Indiana Journey of 
Hope ...from Violence to Healing.  MaryRuth and her husband Ed ran 
New Hope House, a hospitality house for the families of prisoners on 
Georgia's death row.  On the surface she was quiet & demure, but if 
you got to know her then you know MaryRuth had a quick wit and loved 
to laugh.  And her life was all about serving those in need.

I had the pleasure of visiting New Hope House numerous times, as it 
is just minutes off I-75 about an hour south of Atlanta and it was 
easy to stop by on my many trips to and from Florida when I lived 
there.  Governor loved it as well - it's one of the few places where 
I could let him run free.  My last visit was with Beth and Isaac in 
August '05 when Isaac was just six or seven weeks old - see a photo 
here:  http://www.cuadp.org/BabyGallery_files/nhh3.jpg -- Isaac's 
favorite ball is the one that MaryRuth knitted for him.

MaryRuth Weir died Sunday morning at 5am at Emory Hospital in Georgia 
of various complications arising from a struggle with a brain 
tumor.  MaryRuth's husband Ed was with her when she died, and she was 
peaceful.  Ed Loring & Murphy Davis of the Open Door Community in 
Atlanta were also present.  A memorial service was held at Jubilee 
Partners in Comer, GA on Monday.  Her ashes will be laid to rest both 
there & at her family's cemetery at a later time in Nashville, 
Tennessee.  Thanks to everyone for the love, gifts and grace, that 
has been shared since learning of MaryRuth's tumor in August.  Please 
continue to surround Ed (& grown children Dawn, Bill, Rachel, 
Sabrina) with your love and prayers.  They have been a team for a 
long time, and this is a difficult journey for Ed in particular, who 
now must learn to cook.  ;-)

In addition to your prayers and/or good wishes, at this time please 
consider a contribution in memory of MaryRuth weir to your favorite 
abolition group (CUADP made such a donation to http://www.ncadp.org/ 
earlier today) and also to New Hope House.

New Hope House
PO Box 1213
Griffin, GA 30024

MaryRuth, RIP.

*********************


The ministry of New Hope House was primarily to the families of 
persons on death row in Georgia.  New Hope House is a place for such 
families and friends, and also legal team members, to stay or stop by 
when they travel to visit those on Georgia's death row.  It has also 
been the place of refuge for families coming to the area for extended 
visits leading up to the execution of their loved one.  Such people 
are rarely considered, but in fact, all of the victim's groups in the 
abolition movement consider the families of the executed to also be 
murder victim family members.

On December 10 (International Human Rights Day), Murder Victim's 
Families for Human Rights released its report entitled, "Creating 
More Victims: How Executions Hurt the Families Left Behind.  I know 
too many of these people, and in fact it was meeting the families of 
the people on death row and the executed during the Indiana Journey 
that made me fully understand the impact of the collateral damage of 
the death penalty.  I like to say that the facts changed my mind, but 
it was the collateral damage that changed my heart....

Read that report and the press materials around it at 
http://www.murdervictimsfamilies.org (scroll down for the links), AND 
check out the series on this issue begun yesterday on the NCADP Blog 
at http://www.deathpenaltyusa.blogspot.com/

*******************


Wishing you and yours a loving holiday season and peace in the new year....

--abe

(on sabbatical from)
Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
http://www.CUADP.org