[FADPUpdate] AIUSA, CCRC, LI, UCF - Acronyms Anonymous Anyone?

[melliott3 at aol.com]

Friends,
 
Good news for justice.  The CCRC North reinstatement appears to finally be at hand.
Another FADPUpdate coming soon on "Innocence and Florida's DP"
Hope to see you in Boca.
 
---Mark
 
 
Contents:
 
AIUSA State Meeting
CCRC North Reinstatement
Lethal Injection Update
DP Debate at UCF in Orlando
 
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Death Penalty a Focus at Amnesty International FL Statewide Meeting
Florida Atlantic University, University Center
April 7, 2007
 
Freddie Pitts (FL Exonoree) and SueZann Bosler (Journey of Hope) will give keynote presentation at the Amnesty International Florida Statewide Meeting at 4:00 PM on April 7, 2007 at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL.
 
The day’s events will also feature a workshop presented by Mark Elliott, the Director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and the FL State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator for Amnesty International.
 
For more info, directions and registration form:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/events/southern/04072007floridastatemeet.html
 
Event is free.  Please register by Sunday, April 2.
 
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CCRC NORTH MAKING A COMEBACK
 
In a long awaited move, the Florida Senate followed a unanimous Florida Supreme Courts request and agreed this week to reestablish the Northern Capital Collateral Regional Counsel (CCRC).  The CCRC functions like a Public Defenders office for Capital Cases.  Former Gov. Bush did away with the Northern CCRC and replaced it with a registry of private attorneys.  This was seen by many as a means of removing effective counsel for those on Death Row.  The CCRC had done "too good a job" in protecting the rights of the condemned and winning favorable court decisions in the pusuit of justice.  Gov. Bush destroyed the CCRC North and privatized it claiming it would save money and speed up the execution of condemned prisoners.  His goal was to do the same with the two remaining CCRC regional offices.  The Florida Supreme Court examined the replacement system and concluded that it was rife with "some of the worst lawyering I have ever seen."  Rep. Dan Gelber, a former prosecutor who serves on the Commission on Capital Cases, said Wednesday, "Everyone who's looked at this comes to the conclusion it's not better and it's not cheaper. ...It's just a clumsier way to do it."
 
Now, it is up to the Florida Housed of Representatives to follow the Senate's lead and provide funding for the re establishment of the CCRC North.
 
For more info:
 
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/state/epaper/2007/03/29/a14a_XGR_capital_0329.html
 
 
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LETHAL INJECTION UPDATE
 
Following the report of the Governor's Commission on the Administration of Lethal Injection, the Florida Senate has now allocated $175,000 to the Dept. of Corrections (DOC) to implement new protocol and procedures for lethal injection.  Please keep the email and letter writing campaign going.  Executions can begin again as soon as the procedures are in place.  Gov. Charlie Crist has the authority to resist signing new Death Warrants and continue the pause on executions.  
 
Twenty (20) prisoners on Florida's Death Row are now eligible for Death Warrants.
 
For more on the Governor's Commission on the Administration of Lethal Injection, how to take action, news reports and the American Bar Association Report on Florida's Death Penalty, go to www.FADP.org.
 
Please ask your friends, colleagues and organizations to join in the campaign.
 
COMMUNICATIONS WITH GOVERNOR CRIST

ADDRESS: 
Gov. Charlie Crist
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL  32399

PHONE: 850-488-7146
FAX: 850-487-0801

EMAIL: Charlie.Crist at myflorida.com
 
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DP DEBATE AT UCF ORLANDO
 
Sol Otero, the niece of Angel Diaz (the man whose botched execution forced a pause in Florida's executions and a review of the procedures), forwarded this press article to FADP.  She was assisted at the event by Gavin Lee of the University of Central Florida, who provided her a front row seat.  These events raise public awareness and help Floridians make informed decisions on this life and death issue.  If anyone would like help in putting together a death penalty awareness event, please contact me.  FADP networks with many groups and organizations and can help with speakers, materials and advertising tailored to fit your group's needs.
 
---Mark
 
 
 
DEBATE ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT DRAWS LARGE CROWD
 
Orlando, March 23, 2007 — Last night's debate on capital punishment drew several hundred campus and community members to UCF's FAIRWINDS Alumni Center.

Speaking for capital punishment was Professor Robert Blecker (left) of the New York Law School. Speaking against the death penalty was Professor Robert Bohm (right) of UCF's Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies.

Both Blecker and Bohm are nationally recognized scholars on this controversial subject. They came to the debate armed with extensive knowledge about the use of capital punishment in the United States and around the world. Blecker also showed videos on life on death row and life in typical maximum security settings, where life-without-parole sentences are served.

The event was the second of a two-part speakers' series on capital punishment presented this spring by the department. 

"There is no issue of public policy that is more important," said Pamala Griset, who founded the series and is currently interim chair of the department. "Your position on it reflects your own thinking about life itself."

-- Karen Guin 

Note: The debate was filmed by UCF Television Services and will air on the UCF Channel in the future. 
 
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It's not about what they did...it's about what we do.
 
Mark Elliott
Director, Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, FADP.org
2840 W. Bay Drive, #118
Belleair Bluffs, FL 33770-2620
 
(727) 215-9646
mark at fadp.org


"The time is always right to do what is right." Martin Luther King

 
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