[CUADPUpdate] It's ABOLITION DAY!

[Abraham J. Bonowitz]

Floridians - take action HERE:  http://www.fadp.org/26threlease.html


Sent to ALL Abolitionists - At Least Once!
Please Excuse Cross-posts
Please Forward


Greetings All!

It's March 1st, International Death Penalty Abolition Day!  This marks the 
anniversary of the date that the State of Michigan became the first English 
speaking territory in the world to abolish the death penalty - March 1st, 
1847.  To be clear, this was Michigan's first legislative act - passed in 
the Spring of 1846, but it officially took effect on this day in 1847.  SO, 
especially today, do something to advance the cause of Abolition, and also, 
do something that celebrates your own vision of a world without violence....

Read the story of the wrongful execution that led to Abolition Day at 
http://www.cuadp.org/history.html

See SCHEDULED EVENTS for YOUR area at http://www.cuadp.org/upevents-part1.html

See a list of activities and actions YOU can take TODAY at 
http://www.cuadp.org/publicaction.html

More ideas are at http://www.cuadp.org/dowhatu.html

Make a donation at https://www.compar.com/donation/donateform.html

WEAR the message at http://www.cuadp.org/abolitionwear.html

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Here are a few items of interest and notices by some of the groups 
exhibiting LEADERSHIP on this issue today....


Karl Keys Wrote:
>Mark Osler offers up a new law review article entitled  "Crucifixion & 
>Execution : The Trial of Jesus Christ as a Death Penalty Sentencing 
>Process"  just in time for Abolition Day, Fat Tuesday & Ash 
>Wednesday.  The article offers an interesting juxtaposition of the trial 
>of Jesus and modern capital punishment, surprisingly it comes off well 
>done and might be worth a read if you have have ever wondered how to tie 
>in with the christian based religious themes.
>
> From the abstract at 
> http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID882811_code583863.pdf?abstractid=882811&mirid=1:
>
>Last year, I came to a remarkable conclusion: That the debate over the 
>death penalty in the United States is largely among Christians, but has 
>ignored the capital sentencing which is at the center of that faith. The 
>result of this epiphany is Crucifixion & Execution: The Trial of Jesus 
>Christ as a Death Penalty Sentencing Process.
>
>In Crucifixion & Execution, I argue that the story of Christ parallels 
>modern capital practice in many respects: Christ was turned in by a paid 
>informant (Judas), arrested in a strategic manner, given an arraignment 
>and stood mute, was tried, convicted and sentenced, appealed to two 
>separate sovereigns, and finally was denied a pardon.
>
>These similarities lead to two primary conclusions. First, the death of 
>Jesus Christ, an innocent, indicts a modern death penalty system that 
>continues to threaten the execution of innocent men and women. Second, the 
>trial of Christ suggests structural reforms of capital sentencing, if we 
>are to retain capital punishment.

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


In Tennessee....



>
>For Immediate 
>Release 
>Contact: James Staub, Jr.
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>1 March 2006
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>(615) 554-7544
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>March 1st – Legislative Letter Writing Lobby Day
>  The Risk of Even One Innocent Person Being Executed is One We Can’t Bear
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>Nashville, TN – In communities large and small across Tennessee opponents 
>of executions are writing letters to elected officials to promote 
>alternatives to capital punishment to commemorate International Death 
>Penalty Abolition Day.
>
>Organizers of these statewide events point to the state of Michigan as one 
>example that viable alternatives to the death penalty exist.  “Michigan 
>abolished capital punishment because they discovered 159 years ago that 
>they could not trust the system to be fair and accurate,” said James 
>Staub, Jr., a local organizer.  “They learned too late that they had 
>killed an innocent man. The first act of their new legislature when 
>Michigan became a State was to abolish the death penalty.”
>
>"I think Michigan made a wise decision 150 years ago (when the state 
>abolished capital punishment),’ noted former Michigan Governor John Engler 
>(R). “We're pretty proud the of the fact that we don't have the death penalty."
>
>Organized citizens in Pulaski, Jackson, Chattanooga, Crossville, 
>Murfreesboro, Nashville, Dickson, and elsewhere will hold letter-writing 
>events that will target state elected officials.
>
>“We are writing to ask support for House Bill 3895 that would enact a 
>temporary halt, a ‘time-out’ on executions in Tennessee while a thorough 
>study of the administration of our state’s death penalty system is 
>conducted and publicly discussed,” continued Staub.
>
>The first death row exoneration of the modern era in Tennessee is long 
>overdue.  Paul House through the use of DNA testing has been cleared of 
>the rape of Carolyn Muncey in Union County.  In January the U.S. Supreme 
>Court heard arguments regarding his actual innocence. 6th Circuit Court of 
>Appeals Justice Gil Merritt concluded that, “House has shown that is 
>highly probable that he is completely innocent of any wrongdoing 
>whatever
and should be immediately released.”
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>“The trend is one of questioning the death penalty as a tool of public 
>policy,” said Staub. “The danger that innocent people will be executed 
>because of errors in the criminal justice system is getting worse. The 
>death penalty is a public policy that appears to exclusively target the 
>working poor, those who kill white victims, and the mentally ill.”
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>“The risk of executing even one innocent person is too high a price for a 
>democratic society to risk,” said Staub.  “Let’s call a temporary halt to 
>executions and let’s identify what’s wrong before we proceed any further.”

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>Law Students Take Action Against Death Penalty
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>Wednesday, 1 March 2006, 12:08 pm
>Press Release: US National Lawyers Guild
>Law Students Take Nationwide Action Against The Death Penalty
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>Law students across the country are speaking out in opposition to the 
>death penalty on March 1, 2006 as part of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) 
>Law Student Day Against the Death Penalty.
>
>At least 32 law schools are participating in this national day of action 
>and education. Participating students are organizing panel discussions, 
>petition drives, protests, visits to death row and execution chambers, 
>film series, and other activities to raise awareness and call for abolition.
>
>The national day of action takes place amidst extraordinary death 
>penalty-related news around the country:
>
>· Last week, officials at San Quentin State Prison couldn't meet the 
>demands of a federal judge who ordered licensed medical personnel to take 
>part in the lethal injection of Michael Morales. This would violate 
>medical ethics. The effect amounts to a moratorium in California, which 
>has 650 death row inmates.
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>· Nationally, five inmates have had their executions put on hold since 
>late January because of doubts surrounding lethal injection.
>
>· On February 24, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously overturned the 
>conviction of death row inmate John Robert Ballard. Once his acquittal is 
>confirmed, Ballard will be the 123rd person exonerated and freed from 
>death row in the U.S. since 1973.
>
>NLG Executive Director Heidi Boghosian states, “Supreme Court Justice 
>Harry Blackmun got it right in his 1994 Callins v. Collins dissent, when 
>he avowed to ‘no longer tinker with the machinery of death.’ The members 
>of the current Supreme Court should follow in Blackmun’s footsteps and at 
>long last declare the death penalty unconstitutional.”
>
>Founded in 1937 as the first racially integrated national bar association, 
>the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human 
>rights bar organization in the United States. It has chapters in nearly 
>every state and at 97 law schools.

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In Pennsylvania

>To: se-chapter at pa-abolitionists.org
>From: Lisa Ziemer <southeast at pa-abolitionists.org>
>Subject: Abolition Day is March 1
>
>Friends,
>
>March 1st is Death Penalty Abolition Day, marking the anniversary of the 
>date in 1847 in which the state of Michigan became the first English 
>speaking territory to abolish capital punishment.  In honor of this 
>occasion, I urge you all to call your representatives, senators, and 
>Governor Rendell to encourage them to bring an end to the death penalty in 
>Pennsylvania.
>
>Also, don't miss the critically acclaimed play, The Exonerated.  The play 
>will be in Philadelphia March 3 and 4.  I have included the press release 
>below for address, times, and ticket prices.  I am looking for volunteers 
>to help distribute PAUADP literature at the event.   Please email me if 
>you are available.
>
>Peace,
>Lisa

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In New Jersey

>March 1st - International Death Penalty Abolition  Day
>
>International Death Penalty Abolition Day, March 1, marks the day that 
>Michigan became the first English-speaking territory in the world to 
>abolish the death penalty.  Please mark this special day in New Jersey by 
>making one phone call - to former Governor Richard Codey, who signed  the 
>nation's first moratorium bill on January 12, 2006!
>
>Tell former Governor Codey, who is the current New Jersey  Senate 
>President, that you oppose the death penalty and appreciate 
>his  leadership on the moratorium bill.  Reach him at his district office 
>at  973-731-6770.
>
>"I think Michigan made a wise decision 150 years ago (when the state 
>abolished capital punishment).  We're pretty proud the of the fact that we 
>don't have the death penalty."
>--former Michigan Governor John Engler (R), New York  Times, Sept. 22, 2000

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The Campaign to End the Death Penalty....

>DEATH PENALTY AWARENESS WEEK
>February 27 to March 3
>
>To view events happening across the country and how you can
>get involved, go to our website at http://www.nodeathpenalty.org

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ARIZONA...

>To: abe at njadp.org
>Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2006 19:34:52 -0700
>Subject: International Death Penalty Abolition  Day, AZ style
>From: Claudia Ellquist <cequist at juno.com>
>
>Abe,
>
>Just a quick note to let you know that the apologies Ray Krone received
>on February 21, at the Arizona legislature in Phoenix, were the
>culmination of months of work by the Coalition of Arizonans to Abolish
>the Death Penalty.  It was easy enough to line up a liberal Democrat in
>the House here, but the larger success was getting the conservative
>Republican Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee to deliver the apology
>there, making it a truly bi-partisan event.
>
>Both men also participated in the press conference we set up, and heard
>Ray remind them that there remain at least half a dozen innocent men on
>Arizona's death row, for whom no DNA exonerations are possible.  We
>believe this to be the first time state lawmakers have offered a formal
>apology to an exoneree, and we impressed the participants and the press
>that history was being made.
>
>We also had 35 persons from CAADP in attendance that day, getting to see
>where their lawmakers work, and be seen by those lawmakers.
>
>Other events that we have planned to celebrate  International Death
>Penalty Abolition  Day/ Month are:
>
>1.  Ray was the keynote speaker at the CAADP annual meeting in Scottsdale
>on the evening that he received his apologies.
>
>2.  Ray spoke to about 50 law students at the University of Arizona the
>morning after the historic apology.
>
>3.  This was part of a 3 day event that included also a speech by a
>former state Supreme Court Justice about how he came to oppose the death
>penalty, and by author/activist Kathy Norgard, whose recent book "Hard to
>Place" tells of her story as the mother of a death row inmate, as she
>fought to save his life.  It particularly discusses the fetal alcohol
>syndrome that affected her adopted son's cognitive abilities and
>behavior.
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>4.  With the Arizona Death Penalty Forum we will be hosting a conference
>on March 4 at ASU in Tempe, in anticipation of the ABA review of death
>penalty practices and standards in Arizona.
>
>5. We will also be hosting Sr Helen Prejean, in Tucson, on March 12, in
>concert with the Arizona Capital Representation Project.
>
>6.  We are also making our copy of Deadline, the documentary about Gov
>Ryan in Illinois, available to local churches and across the state,
>following up our event last winter of showing it at a local Tucson
>theatre, and particularly inviting law and journalism students, and
>arranging speakers about it for their classes.
>
>7.  In January we tabled at the local theatre productions of The
>Exonerated.
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>8.  We continue the Cards for CAADP project of having folks write to
>governors asking for clemency before scheduled executions.  And out
>project of having churches display our banner "Executions Have Always
>Been Wrong."
>
>--claudia ellquist for CAADP

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What are YOU doing today?

Drop me a note and tell me!

--abe

abe at abolition.org

"Talk is cheap.  It's the way we organize and use our lives
every day that tells what we believe in."
                                      -- Cesar E. Chavez


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