[CUADPUpdate] FURMAN at 35 - SCHEDULE POSTED - F&V UPDATE!

[Abraham J. Bonowitz]

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Greetings All!

UPDATING & INVITING YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN
The ABOLITIONIST ACTION COMMITTEE'S

STARVIN ' FOR JUSTICE 2007
14th Annual Fast & Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty at the U.S. Supreme Court

June 29 - July 2, 2007   (Arrive June 28 and depart July 3 for full attendance)

Read the who, what, when, where, why and how of 
this important annual abolitionist event by visiting http://www.abolition.org

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NEWLY CONFIRMED SPEAKERS!

Joining the speakers list for our series of 
evening teach-ins is Art Laffin, Shabaka WaQlimi, 
Georgi Fisher, Marshall Hartman, Phyllis 
Prentice, and Bill & Jennifer Bishop 
Jenkins.  The schedule of who is speaking each 
evening HAS BEEN POSTED, however exact order of 
speakers for each evening will remain a surprise until we get a bit closer.

See the full list of confirmed evening speakers 
at http://www.abolition.org/starvin14/  and see 
the F&V Schedule at http://www.abolition.org/starvin14/schedule.html

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NEW SPONSORS!

NOTE: The DEADLINE to be listed in the printed 
brochure was Wednesday night - Sponsors are STILL 
coming in and may be listed on the web page even 
after the fact!  Sponsor with a credit card at 
https://www.compar.com/donation/donateform.html - 
or let me know that your check is on the way.

See the full list of F&V Co-Sponsors to-date 
(June 21) and get co-sponsorship information at 
http://www.abolition.org/starvin14/sponsors.html

Since the last update the following groups and 
individuals have become co-sponsors of the 14th 
Annual Fast & Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Alaskans Against the Death Penalty
American Friends Service Committee
Jennifer Bishop Jenkins
Catholics Against Capital Punishment
Joan Cheever
Florida Death Row Advocacy Group
Phyllis Lawrence
Legislative Initiative Against Capital Punishment
Connie Nash
Hilary Naylor
United Church of Christ - Justice & Witness Ministries

See the full list of F&V Co-Sponsors to-date 
(June 21) and get co-sponsorship information at 
http://www.abolition.org/starvin14/sponsors.html

It's never too late to sponsor with a credit card 
at https://www.compar.com/donation/donateform.html

And THANKS to ALL who have come forward to help make this event happen!

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NOTICE - SPECIAL EVENTS ON JUNE 28

9:30 AM - Witness the trial of the AAC Activists 
arrested at the US Supreme Court on January 17th 
of this year - the 30th Anniversary of the first 
execution of the current death penalty 
era.  (NOTICE - civil disobedience does NOT take 
place during the F&V!)  June 28, 2007 at 9:30
a.m., with Judge John Bayly, District Courtroom 
321, 500 Indiana Avenue NW, Washington, DC.

5:30 PM - Journey of Hope ... From Violence to 
Healing FUND RAISER - see http://www.journeyofhope.org/pages/events-pops.htm

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JOURNEY OF HOPE EVENT PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oldest Former Death Row Inmate and 
Lawyers/Abolitionists of the Sixties To Be 
Honored by The Journey of Hope in Washington, 
D.C. on the Eve of the 35th Anniversary of 
Landmark Supreme Court Case That Abolished the Death Penalty

Louisiana’s Moreese Bickham, the oldest member of 
“The Class of ‘72” whose 1958 death sentence was 
commuted to life in prison in 1972, will honored, 
along with the lawyers/abolitionists of The 
Sixties and Seventies, at a reception from 
5:30-7:30 pm on Thursday, June 28, 2007 at The 
National Press Club in Washington, D.C. by The 
Journey of Hope
from Violence to Healing. 
(journeyofhope.org) Bickham was one of 587 men 
and two women whose lives were spared on that day 
when the Supreme Court abolished the death penalty in a 5-4 vote.

Bickham, who celebrated his 90th birthday in 
early June, will also be a featured speaker at 
the 14th Annual Fast and Vigil in Washington, 
D.C. on  June 29, 2007, on the 35th anniversary 
of the landmark ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court 
decision that saved his life ­ Furman v. 
Georgia.  The Fast and Vigil is coordinated by 
the Abolitionist Action Committee. 
(www.abolition.org) The reception to honor Mr. 
Bickham and the lawyers/abolitionists of The 
Summer of ’72 is being hosted by members of the 
board of The Journey of Hope
From Violence to 
Healing, a 501c3 nonprofit educational group, led 
by murder victim family members against the death 
penalty. ( www.journeyofhope.org) Tickets to the 
fundraiser, which will be held on the eve of the 
historic Furman ruling, are $75 per person and can be purchased at the door.

Bill Pelke, president of The Journey of Hope, 
said the organization is honored to host an event 
with such legendary figures in the abolition 
movement of The Sixties and Seventies who took 
the Furman case to the U.S. Supreme Court in the 
Summer of ’72, as well as current leaders of 
national anti-death penalty organizations. 
Moreese “Pops” Bickham made his first Journey of 
Hope trip in Virginia in October 2006 and plans 
to travel to Texas in October for the Texas 
Journey. The event will be held Oct. 12-28 in Houston, San Antonio and Austin.

When the United States Supreme Court abolished 
the death penalty on June 29, 1972 in the 
landmark ruling of Furman v. Georgia, there were 
45 men on Louisiana’s Death Row ­ and a total of 
587 men and two women on Death Rows in 30 states 
and the District of Columbia. They were all 
eventually moved into the general prison 
population.  Since that time, 322 former Death 
Row inmates have been released from prison and 
are the subject of a recently published book  by 
Joan M., Cheever, Back From the Dead: One woman’s 
search for the men who walked off America’s death 
row. (John Wiley & Sons 2006).

Bickham was released from prison in 1996 in 
Louisiana after serving 38 years inside Angola, 
once described as “the bloodiest prison in 
America.” While Bickham was on Death Row from 
1958 to 1972, he had seven execution dates; on 
one date, he came within 14 hours of execution.

Bickham’s lawyer, Michael Alcamo of New York 
City, who was instrumental in gaining Bickham’s 
freedom in 1996, will be in attendance as will 
members of the original NAACP Legal Defense and 
Education Fund legal team that represented all 
those inmates who were under the sentence of 
death in the Summer of ’72 when the Furman decision was handed down.

LDF lawyer Michael Meltsner, former dean of 
Northeastern Law School and author of  the recent 
book, The Making of a Civil Rights Lawyer,  will 
also be at the party, along with members of the 
original LDF legal team ­ Elaine Jones, Jack 
Himmelstein, Lynn Walker and Mel Bruder.

Meltsner says he believes abolition of capital 
punishment is in the immediate future. “We had a 
measure of justice 35 years ago and its not going 
to take that long to get it back," Meltsner said. 
“Everyone really knows that executions are 
ineffective, inconsistent and prohibitively 
expensive. Only the fear of our politicians keep capital punishment around."

Meltsner wrote a detailed account of the Furman 
decision and its road to the U.S. Supreme in 
“Cruel and Unusual: The Supreme Court and Capital 
Punishment. (Random House, 1973).

Moreese Bickham, a World War II veteran with no 
prior record, was sentenced to death for the July 
12, 1958  murder of two Louisiana police officers 
who came to his house at 3 a.m to arrest him for 
a bar fight earlier in the evening. Bickham 
maintains it was self-defense (he was shot first, 
in the chest) and he says the police officers 
were members of the Ku Klux Klan.  The all-white 
male jury took only 2 ½ hours to find Bickham guilty and sentence him to death.

Bickham says he is looking forward to both the 
birthday celebration and the event, and most 
especially, to visit the Supreme Court and pay 
homage to “all those good men and women who worked so hard to free me.”

Contact Information: Joan Cheever, 210-241-3771; backfromdeadusa at aol.com
The Fast and Vigil: Abe Bonowitz, CUADP Director 
and CoFounder at: 561-371-5204;  abe at cuadp.org
The Journey of Hope: Bill Pelke 305-775-5823
Lawyer Michael Meltsner: 617 373 3218/617 354 5328

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WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?

The Fast & Vigil takes place on the sidewalk in 
front of the U.S. Supreme Court, considered by 
many to be the heart of the legalized killing 
machines in this country. In addition to the 
strong public witness, this is an excellent 
opportunity to meet other abolitionists and to 
"recharge your batteries" while engaging in 
public outreach and maintaining a physical 
presence at the Court. ***FASTING IS OPTIONAL***

BOTTOM LINE, this is a great experience and 
training ground for people who want to learn more 
about this issue and to become very adept at talking about the dp.

Prisoners, activists from other countries, and 
abolitionists who are unable to come to 
Washington, D.C. have fasted or held events in 
solidarity with the action at the Court. This 
tradition continues to grow as well - those who 
participate in solidarity are asked to 
communicate details of their actions and contact 
information to the Fast & Vigil organizers. 
E-mail aac at abolition.org or write to the address below.

TO BECOME A CO-SPONSOR, please 
visit:   http://www.abolition.org/starvin14/sponsors.html

The Abolitionist Action Committee (AAC) is an 
ad-hoc group of individuals committed to highly 
visible and effective public education for 
alternatives to the death penalty through non-violent direct action.

Learn more at http://www.abolition.org/starvin14/ or by calling 800-973-6548

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SENT BY:

The Abolitionist Action Committee
www.abolition.org
800-973-6548