Death Penalty

                                        from the diaries of the tennessee dude...

this humanitarian action comes from the tennessee coalition to abolish state killing ... write today!!!

Free Paul House - Tennessee

In June of 2006, the United States Supreme Court ruled that in the case of Paul House "no reasonable juror viewing the record as a whole would lack a reasonable doubt." In other words, no juror in America would find Paul House guilty of the 1985 murder of Carolyn Muncey. One would think that when the highest court in the land says a person is not guilty, that person would be released from death row. Sadly, in the case of Paul House, that is not the case. House still sits on death row waiting for lower courts, which have ignored the deadlines for their rulings, to act on the mandate of the Supreme Court.

Dear Governor Bredesen: Free Paul House  

Joyce House, mother of Paul House, recently sent an impassioned letter to the Governor asking him, "to step up and say 'enough is enough' and grant Paul a full pardon." Joyce House goes on to write, "Please, Governor Bredesen do the right thing and give my son back to me so he can be home for Christmas."  The time for action is now.    Write to Governor Bredesen asking him to pardon Paul House.  Tell the Governor:

• The United States Supreme Court stated in June that no jury in the country would find Paul House guilty.
• The lower courts have ignored the deadlines set for them to act on this ruling. 
• House suffers from M.S., a degenerative illness, and his health continues to worsen as he sits on death row waiting for justice.
• Please issue a full pardon for Paul House and get him home to his mother for Christmas so he can get the healthcare he so desperately needs.

Send your letters to:    
Phil Bredesen                                        
Governor's Office                                        
Tennessee State Capitol                                        
Nashville, TN 37243-0001 
FAX: 615-532-9711
phil.bredesen@state.tn.us

For more information on Paul House's case visit: http://www.tcask.org/cases/house/house.html

Read the complete text of Joyce House's letter here.

peace out <3

Guy LeGrande, who was scheduled for execution this Friday, Dec. 1, received a stay of execution this morning after a hearing in Stanly County.

LeGrande obtained a 60-day stay in order to be mentally evaluated by the defense, state and courts.

It is possible, but unlikely, that the State of North Carolina will appeal this stay.

Guy LeGrande is scheduled to be executed in North Carolina on December 1, 2006 for the 1993 killing of Ellen Munford. There are concerns that Mr. LeGrande suffers from serious mental illness, is incompetent to assist his lawyers and cannot comprehend the reality of his situation. There are also concerns of racial discrimination - Mr. LeGrande, African American, was tried by an all white jury; his case has many similarities to a prior case in which the sentence was commuted by Governor Easley.

For more information on this case and to send an Urgent Action Letter to North Carolina Governor, Micheal Easley visit: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=goJTI0OvElH&b=953489&template=x.ascx&action=7733

from the diaries of the tennessee dude...

at year end as i stand and look out over the issue landscape of capital punishment i'm amazed at the signs the we are entering our spring even as the days literally grow shorter and the eerie quiet of winter settles in...

my context is thinking back just ten years ago and remembering the context of our conversations then and now...

consider - 1996 was the year that the anti-terrorism and effective death penalty act (aedpa) sailed through congress severely restricting habeas appeals in death penalty cases (in the former-confederate states the federal courts were the primary source of judicial relief in capital appeals) ... and what happened??? exonerations increased as appeals became "fast-tracked"...

enter innocence as a primary issue frame - enter illinois governor george ryan - enter categorical exclusions for the mentally retarded (sic) ...enter new york!!!... and then for juvenile offenders - enter new jersey legislature - enter u.s. conference of catholic bishops ...

and enter this article today ...

it's about a convesation that's taking place in south dakota about abolishing the death penalty ... it's not the endgame in this conversation that matters (they're not ready to abandon the death penalty yet) but the fact that it's taking place in a rather nonchalant manner ...

Rep. Hal Wick, R-Sioux Falls, who opposes the death penalty, said he thinks there are a handful of legislators who would like to raise that question. He said he won't be the one to bring it up but would vote to repeal if it's introduced, as long as the alternative is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

On the prospect of a bill to repeal the death penalty, Johnston said, "That's all part of the legislative process, and the debate is healthy."

Hills said if such a bill comes forward, he expects it will come from a Democrat. He also predicted such a bill "won't fly."

this article isn't feasible in 1996 yet ten years later it's a bit of a yawner really...

so as cast your eyes out over this architectured landscape, pay close attention to the ideas that have shaped its vision, and consider where we might be in 2016 if we maintain a keen analytic focus and are prepared to act as opportunities arise...

peace out <3

Last Wednesday, Texas's highest state criminal court rebuffed President Bush's mandate, to uphold the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) 2004 decision, that the United States was bound to uphold the rights of foreign nationals arrested and prosecuted in the U.S.

The case involves Ernesto Medellin's 1993 rape and murder conviction of two Houston teenagers, Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena. 

Medellin appealed his conviction, to the World Court, arguing that as a Mexican National, he should have been notified immediately of his right to seek assistance from a Mexican consul.  He claimed, and the ICJ concurred, that this standard was guaranteed to all foreign nationals, following the United States agreement to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. 

Not only are these Texas judges ignoring the President and international law, they are also deliberately disregarding the Constitution's Article Six, which states "all treaties made... shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby."

Perhaps, even more unsettling is that these judges are ignoring one of the highest precepts of American law: The right to a fair trial.  The purpose of international treaties is to preserve justice for everyone.  When Americans are arrested abroad, they expect a fair trial and access to their government officials.  If this treatment is not reciprocated to foreign nationals, it undermines the likelihood that American's will be ensured a fair trial.

In cases like Medellin it is obvious that, in Texas, not everyone receives a fair trial.  It is possible that Medellin will be executed, but it is consistently getting harder to carry out executions.  The public's support of the death penalty continues to erode, as more and more cases highlight the ubiquitous examples of injustice surrounding capital punishment.         

from the diaries of the tennessee dude...

contrary to popular myth there are strategic ways to utilize the human rights framework on the death penalty...we need look no further than the intersection of u.s. foreign policy in iraq and recent u.s. mid-term elections...

consider: under sadam hussein iraq executed not just individuals but masses of people...perhaps the only bright spot in the interim u.s. led regime in the post-sadam era was that paul bremer, the u.s. civil administrator in iraq in 2003, suspended it declaring that "the former regime used certain provisions of the penal code as a means of oppression, in violation of internationally acknowledged human rights"... before the establishment of the governing council, and then in May of 2005, capital punishment was reinstated in iraq...27 "terrorists" were executed by the iraqi government on september 6, 2006, for high crimes against civilians...on november 5th, 2006, sadam hussein himself was sentenced to death by hanging for war crimes...

just this week time magazine reports that undocumented executions are taking place on a regular basis with inside estimates claiming that the number of executions is twice as high as government records indicate...

strategically framing human rights around capital punishment in the u.s. requires thoughtful, accurate phrasing directed at targeted audiences ... in 2005 the four countries with the most documented executions were china, iran, vietnam, and the united states - yep, the united states...and now iraq, "liberated" by u.s. dominated forces appears to be displacing the u.s. into fifth place ... it's not bad enough that the u.s. keeps company with china, iran, and vietnam on this issue but u.s. foreign policy in iraq has unleashed, illegal detentions, extraordinary renditions, torture, and rocketed iraq into the top five - along with the united states - as the top executing countries in the world...

my point??? this frame is not an effective legislative/lobby talking point but it can be very effective in public education forums, courting individual donors, and youth directed presentations, especially given the recent rejection of extremist foreign policy initiatives in the mid-term elections...knowing when and where to raise key issues in opposing capital punishment is what being strategic is all about and that requires staying on top of the issue both here and abroad...

don't ditch your principles - just know the appropriate messages for targeted audiences...

peace out <3

from the diaries of the tennessee dude...

these two characteristics matter most at the intersection of grassroots organizing and legislative strategies...think not??? consider the case of maryland (no pun intended for you abolition insiders out there)...

in early 2002 then maryland governor glendenning put in place the nation's second moratorium on executions and many believed that the frontrunner to replace glendenning - kathleen kennedy townsend - would maintain the moratorium and allow organizer's to implement an abolition strategy during her 4-8 year tenure...

but then came republican robert erlich's victory and one of his first acts was to remove the moratorium which led to the eventual executions of steven oken and wesley baker ... and erlich left no doubt that should legislation enacting a moratorium or repealing maryland's death penalty statute reach his desk his veto would be the first thing to greet it...

now maryland's coalition against state executions could have taken some time off, folded up shop, whined, or any number of "loser" responses but the legislators and organizers who had worked so hard up to that point believed in the integrity of the process they had developed, continued to work its grassroots and insider campaign, hired jane henderson to articulate and manage a well thought out strategy and do the necessary work to make victory possible when a new political opportunity presented itself...

and that patience paid off ... on election day democratic candidate martin o'malley sent erlich packing creating the political opening needed at the executive level to make a legislative strategy to abolish the death penalty feasible - again...

so keep your eyes on maryland as it moves inside and outside towards repeal of the death penalty...

peace out <3

Three days before Charles Anthony Nealy was scheduled to die, a key witness for the prosecution in Nealy's case recanted his testimony.  The witness now affirms that the prosecutor had intimidated and pressured him into testifying against Nealy.

A state appeals court ruled to send the case back to the Dallas trial court where Nealy was convicted in a 1998 capital murder case.

For more information visit:  Dallas Morning News   http://anthonynealy.org/

courtesy of the death penalty information center...

Bonita Spikes' husband was murdered 12 years ago.  She now works to end the death penalty in Maryland.  She recently wrote about her perspective on capital punishment in the Baltimore Sun.  She stated, in part:

I know that my late husband, Michael, who was an innocent bystander in a 1994 convenience store shooting in New York City, would be proud of me because he, too, opposed the death penalty.

. . . [M]ost relatives of murder victims drop their guard when I tell them that I experienced the grief-driven impulse for revenge when the hospital curtain was pulled aside, revealing my husband's body with a bullet wound in the chest.

But Michael's killers were never found, and I eventually realized that my desire to see the murderers brought to justice was prolonging my pain. I know I was a basket case until I decided to "let go and let God," as they say. I also know that it is wrong to kill and, therefore, punishing a murderer with death is as wrong as the original crime.
. . .
As an African-American woman, my opposition to capital punishment deepened when I learned how race infects who gets sentenced to life and who gets sentenced to death. . . . The murders of white Marylanders are more than twice as likely to bring death sentences, a disparity that only increases when the defendant is black. The vast majority of murder victims in our state are black, but all the men currently sitting on our death row were convicted of killing white people.
. . .
We may be moving toward ending the death penalty. We will all be better for it.

amen...peace out <3

from the diaries of the tennessee dude...

that's the key to having successful public education and organizing events...or that's the lesson that i walked away with yesterday as, at 49 years of age, a 21 year old reminded me of something i knew but had in my aged, benign arrogance forgotten...

you see i was at middle tennessee state university yesterday at the invitation of aiusa's student chapter...this is as active a chapter as i have ever laid witness to averaging an event a week on a 20,000 student public campus and yesterday their event was tabling on abolition of the death penalty...

and gosh darn if it wasn't the most energetic, busy, interactive, and successful tabling event i have ever participated in (and on the death penalty??? - holy cow!) and we - aiusa - have young anna manley to thank for it...you see she knows her environment (the mtsu campus) and her audience (students including a large non-traditional population)...

here's what she did - set up their table outside the student union in the highest profile, high traffic area, on a day when no other organizations message was there to interfere...and (this was my lesson) she made voluminous hand printed signage on poster board that grabbed people's attention all day long ... see, as an older local chapter member i am all about the nice professional signage appealing to professionals and other adults, you know - the proper, mature image and what not and when i saw these signs i thought to myself "oy" -- but i was so wrong it's laughable ... these signs were so right for her audience that i could only chuckle at myself for being so wrong in this instance...

yes, in this instance - i.e. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE ... and, their chapter invited me as amnesty international's state death penalty abolition coordinator to be there to work 1:1 with students and here's how it worked - the student members ran the table and talked with students (opening line - "do you have an opinion on the death penalty?" which was brilliant) and i stepped up whenever they needed very accurate statistics, explanations, and responses...this allowed them to handle the volume that they would not have been able to if they had been sidetracked with the people who wanted/needed deeper discussions and MUCH more attention...and they paid me with student funds to be there for them as that expert resource...

so bottom line - they were busy, busy, busy, they obtained dozens of new student's contact information who were really interested in getting involved or learning more, and we swayed lots of people and that's pretty damn good for the time allocated...

THIS CHAPTER ROCKS!!!

peace out <3

On October 28, 2006, AIUSA activist extraordinaire Martina Correia was crowned the "Unstoppable Woman of 2006" at the 4th Annual Spirit of Excellence Black Business Awards in Savannah, Georgia. Martina not only serves at the Chairwoman of the PADP National Steering Committee and as the State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator for Georgia, but she's also a tireless civil rights and education advocate, and a breast cancer survivor.

Attributes of an Unstoppable Woman

"She is a woman of great faith, strength, and courage

She is confident, determined, and positive

She knows who she is and whose she is

She doesn't give up when the going gets rough

She keeps going in the midst of difficulties

She plays the hand she is dealt

She does not camp out in the land of self pity

She walks through her valleys and fears no evil

She faces her challenges with a positive attitude

She is like cream, she rises to the top..."

Those of you who have had the privilege of meeting Martina or hearing her speak passionately about the many issues dear to her heart will know that these attributes represent only the tip of the iceberg of this amazing woman! Congratulations, Martina, and thank you for sharing your incredible talents, energy, and leadership with us. Watch out world -- there's no stopping her!

- Kristin Houlé, PADP

Amnesty International deplores the decision to impose the death sentence on Saddam Hussein and two of his seven co-accused after a trial which was deeply flawed and unfair. The former Iraqi dictator was sentenced on Sunday in connection with the killing of 148 people from al-Dujail village after an attempt to assassinate him there in 1982. 

"This trial should have been a major contribution towards establishing justice and the rule of law in Iraq" said Malcolm Smart, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Program. "In practice, it has been a shabby affair, marred by serious flaws that call into question the capacity of the tribunal... to administer justice fairly, in conformity with international standards."

In particular, political interference undermined the independence and impartiality of the court, causing the first presiding judge to resign and blocking the appointment of another, and the court failed to take adequate measures to ensure the protection of witnesses and defence lawyers, three of whom were assassinated during the course of the trial. Saddam Hussein was also denied access to legal counsel for the first year after his arrest, and complaints by his lawyers throughout the trial relating to the proceedings do not appear to have been adequately answered by the tribunal.

"Every accused has a right to a fair trial, whatever the magnitude of the charge against them. This plain fact was routinely ignored through the decades of Saddam Hussein's tyranny. His overthrow opened the opportunity to restore this basic right and, at the same time, to ensure, fairly, accountability for the crimes of the past. It is an opportunity missed," said Malcolm Smart, "and made worse by the imposition of the death penalty."

To see Amnesty's entire response please visit: http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGMDE140372006

 
from the diaries of the tennessee dude...  

last time i blogged sister helen prejean had just rocked southeastern virginia and i was in the middle of my 8 day intersection with the journey of hope from violence to healing ... and here we are and darn it if it's not november already... as the english beat used to say, "w'happen?" ...  

nonetheless the journey was a tremendous experience and it's an abolition vehicle that we're getting closer to figuring out how to utilize ... now i have neither lost a loved one to murder nor been wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to die ... so as an organizer it was humbling maximus to travel with journey storytellers and support them while they share the most impactful tragedy of their lives with a group of absolute strangers ... really, it's so motivating to listen to people both share intimately and to be received (in most cases) intimately ... these people, these friends lay their innermost emotional turmoil right out there in hopes that it will both help some understand the futility of killing human beings as a policy response to murder and help them continue to heal from the pain...  

for example i worked with bess klassen who shares her story of her mother's murder more than 35 years ago - and so many years later you can still feel her pain and sense of loss so deeply that you come to understand this - "closure" is a myth...you never put "this event" behind you so what we must be talking about in a policy response to murder is assisting murder victim's family members get to and go though a healing process in search of what i refer to as a "new normal"...  

so what does an outsider to this experience like myself do? well, we introduce our storytellers, we create a frame for their stories so that is has a policy context and deepens the educational value of their tales, we answer questions about capital punishment that people have, and we take care of our storytellers making sure they rest, eat, blow off steam, and see that they have a little fun in the process...  

that's enuf' for now ... i'm back on the road tonight for nawlins' and amnesty international's southern regional conference ... more on this and the ncadp conference later...  

peace out <3 from music city usa