[CUADPUpdate] Quasi-Sabbatical

[Abraham J. Bonowitz]

Sent to CUADPUpdate and FADPUpdate



Dear Friends and Supporters

You may have noticed a slow-down in my communications, and also several 
references to my "moving."  In fact, I have moved, but not back to 
Florida.  I have accepted a position as the "Field Manager" for New 
Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NJADP), and my family and 
I have been busy moving to and settling in Willingboro, NJ, about 20 miles 
outside of Trenton, the Capitol of New Jersey.  The job is expected to last 
about a year.  If we are successful, I and everyone else working on this 
issue in New Jersey will be out of a job at this time in 2007.  I am very 
excited and honored to have been chosen for this position and given the 
opportunity to help turn the first legislative moratorium in the U.S. into 
the first legislative ABOLITION in the U.S.  I trust that I will be able to 
help apply the lessons learned here in New Jersey to other campaigns in the 
future.

What will happen to CUADP and FADP?  Well, these two entities continue to 
exist. I certainly will have significantly less time to devote to projects 
that are not part of my job with NJADP.  But to be clear, CUADP and FADP 
continue to exist and continue to require ongoing support. CUADP will be a 
little less prominent this next year.  FADP efforts continue on an 
as-needed basis, and several Floridians are stepping forward to help fill 
the void.  I hope to find new leadership to step forward with regard to the 
Fast & Vigil.  The AbolitionWear project will grow, and CUADPUpdate will 
continue, but with somewhat less frequency.  The phone number, web sites, 
and Florida mailing address will continue to function as normal.  I will 
also continue my participation on the board of directors of both the 
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and also Journey of Hope 
...From Violence to Healing, Inc.

SO, that's my news.  If I can answer any questions or be helpful to you in 
any way, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Yours in the Struggle,

--abe

PS:  Here is what NJADP Executive Director Celeste Fitzgerald sent to the 
NJADP list late last week:

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

>Friends,
>
>In the last few weeks following passage of the moratorium bill, New
>Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NJADP) staff and 
>volunteers  have
>been busy responding to requests for speakers, articles, and  media 
>interviews -
>from inside and outside the Garden State.  It is  clear that New Jersey's
>moratorium has had a powerful and positive impact  on efforts to end the 
>death
>penalty.
>
>NJADP has also been busy making plans for the coming year.  There are  many
>exciting events in the works, including a general membership  meeting and
>reception to celebrate the  moratorium victory.  The April 23 
>'celebration' will
>feature guest speakers, including Diann Rust-Tierney, director of 
>the  National
>Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.  For more information  about the
>general meeting, the moratorium, and more, look for a  special 
>information-packed
>postal mailing in March.
>
>Welcome Abe Bonowitz
>
>NJADP is very pleased to announce that Abe Bonowitz has joined our Trenton
>office staff.  Abe comes to NJADP with years of experience in national  and
>state efforts to end the death penalty, including working with 
>murder  victims'
>family members and with death row inmates.  A long time activist  with 
>Citizens
>United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (CUADP), a national
>organization, Abe received the 2005 national Abolitionist of the Year 
>award  from the
>National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.  Abe, his wife  Beth, and 
>son
>Isaac, have settled in Willingboro, New Jersey.
>
>Abe will coordinate NJADP's educational outreach programs, speakers,  and
>special events.  If you would like an NJADP speaker for your 
>next  meeting, don't
>hesitate to contact Abe at _abe at njadp.org_ (mailto:abe at njadp.org) .  NJADP
>speakers are  available at no charge.
>
>Sr. Helen Prejean visits New York
>
>Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 6PM
>Execution in America: The State of the Death Penalty in  2006
>New York County Lawyers Association, 14 Vesey Street (one block north of
>Fulton Street)
>Speakers: Sr. Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking and George H.
>Kendall, Senior Counsel, Holland and Knight LLP.  Mr. Kendall will 
>present  an
>national overview on the death penalty and Sr. Prejean will discuss 
>her  latest
>book, The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful  Executions.
>Following the presentations, there will be a reception and  book signing.
>Sponsors: NYCLA Justice Center and Holland and Knight LLP
>The event is free and open to the public.
>RSVP by February 27 to Dianna Lamb at 212-267-6646 or _dlamb at nycla.org_
>(mailto:dlamb at nycla.org) .
>
>
>Sr. Helen Prejean visits New Jersey
>
>Thursday, March 23 at 6PM at Georgian Court University's GCU  Casino
>Georgian Court University presents Women of Witness: Sister Helen  Prejean
>$10 per person in advance, $20 per person at the door; free to GCU  community
>members with ID; reservations required - Call 732-987-2263 or email
>_specialevents at georgian.edu_ (mailto:specialevents at georgian.edu) 
>to  reserve your
>place.
>
>
>March 1st - International Death Penalty Abolition  Day
>
>International Death Penalty Abolition Day, March 1, marks the day that
>Michigan became the first English-speaking territory in the world to 
>abolish the
>death penalty.  Please mark this special day in New Jersey by making  one 
>phone
>call - to former Governor Richard Codey, who signed  the nation's first
>moratorium bill on January 12, 2006!
>
>Tell former Governor Codey, who is the current New Jersey  Senate President,
>that you oppose the death penalty and appreciate his  leadership on the
>moratorium bill.  Reach him at his district office at  973-731-6770.
>
>"I think Michigan made a wise decision 150 years ago (when the state
>abolished capital punishment).  We're pretty proud the of the fact that 
>we  don't
>have the death penalty."
>     -former Michigan Governor John Engler (R), New York  Times, Sept. 22, 
> 2000
>
>In the News: Lethal Injection Legal Challenges
>
>Recently there has been a flurry of media attention surrounding  challenges
>to lethal injection procedures, underway in a number of states.   It is
>important to note that these legal challenges are questioning 
>the  protocols used by
>individual states and not lethal injection itself.
>
>In California, a challenge to lethal injection procedures led to a  postponed
>execution after the State failed to find a licensed medical  professional to
>give the lethal injection - thereby failing to meet a court  order that
>stipulated that the injection be administered by such  a professional.
>
>In New Jersey, in Feb. 2004, in response to a lawsuit brought by  NJADP
>challenging New Jersey's protocols for lethal injection, a 
>unanimous  Appellate
>Division panel suspended all executions here, saying  the State's regulations
>"appear to be arbitrary and unreasonable."  Later  at a public hearing, 
>hundreds
>of New Jerseyans voiced opposition to newly  proposed execution protocols,
>which were never finalized.  The legal  moratorium, still in effect today, 
>is in
>addition to the legislative  moratorium imposed by New Jersey lawmakers in
>January.
>
>How do these lethal injection cases impact the death  penalty?
>
>The recent flurry of activity surrounds the constitutionality of lethal
>injection as it is currently applied.  The cases before the courts  are 
>requesting
>legal review of arbitrary and faulty  protocols.  Such a review process does
>not end the death penalty or  take anyone off death row.
>
>Why are these cases important?
>
>The carrying out of an execution is one of the most serious actions the
>State takes yet there are a lot of questions and confusion about how the 
>lethal
>injection processes are working.  States are using decades-old procedures,
>many of which were adopted with little or  no medical research, resulting 
>in an
>increased risk  of botched executions.  Botched executions traumatize 
>wardens,
>corrections officers, and others who are charged with the task of carrying
>them  out, so it is not surprising that the courts are reviewing these
>procedures.
>
>The lethal injection challenges fail to address a wide range of other
>problems with the death penalty.  More than 100 innocent persons  have 
>walked free
>after being sentenced to die for crimes they did not  commit.  Race and
>geography often determine who lives and who  dies.  Family members of 
>murder victims
>are re-victimized by the  lengthy, stressful, and complex capital trials and
>appeals.
>
>
>In the News: Ray Krone accepts apology from Arizona State  Legislature
>
>On February 21, members of the Arizona State Legislature gave a standing
>ovation to Ray Krone, a former Arizona death row inmate who was freed in 
>2002
>after DNA tests proved his innocence and implicated another man, 
>currently  in
>prison for another crime.  After he was introduced in each  legislative 
>chamber
>during floor sessions, Krone, who has spoken about the  death penalty in New
>Jersey many times, accepted apologies from several  House and Senate members
>and expressed his concern about the risk of  executing innocent persons.
>"Those 10 years must have been for a  purpose.  No system is 100 percent 
>accurate,"
>Krone told the Arizona  lawmakers. (Associated Press, February 21, 2006)
>
>Congratulations to our good friend, Ray.
>
>
>In peace, Celeste
>
>Celeste  Fitzgerald
>Director, New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death  Penalty
>973-635-6396 Chatham Office
>609-278-6719 Trenton  Office
>www.njadp.org

*********

SENT BY:

Abraham J. Bonowitz
abe at cuadp.org
800-973-6548