Five Exonerations So Far in 2009 Demonstrate Risks of Death Penalty

The risk that innocent people could be executed remains high, as illustrated by the two most recent exonerations from death row. Ronald Kitchen was freed from prison Illinois after the state dismissed all charges against him on July 7. He had spent 13 years on death row and a total of 21 years in prison. Governor George Ryan had commuted his sentence to life in 2003, along with all other death row inmates. Kitchen's original conviction was derived largely from a coerced confession, having been subjected to a torturous interrogation under the supervision of the notorious police Commander Jon Burge. Herman Lindsey was freed from Florida's death row on July 9 after the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled for his acquittal. The court noted: "[T]he State failed to produce any evidence in this case placing Lindsey at the scene of the crime at the time of the murder. . . .Indeed, we find that the evidence here is equally consistent with a reasonable hypothesis of innocence." Lindsey was convicted in 2006, clearly indicating that wrongful convictions continue to occur in capital cases.

READ MORE on this and latest "scoop" at Death Penalty Information Center (Find this and key other links lower right - need to give them a few moments to appear.)

North Carolina Op Ed: "Beyond Fixing" (Put it in mothballs! )

Op Ed from Raleigh, NC's New & Observer
NORTH CAROLINA:

Beyond fixing----An effort to purge racial bias from death penalty decisions is well-intentioned, but the death penalty itself is flawed.

If a mere law enacted by the General Assembly and signed by the governor could guarantee racial justice in North Carolina, then people of good will already would have taken care of that important piece of business. Alas, if it were only so simple. But it's not hard to understand why now, many of those same people of good will have rallied behind a bill ambitiously titled the "North Carolina Racial Justice Act."

The bill, which cleared the state House last week after an impassioned debate, actually focuses on one perceived aspect of racially driven mistreatment. It is intended to shield criminal defendants from discrimination in the justice system that could result in an unfair sentence of death -- unfair in that it was influenced by racial prejudice.

On its face, this is a proposition with much to recommend it. Yet the bill, in inviting statistical evidence of discrimination that is not necessarily linked to the particulars of a case at hand, stumbles in its attempt to reach a worthy goal.

Patterns of crime and punishment may show that social ills place an extraordinarily heavy burden on minority groups. Racial bias surely can be, has been, part of that unfortunate picture. But as specific cases play out in the courtroom, those patterns are of limited usefulness in determining either guilt or appropriate sentences.

The Racial Justice Act has been spearheaded by Democratic Rep. Larry Womble of Winston-Salem, who is African-American, and has received vigorous support from the state chapter of the NAACP. Here's a clue as to why: Of the 163 people on Death Row as of April 13, the latest total on the prison system's Web site, there were 60 white men, two white women, 87 black men and one black woman. That's in a state where the African-American population is about 22 %.

To detect a tilt?

It's reasonable to wonder if the disproportionate number of condemned inmates who are black reflects a lingering bias in the justice system. It's reasonable to declare, as the Racial Justice Act does, that no one "shall be subject to or given a sentence of death or shall be executed pursuant to any judgment that was sought or obtained on the basis of race."

How, though, to determine whether such a hideous outcome was in the offing? The proposed act allows for the use of statistical evidence that the scales have tilted against defendants of a certain race in a certain jurisdiction. But those statistics can lead the courts into a confusing and ambiguous minefield. For example, what if white defendants received most of the death sentences in a county, as has happened? Would that suggest the need to send more black murderers to death row?

The act's supporters point to what they say is a finding that the killers of white people in North Carolina are more likely to be sentenced to die than the killers of black people. However, if that is true, there are plausible explanations other than that prosecutors, judges or juries are biased. And, in fact, interracial killings are the exception, not the rule. So to correct the imbalance, it could well be that more black killers of black victims would have to be condemned. That surely isn't what Womble and his allies wish.

Is the justice system that condemns a small fraction of murderers reliably accurate and consistently fair in its findings? Sadly, no. The roster of people exonerated after having been convicted of killing someone tells that tale. African-Americans, for a host of regrettable reasons, are too often caught up in the wheels of the court system, and the chance that they will pay a price for flaws in that system is high.

System errors

Those flaws have included instances of trial attorneys unprepared to handle the demands of a capital case and prosecutors who wrongfully withheld evidence favorable to the defense. Any defendant who can show that his counsel was ineffective or that the prosecution cheated is entitled to relief. Statistics involving alleged racial bias in other cases would tend to be beside the point.

Still, it requires a leap of faith to assume that every defendant wrongfully convicted or unfairly sentenced will manage to persuade the courts to correct the mistake. Couple the possibility of a horrible miscarriage of justice with the costs and inefficiencies of capital punishment, with its years of appeals, and there is a strong argument for simply letting North Carolina's death penalty fade into disuse.

Clearly there is no reason to follow the state Senate's lead. In passing a version of the Racial Justice Act, senators also moved to resume executions, which have been on hold for the last couple of years because of court challenges. The act's House champions know better than to swallow that kind of poison pill.

No one should quarrel with the concept of purging any residual racial bias from the process of determining which murderers are sentenced to death. But rather than continuing to tinker with death's machinery, as a Supreme Court justice once described the grim effort of trying to fix the unfixable, better to put it in mothballs.

(source: Editorial, News & Observer)

North Carolina: Now Comes the Hard Part

Before this week, we have never asked you to send quite so many emails to your legislators.

But this is a big week.

Lives are at stake. Reducing the injustice and unfairness of our death penalty system is at stake.

Early next week the NC Senate will likely take up the revised version of the NC Racial Justice Act passed by the NC House this week. Some powerful Democratic Senators seem to be intent on killing, weakening or stalling this bill.

Please take a moment and visit the following link to send a message to your senator and the Senate leadership urging their support for this historic bill:

here

Thank you.

Peace,

Amanda, Emilie, Kristen, Steve and everyone at PFADP

here

People of Faith Against the Death Penalty
www.pfadp.org
110 W. Main St., Suite 2-G, Carrboro NC 27510
(919) 933-7567

North Carolina: Let Us Rejoice and Give Thanks!

Yesterday the NC Racial Justice Act passed the House by a vote of 61-54 on its third reading, which was the final vote in the House (we hope).

No matter what, it's a big victory.

The bill now goes back to a potentially hostile NC Senate, most likely next week.

Please take a moment and send a message of thanks to the legislators who voted for the Racial Justice Act.

If you have done this before you know it only takes two clicks of your mouse and you're done! Or you could write your own message.

Click here

In Peace,

Amanda, Emilie, Kristen, Steve, and the team at PFADP

People of Faith Against the Death Penalty
www.pfadp.org
110 W. Main St., Suite 2-G, Carrboro NC 27510
(919) 933-7567

TWO STAYS! Paul Powell in VA (7/14) and Kenneth Mosely in TX

Hello all,

Paul Powell in VA (7/14) and Kenneth Mosely in TX (7/16) have both
received stays....

--abe

Abraham J. Bonowitz

Director of Affiliate Support

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

1705 DeSales St., NW Fifth Floor

Washington, DC 20036

http://www.NCADP.org

abe@ncadp.org

202-331-4090 - Office

202-331-4099 - Fax

561-371-5204 - Mobile

TWO MORE DEATH ROW INMATES EXONERATED IN ILLINOIS AND FLORIDA

Press release by the Death Penalty Information Center
July 13th, 2009
CONTACT: Corinne Farrell
Communications Director
(202) 289-2275, cfarrell@deathpenaltyinfo.org

WASHINGTON, DC – All charges were dismissed against Ronald Kitchen and he was released from prison in Illinois after spending almost 13 years on death row for murders prosecutors now concede cannot be proven. A few days later, Herman Lindsey was released from Florida’s death row after the state’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously that his case lacked sufficient evidence of guilt. Five people have now been exonerated from death row in 2009, bringing the total number of people exonerated since 1973 to 135. Fifty-one of these exonerations have occurred since the start of 2000.

On July 7, 2009, Ronald Kitchen was released from prison as prosecutors dropped all charges against him and his co-defendant, citing insufficient evidence to retry them for five murders that occurred in 1988. "It really hasn't hit me yet," said Kitchen, upon leaving the courts building after serving more than two decades in prison for the murders. "It's, like, surreal.”

The Illinois attorney general’s office conducted DNA tests that were unavailable at the time of the murder and found nothing incriminating against either Kitchen or his co-defendant, Marvin Reeves. Kitchen’s case and about 20 others were turned over to the attorney general’s office for review by Judge Paul Biebel after allegations of torture arose. After re-investigating the court record and the evidence, the office concluded that the evidence was too weak to continue. Deputy Chief of Staff for Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan, Cara Smith, said, "We conducted a very thorough and independent investigation ... and determined that we could not sustain our burden of proof.”

Kitchen’s case is yet another exoneration linked to disgraced former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge. Kitchen had claimed that detectives under Burge’s command coerced him into confessing to the murders through torture, including hitting him in the head with a telephone, punching him in the face, striking him in the groin, and kicking him. Years after Kitchen’s conviction, Police Commander Burge was fired after the Police Department Review Board ruled that he had used torture. Burge currently awaits trial on charges of obstruction of justice and perjury in relation to a civil suit regarding the torture allegations against him.

Kitchen is the 134th person to be exonerated from death row and the 20th in Illinois since 1973. “The five exonerations this year demonstrate that innocent people still face a significant danger of execution in this country,” said Richard Dieter, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center. “The risks posed by the death penalty are far too high to allow this process to continue. Such a high error rate would not be tolerated in any other area of society where human lives are at stake.”

In the second case, the Florida Supreme Court ruled unanimously on July 9, 2009, that Herman Lindsey be acquitted and freed from death row, holding that there was insufficient evidence to convict him. Lindsey had been convicted in 2006 of a murder that had occurred 12 years earlier. The court said that “the state failed to produce any evidence in this case placing Lindsey at the scene of the crime at the time of the murder,” and that the evidence presented was “equally consistent with a reasonable hypothesis of innocence.”

According to DPIC’s Innocence List, Lindsey is the 135th person to be exonerated from death row since the death penalty was reinstated and the fifth person exonerated from death row in 2009. Lindsey is the 23rd exoneration in Florida -- the state that leads the country in death row exonerations.

DPIC’s Innocence List consists of former death row inmates who have been acquitted of all charges related to the crime that placed them on death row; had all charges dismissed by the prosecution; or been granted a complete pardon based on evidence of innocence.

To arrange an interview with DPIC’s Executive Director, Richard Dieter, or for more information about the Innocence List, please contact Corinne Farrell at (202) 289-2275 or cfarrell@deathpenaltyinfo.org.

Sentenced To Death Because Of Where You Live: The Death Penalty’s Geographic Bias

Taken from the blog of the ACLU, posted by John Holdridge, Director, Capital Punishment Project

Americans have become increasingly troubled by the profound flaws in our capital punishment system, including its astonishing error rate and its racial and socioeconomic biases. They are less aware of its disturbing geographical biases.

The United States does not practice capital punishment. Isolated parts of it do.

The death penalty is primarily a southern institution, as Death Penalty Information Center statistics establish. The State of Texas alone has accounted for over 37 percent of all executions in the U.S. since 1977, which marked the beginning of the nation’s modern death penalty era. Of the 32 executions carried out so far this year, Texas is responsible for half of them.

Southern states accounted for 95 percent of the executions in 2008 (Texas alone accounted for about 50 percent). In 2007 (the last year for which statistics are available), juries returned 115 death sentences throughout the nation and, of these, over 60 percent were in the South.

However, geographic bias does not exist only from region to region and from state to state. There are substantial geographic biases within states themselves. A 2002 study found that more than two-thirds of American counties have never imposed the death penalty since 1977. Only 3 percent (92 out of 3,066) of the nation’s counties account for 50 percent of its death sentences in that 32 year period.

In Texas, over 33 percent of the prisoners on the state’s death row today come from one county — Harris County, where Houston is located. Harris County has rightly been called the capital of capital punishment. An Amnesty International publication from 2007 reported that if Harris County were a state, it would rank second behind Texas in total number of executions since 1977.

Like virtually every other death penalty state, California, whose death row is the largest in the nation with a staggering 678 condemned inmates, suffers from similar geographic disparities. To view an interactive map demonstrating these disparities, click here.

The overwhelming geographical bias of our capital punishment system is further evidence that the system is arbitrary and capricious — and fundamentally unfair. It is one more reason for us to join the rest of the civilized world and repeal our capital punishment statutes.

Ronald Kitchen and Marvin Reeves finally free after decades of wrongful inprisonment

 

The Exoneration of Ronald Kitchen

On Tuesday, July 07, 2009, 43-year-old Ronald Kitchen, who confessed under extreme physical duress to a taking part in five murders 21 years ago, was exonerated and freed from prison. The confession was extracted by Detective Michael Kill, who worked under Commander Jon Burge. Kitchen spent thirteen of his 21 years behind bars on death row.

Of 224 men and women sentenced to death under the current Illinois death penalty law, which was enacted in 1977, 20 have now been exonerated and released—an error rate of nearly 9 percent.

Kitchen was represented by Thomas F. Geraghty amd Carolyn E. Frazier of Northwestern Law School's Bluhm Legal Clinic and Mark Oates and Angela Vigil of Baker & McKenzie. Reeves was represented by Michael J. Gill and David D. Pope of Mayer Brown.

In this video, Ronald and his lawyers from Northwestern Law School talk about his case.

* * * * *

The Chicago Public Radio reports that Kitchen and his co-defendent Marvin Reeves will ask the court for certificates declaring them innocent. A spokewoman for the Illinois Attorney General's office says they'll likely support that request.

NORTH CAROLINA : Action Today!

July 7, 2009
Racial Justice Act Vote in NC House

The NC Racial Justice Act is moving out of the Appropriations Committee and will likely be voted on soon in the NC House.

Please Contact Your State Representative! Use the letter below to contact your state representative and ask them to support the NC Racial Justice Act! It is important that you change the subject line and add your own personal message to make your email more effective.Your email will only reach your representative if you enter your full nine-digit zip code. You can find this by clicking here

Death penalty 'exonerations'

Recently, I made another reference to the number of Death Row inmates across the country who have been spared execution because of exonerations of one form or another. The Death Penalty Information Center keeps this count -- it is presently 133 -- and it has been verified elsewhere in the mainstream press. When I first started using the numbers from DPIC, I conducted Sun archive and Internet searches to independently check the exonerations, and found a large sampling of them to be accurate.

But, at the same time, I think "exonerations" should only be used when a person is convicted but later found to be innocent of the murder that resulted in a sentence of death. That is the popular meaning of "exoneration," and yet the DPIC uses it to cover those whose convictions have been overturned because of legal flaws.

A reader of my column wrote to challenge my acceptance of the word "exoneration" as shorthand for all those who have been removed for various reasons from Death Row. The reader cited a report of a victims' rights organization, the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, which challenged the DPIC numbers and definition of "exonerated."

Here is the reply to questions about the accuracy of the exonerations list from Richard Dieter, DPIC director.

The Death Penalty Information Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to research and education on the death penalty in the U.S.  We do not have a position on the morality or rightness of the death penalty per se, though a number of our reports focus on the problems in capital punishment and hence have been critical of the way it is applied.

With respect to your question about our list of exonerated individuals, we use very strict and objective criteria for inclusion of cases on this list.  Basically, the list is determined by the decisions of courts and prosecutor offices, not by our subjective judgment.  As we state in a number of places on our Web site and in our reports, the criteria for inclusion on the list is:

Defendants must have been convicted, sentenced to death and subsequently either-

a) their conviction was overturned AND

i) they were acquitted at re-trial or
ii) all charges were dropped

b) they were given an absolute pardon by the governor based on new evidence of innocence.

The list includes cases where the release occurred in 1973 or later, which was the time that states resumed sentencing people to death after the U.S. Supreme Court had struck down the death penalty.  The list originated from a request from Congress asking us to identify the risks that innocent people might be executed.  The original list that we prepared was published as a Staff Report of the House Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights.  The list has been favorably referred to by Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts, as well as by many public officials around the country.

We believe the term "exonerated" is entirely appropriate to refer to the individuals on this list, which now numbers 133 individuals.  Exonerate means to clear, as of an accusation, and seems to come from the Latin "ex" and "onus" meaning to unburden.  That is precisely what has occurred in these cases.  The defendants were convicted, given a burden of guilt, and then that burden was lifted when they were acquitted at a re-trial or the prosecution dropped all charges after the conviction was reversed.  These are not individuals who received a lesser sentence or who remained guilty of a lesser charge related to the same set of circumstances.  All guilt was lifted by the same system that had imposed it in the first place.  Our justice system is the only objective source for making such a determination.

This notion of innocence, that an individual is innocent unless proven guilty, is a bedrock principle of our constitution and our societal protection against abusive state power.  One does not lose the status of innocence merely because a prosecutor or other individuals retain a suspicion of guilt.  Of course, it is true that this list makes no god-like determination of knowing exactly what happened in the original crime. Such perfect knowledge of past events is impossible, either to absolutely prove that a person did or did not do an act.  We do not try to make a subjective judgment of what we think happened in the crime.  We are merely reporting that in a great many cases the justice system convicted an individual and sentenced them to death,
but when the process that arrived at that conclusion was reviewed, the conviction and sentence were thrown out.  The individual,
who often came close to execution, could not even be convicted of a traffic violation.  Surely, that should be a cause of concern in applying the death penalty.

Maybe "exoneration" isn't the most accurate word here. But Dieter has a point -- if a conviction was wrongly achieved,
our system says that conviction is thrown out and the the justice system returns to square one for the accused. However you shake this, at least 133 people
were put on Death Row and slated for execution who should not have been there. These were near-fatal mistakes, in the eyes of our system,
way too much imperfection in the area of criminal justice, above all, that requires perfection.
Taken from Dan Roderick's blog from baltimoresun.com

July 4, 2009

Across America today, on Independence Day, there will be traditional fireworks, parades, summer fun for children in swimming pools and at ballgames, and a pervasive national outpouring of patriotism, reflected in both flag displays and the singing of the national anthem at countless events.

There are also almost 3,300 individuals who will not be any part of these festivities; they are mostly forgotten, despised and reviled....
they are America's condemned.

They sit on death rows in 34 states, as well as in a military prison in Kansas and a fedeal facility in Indiana. Most are overwhelmingly guilty of vile, heinous, outrageous and terrible crimes. Many are mentally ill, even profoundly mentally ill, and a good number are innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted. Collectively, they are, in part, responsible for a great deal of anger, hurt, pain and rage in our society.

They face death by firing squad, hanging, electrocution, cyanide gas, and lethal injection (there are more methods of legitimate state-sanctioned execution in the the USA than in any other country in the world).

As this nation is trying to emerge from the worst global financial crisis in 70 years, it remains in desperate need of trying to find, uphold and defend its moral soul. We are a long way from accomplishing this important national task.

Most of America's political and judicial leaders, both male and female, in both major parties, remain committed to upholding the ideology and practice of human extermination. As long as any nation in the world, inclduing the USA, retain and practice the barbarism of killing people in the name of the law, they can never be free. If people support, or are indifferent to the liquidataion of condemned individuals, how can we be surprised that other horrors, such as torture, hate crimes, and crimes against women, continue at such an alarming pace.

To be sure, some advances in the abolition of the US death penalty have been achieved in the last decade: America has stopped executing its juvenile and mentally retarded offenders; New Jersey and New Mexico have legislatively ended the death penalty, and other states have, in recent years, come close to doing the same. Over 130 innocent people have been released from America's death rows to date, and more will emerge to the free world in the years ahead.

But this "progress" has come at a frustratingly, agonizinly slow pace. Of the 1168 individuals put to death in America since executions resumed in 1977, 736 have occurred since 1998, including 200 just in Texas alone since Rick Perry became governor in 2001. There is no immediate end in sight to this horror.

There will undoubtedly be the traditional praise and self-congratulatory editorials and op-eds in our newspapers today, from coast to coast, from our major cities to our small communities, reminding us of how lucky we are to live in such a great nation. And in many ways, that sentiment is correct.

But it is a fallacy to believe that assessment when considering what is happening in this country regarding the issue of the death penalty. It is time to face the truth, admit national pain, and come to grips with the fact that on this issue, 233 years after the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed (and 402 years after the British first settled here), we are a national disgrace and failure. We remain wedded to the love of violence, and to the preposterous idea that some people in our society (and even around the world), can be classified as "lesser" or "other" humans, 'deserving' to be stripped of their human dignity, caged like animals for years, physically and psychologically tortured and terrorized, and then ultimately liquidated in the name of the law.

On this day, when so much celebrating in America will occur, I hope and trust that people will take a hard look at the sobering realities of this nation and its nightmare of the death penalty. Now is the time for all people of conscience, everywhere, to re-dedicate themselves with renewed fervor to end this terrible scourge, so that America may join the ranks of most nations in the world that have long since recognized the links between advancing human progress with ending the death penalty.

When the US does abolish the death penalty, it will then, and only then, have reasons to be proud and celebrate itself.

Rick Halperin
Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, and Amnesty International USA

What to the Prisoner is Your Fourth of July?

To commemorate the independence of the United States of America, Texas prison kitchens are fired up earlier than usual. The traditional Fourth of July meals are prepared by unpaid prisoners (can you say slaves?) whose only incentive for the extra work is leftover mashed potatoes and an extra oven-barbecued soybean patty, if they are lucky.

By afternoon, Texas prisons are bustling with activities. But today the activity is not the thousands of slaves in the cotton fields. No, the hoe squads, which are normally sweating in the fields while being watched by their armed overseers on horseback, are resting today.

Instead, volleyball nets are brought out and tournaments are organized around the basketball and handball courts. The big men work up a sweat on the weight pile, encouraged at times by female prison guards proudly displaying American flag patches on the shoulder of their confederate-colored uniforms.

The American flag itself is flown at high mast along side the Texas flag for all to see. Even the men living in super max segregation, isolation, and sensory deprivation—the death row population who is not privy to the day’s celebration--can climb up to the small slit of a window high in the back wall of their individual cage and watch those flags rip in the wind.

Despite the irony, not enough of Texas’ 150,000 slaves seem to question the purpose of a celebration of independence in a prison.

Prisoners were obviously not a consideration when the Declaration of Independence was written.

In fact, the reality is that prisons are neocolonial concentration slave camps. For the plantation to run smoothly, the master is dependent on the docility and ignorance of the inmates/slaves.

In Texas prisons, where the population is disproportionally Black and Latino, rehabilitation and educational programs are rare to nonexistent. The only thing a prisoner is guaranteed to learn how to be a better criminal, guaranteeing their return to enslavement, again and again.

For most prisoners, the July 4th holiday signifies a moment of relief, a day to eat, drink and be merry.

For the 400 Texas death row prisoners, the Fourth of July is simply a day closer to our impending execution.

God Bless America?

By Howard Guidry, innocent death row prison activist, organizer, poet and Panther
July 1, 2006

The human face of the death penalty

In a series of alarmingly frank portraits and accompanying audio interviews, British portraitist Claire Phillips reveals the painful and inflexible sharp end of the U.S. penal system, littered by broken souls who have all known extreme violence.

Tattooed inmates make up only a few of the portraits on show, which also includes those on the sidelines: senators, campaigners, jurors. The recorded interviews often reveal much more than the artworks themselves. Marietta Jaeger-Lane, for example, whose face is both kindly and steely at the same time, stares out from a calming grey ground. Only her voice tells us that her daughter, Susie, was snatched and killed a week later. Later still she became an anti-death row campaigner; once Susie's killer was captured and killed.

Don Cabana stares broodingly from a blood red canvas, an unsympathetic looking warder who has presided over two executions. Only in the audio do we find that he is horrified when an inmate refuses to absolve him; only in the audio does he tell the story of a chemist driven mad by the responsibility of mixing gas for the chamber.

By the end these disarming portraits and utterly contradictory audio together tell of America's complicated relationship with the death sentence and the mixed up, polar lives of those who inhabit the spooky corridors of death row: killers, relatives, lawyers, warders, all.

In case the video should not open when you're trying to watch it, please click here

CALIFORNIA: Just In! Hearing Draws Many!

From Sacramento Bee A teacher urges money for education NOT executions

This story is taken from Sacbee / Latest News / E-mail Alerts -- Breaking News

Death penalty hearing draws many opposed to capital punishment Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2009 (please also keep watching Death Penalty Watch!)

The state hearing on new procedures for the death penalty got under way this morning in Sacramento with about 120 people gathered in a state auditorium, many of them there expressly to oppose capital punishment.

They wore T-shirts, carried signs with slogans such as "Execute Justice, Not People," "The Death Penalty is Killing California's Budget," " Money for Education, Not Executions."

The first speaker, Donna Doolin-Larsen, said her son Keith is on death row at San Quentin. Facing the prospect of his execution is "terribly painful and dehumanizing," she testified.

She described her son as "factually innocent," and said the death penalty "has impacted me and my family in many ways."

"I visualize in my nightmares the moment when I may have to witness Keith entering the death chamber, being strapped to the death gurney, seeing the death catheter inserted into his vein for the death poison to be administered, hearing Keith's last dying words, and thinking, 'Save my son,'" she said.

Keith Zon Doolin was convicted in 1996 and sent to California's death row for shooting six prostitutes in Fresno County, two fatally.

Today's hearing is expected to continue until 3 p.m. at the Department of Health Services Building, 1500 Capitol Ave.

Corrections officials are expecting so many speakers that they have limited each to three minutes.

Clergy, doctors and lawyers rose to speak out about their belief that the death penalty is immoral but not all of the speakers opposed capital punishment.

John Mancino, vice president of a group called the American Civil Responsibilities Union, said there have been 108,000 murders in California since 1963. He said there have been only 14 executions since then.

He added that claims that inmates may suffer pain during the lethal injection process are a "smokescreen" aimed at ending capital punishment.

"If you have even been anesthetized for a tonsillectomy you don't feel a thing," said Mancino, whose group has led the successful effort to oust Chief Justice Rose Bird in 1986 because of her opposition to the death penalty.

The public comment is designed to provide input on a new series of regulations governing how lethal injection is administered in California.

The death penalty has been on hold in California since 2006 because of a series of legal challenges that may take years to resolve.

Public Comments: here

CALIFORNIA New procedure violates Human Rights: HRW

Human Rights Watch Press release
June 29, 2009

(Washington) - The state of California's new procedure for carrying out executions by lethal injection violates international human rights law, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to state officials.

California has recently revised its execution procedure in response to criticisms and concerns raised in legal challenges. But the new procedure continues to use a three-drug formula that poses a significant risk of unnecessary suffering, Human Rights Watch said.

"California should follow the example of New Jersey and New Mexico and abolish the death penalty," said David Fathi, director of the US program at Human Rights Watch. "But as long as California carries out executions, international human rights law requires it to make every effort to minimize the prisoner's physical and mental suffering."

At issue is the use of pancuronium bromide, a paralytic agent, as one of the drugs in the execution process. A 2006 Human Rights Watch report, "So Long As They Die: Lethal Injections in the United States," showed that use of this drug creates a risk that an inadequately anesthetized prisoner could be fully conscious and experiencing excruciating pain, yet be unable to move, cry out, or otherwise communicate suffering. The risk that paralytic agents like pancuronium bromide can mask unnecessary suffering is so well recognized that their use in animal euthanasia is banned in California and many other states.

"It's shocking that California plans to put human beings to death using a method that's considered too cruel to use on animals," Fathi said.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a human rights treaty ratified by the United States in 1992, does not completely prohibit capital punishment. But it has been interpreted to require that executions be carried out "in such a way as to cause the least possible physical and mental suffering." The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, ratified by the United States in 1994, also imposes limits on execution methods by prohibiting "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances because of its inherent cruelty and finality.

Learn more about this topic in HREA's study guide on Torture, inhuman or degrading punishment.

Supreme Court may hear Troy Davis case

Troy Davis

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ajc dot com > Metro
Off-duty Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail killed in 1989

By By KATIE LESLIE

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sunday, June 28, 2009

With just two days before the U.S. Supreme Court closes for summer recess, the court is expected this week to consider a last-ditch hearing for death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis.

If the court does not decide by Tuesday whether to hear Davis’ most recent petition to retry his 1991 police murder case, justices won’t convene again until this fall. This current petition is largely considered Davis’ most viable option to stay alive, said Laura Moye of Amnesty International USA’s Death Penalty Abolition Campaign.

But the delay could be good news for Davis’ legal team and supporters.

“It buys more time for all of the advocates to get more publicity on the case,” Moye said.

If the courts decide against hearing Davis’ petition, it will be up to Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm whether to pursue Davis’ fourth execution warrant. Chisolm could not be reached for immediate comment Sunday.

Davis, 40, was convicted of murdering Savannah Police officer Mark Allen MacPhail 20 years ago, though no physical evidence directly linked him to the crime. MacPhail, then a 27-year-old former Army ranger, was working off-duty when he was shot three times in a Burger King parking lot.

Since Davis’ trial, seven of nine witnesses have recanted their testimony and some people have implicated Sylvester “Redd” Coles as the shooter. Coles was the first person to implicate Davis in the killing.

Davis’ execution has been stayed three times as his team of attorneys exhaust their efforts to save his life. Requests for a new trial in Chatham County have been denied, as have their petitions to have new evidence considered in the case.

Judges, lawmakers and worldwide leaders have rallied behind Davis.

In May, a group of 27 former jurists and federal prosecutors pushed for a new hearing for Davis, filing a petition that said Davis can show “new, never reviewed evidence that strongly points to his innocence.” U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a Democrat who represents the 5th District, has called for a new trial. Former President Jimmy Carter and Pope Benedict XVI have asked that the inmate be spared death by lethal injection.

On Monday, Moye will be joined by the NAACP and community faith leaders to deliver thousands of new petitions to Chisolm calling for a retrial, she said. They’ve collected roughly 10,000 signatures in Chatham County alone, with as many as 70,000 signatures from around the U.S. and world, she said.

— Staff writer Bill Rankin contributed to this report.

Find this article at: AJC dot Com or simply GO HERE

Have you been aware that the "Journey of Hope" actually is a department store? ;-)

On May 12th and May 13th the speakers of the Journey of Hope spoke in Gelnhausen, Germany. These pictures were taken there:


"JOH" is the name of a department store in Gelnhausen. Naturally a photo of this store had to be taken... :-)


The speakers of the German JOH - tour together with the people from Amnesty Gelnhausen. Claudia (the lady with the red sweater) is also the person who takes the minutes for the German Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Be careful when you're 'assuming'

Guest Column in amarillo.com by Linda L. White

Your recent editorial regarding the death penalty mentioned that one particular number was left out of the equation because it's too difficult to calculate - that of the number of victims of these 200 executed along with other victims of horrendous crimes. Left out also was the incalculable suffering of these victims.
I am one of those victims.

My 26-year-old daughter, Cathy, was murdered 22 years ago.

I assure you that I know and sympathize with their anguish over the loss of their loved ones. Rather than offer more statistics, though, I do believe in their merit when viewing the death penalty in our state, I will offer one simple story - mine.

It is the only subject that I am an expert in.

My daughter was killed by two 15-year-olds, so there was no death penalty, though they stood trial certified as adults and were given long sentences. I had no real position on the death penalty at that time - just the same visceral response that anyone has to hearing of truly heinous crimes. I often wanted to administer the punishment myself - I sometimes still do when I hear about crimes against children for I have five grandchildren of my own.

Three years after Cathy's murder, however, I decided to quit thinking on a purely emotional level and initiate a research project of my own about the death penalty. Following that exhaustive research, I became an opponent of capital punishment, and the last two decades have only strengthened my resolve. I believe it does nothing good for us as a society and only enlarges the circle of pain since it creates another grieving family, that of the offender who is executed by us.

Neither do I believe it is victim-friendly, since it consumes huge sums of money that could be used for direct victims' services, such as counseling, funeral expenses, and educational help for the children left behind.

Additionally, it focuses on the offender rather than on the victims - how many of us know the names of any of Ted Bundy's victims, for instance? Or of other high-profile killers? And finally, it promises closure (whatever that's supposed to be) to those who have had their loved ones murdered. Most of us would say that this is a false promise. We need healing, not closure on our loved ones.

I know I will never "get over" my daughter's death, any more than I expect others to.

But I also know that I have not gotten one single moment of comfort by the state of Texas' putting people to death on my behalf. What's more, I would hate it if that's what it took for me to move forward in my life.

Please don't assume that all victims are alike and that we all want killing done - or justified - in our names.

Linda L. White is a retired college professor. She lives in Magnolia.

Journey of Hope in Magdeburg, Germany

By Daniela Turß (author of the article) and Insa Nieberg (translation) - both Amnesty International Magdeburg

On Thursday the 14th of May 2009 the „Journey of Hope“stopped in Magdeburg. Three speakers from the United States shared their personal experiences with the death penalty with the audience at the Otto-von-Guericke University.

Bill Pelke is a relative of a victim, Terri Steinberg the mother of a man sentenced to death whereas Ray Krone was released from death row after he was proven innocent.

The event was organized by the local group of the NGO amnesty international under the patronage of the German Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. This lecture was the only one in the federal state of Sachsen-Anhalt and the group experienced a rush on the seats available in the lecture room.

Tickets were sold out right at the beginning of the presentation as more than 120 students of all faculties seized the chance to learn more about the personal stories connected to the death penalty. The following two hours were filled with emotional yet balanced presentations that were summarized and translated by interpreters. All the points of views added up to a coherent picture: Death penalty continues the spiral of violence that was triggered by the initial crime in the first place. While convicts are often forced to wait in agony for more than ten years, relatives are in a situation between hope and desperation. At the same time hatred and desire of revenge have faded away- the only thing that prevents relatives of victims to draw a line is the fact that the judgment is still outstanding and not enforced.

Bill Pelke described his change of attitude from being an advocate of the death penalty to becoming a strict opponent. Being the grandson of a woman that was murdered by a group of young girls, he helped to turn the death sentence of the murderer, a girl who was only 15 years old at the time, into a lifelong sentence by founding the initiative “Journey of Hope”. This group informs people in the US, but also worldwide about the background of the issue and supports persons concerned.

Ray Krone, who had the doubtful honor of being the 100th innocent person to be released from death row, told the audience about this desperate struggle against the machinery of law. The story told made all so clear, what a parlous effect a lack of financial means can have on the quality of advocacy. The experience of Krone also illustrates the practice of some attorneys to insistently demand death penalty although evidence is insufficient.

As Krone was not able to afford an attorney, he was represented by an assigned counsel. This attorney was not able to use the countless evidence for Krone’s innocence in the first trial. Although the foot and finger prints found at the site of crime where not those of Krone, he was sentenced to death in his second trial. Ten years later he was eventually able to prove his innocence by a DNA-analysis. Ray Krone states: “There were times when I believed that no innocent man or woman is sentenced to death in the United States- however, by now I have lost every faith in the system of law.” Up to this day he has not received any compensation for the years spent in death row.

Terri Steinberg told the story of her son Justin, who was sentenced to death under dubious circumstances, because he was accused of initiating a contract murder. In this case, there is evidence of innocence as well- the most striking one is a letter in which the murder admits that Justin did not charge him with killing the man and that he made this statement in order to plead in mitigation.

Terri Steinberg is convinced that her son was not involved in the crime and therefore fights with devotion against the sentence of death that shall be executed within the next 12 months.

The conviction drastically changed the life of the family and their lives in the community of a suburb. While Terri tries hard to guarantee a comparably normal life for her other children, she needs all hope not to give in and continue her campaign.

The audience understood this when they saw Terri telling her story with tears in her eyes. It is especially her presentation that makes evident the emotions involved for the speakers when they tell their stories over and over again.

The stories told and emotions shared left the audience shocked and deeply moved. Some took the opportunity to ask Bill, Terri and Ray further questions, whereas others gathered around tables outside in order to sign various petitions.

The “Journey of Hope” was the biggest and most impressive event organized by the local amnesty group so far. It showed that scientific analysis cannot fully grasp the issue of death penalty – the stories of the speakers added more personal and very emotional aspects that illustrated the devastating effects of the spiral of violence connected with the death penalty.

Group walks to protest death penalty

Four people, who believe the state's death penalty is wrong, were not deterred by stifling temperatures on Saturday from continuing their journey through eastern North Carolina.

The group, calling themselves Sojourners for Abolition and Reconciliation (SOfAR), led by East Carolina University alumnus Scott Bass of Raleigh, walked from Bethel to Greenville along N.C. 11 and came in from the heat at The Tipsy Teapot on Evans Street.

They started out at Raleigh's Central Prison last Sunday, where all state executions occur, and plan to end their trip on the steps of the state Legislature.

They took a short break on the highway to talk about their trip and apply some moleskin to their tired feet, then crossed the Tar River into Greenville.

“My feet are a little sore, but I'm feeling good so far, “ said Debbie Biesack, of Fuquay-Varina, who is making the hike with husband David.

Executions happen 30 minutes from where the Biesacks live, so they started going to Central Prison on execution nights and got involved with death penalty opposition groups there, they said.

Neil Mohlman, 20, a senior in religious studies at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, also has been along for the entire trip.

“I've met some great people,” Mohlman said. “Even though I don't live here, I feel at home because of the southern hospitality. The 300-mile pilgrimage sounded like a great opportunity for me and a lot of fun.”

In the cool comfort of The Tipsy Teapot, they gathered at a table with a group of about five Greenville residents interested in hearing what they had to say about the death penalty. There were no death penalty supporters at the table.

Bass and his friends drank a few glasses of cold tea and explained their point of view.

“This walk is not only about the abolition of the death penalty,” Bass said. “It is equally for real support to the families of murder victims.”

Many rural counties do not have comprehensive services available to families of victims of violent crime and focus their attention mostly on victims who are going to assist the prosecution, Bass said.

His organization, Nazareth House, also offers counseling and support service to families of convicted murderers sitting on death row at Central Prison.

“Our faith perspective is that we have an obligation to give compassion, prayer and support to victims and perpetrators,” Bass said. “Some people get upset and question why we do that. It comes from our faith. The families of perpetrators did not commit any crimes, yet they are often the most invisible.”

Bass started Nazareth House with his wife, Roberta Mothershead, in Raleigh so people with loved ones on death row could have a place to stay while visiting an inmate, he said.

People who continue to support and visit their loved ones on death row often bear harsh consequences for years, Bass said, and are forced to hold their emotions at bay.

“They are often ostracized by their neighbors, their church congregation and even other family members,” he said.

Some family members of victims approached Bass and his wife and asked why they were not offering help and support to them, so they began to reach out to them as well. That has become standard practice, he said.

“It's painful to imagine what a family goes through in that situation, but we have a responsibility to try to imagine what it's like to get that phone call and hear that awful thing has happened,” Bass said.

He and his wife go to courtrooms during capital crime trials and sit with victims' family members, often holding their hands, he said.

It is their experience with people on both ends of the crime spectrum that solidifies their belief that the death penalty serves justice to no one, Bass and his friends said.

Bass said the small group's pilgrimage is the tip of the activist iceberg.

“There are a lot of people behind us, organizations like People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, which works with clergy to lobby for reform of death penalty legislation,” he said.

Biesack and Bass feel that right now, reform seems to be a more pragmatic approach to bringing change.

“Part of the purpose of this pilgrimage we're on is having a conversation with people and finding those points we can all agree on. Let's work on that first and see what happens,” Biesack said.

Bass said death penalty reformers should look at what he said is a clear disparity between the numbers blacks and whites convicted of capital crimes.

All of the travelers seemed eager to meet people at the grass-roots level and share thoughts about the impact of violent crime on victims' families and families with a loved one on death row.

“Our faith motivates our involvement,” Biesack said. “God doesn't want the killing of anyone in any way, whether through abortion, execution or war.”

Bass praised the small but hardy group who joined him on the journey through the area.

“I've got the right team for this walk. You have to have both a physical and spiritual strength to make this pilgrimage,” Bass said. “These are people who literally walk the talk, not just here but in their day-to-day lives, too, living a consistent ethic of life and helping others in all stages of need.”

Biesack was impressed by the way people have extended themselves to the group and engaged them in concerned conversation on the topic, even when in disagreement with their goals.

“People have been extremely gracious and helpful to us,” Biesack said. “They offer help and advice, water, food and anything else we might need.”
(Taken from reflector.com)

A grieving father's journey to soul-searching

Book review about "THE RIDE: A Shocking Murder and a Bereaved Father's Journey From Rage to Redemption" by Chuck Leddy in boston.com

Robert Curley, whose son Jeffery was murdered in Cambridge, was once a proponent of the death penalty but speaks against it.
Photo by Scott Langley

On Oct. 1, 1997, 22-year-old Charles Jaynes offered to buy 10-year-old Jeffrey Curley a bicycle in exchange for a sexual favor. What happened next would shock the public, the close-knit East Cambridge community, and the Curley family, including Jeffrey's father Bob. Jeffrey, "horrified, refused a command he could barely understand. Jaynes reacted with a burst of volcanic fury," beating the boy and holding a gasoline-drenched rag to his face. After a 20-minute struggle, Jeffrey Curley lost consciousness and died.

Brian MacQuarrie, a Globe reporter, covered the shocking 1997 murder and its aftermath, one that resulted in renewed calls for the death penalty in Massachusetts. Among the loudest voices in favor of the penalty was Bob Curley, a mechanic with the Cambridge Fire Department. MacQuarrie spent years interviewing those involved in the Curley case, enabling him to dramatically re-create the tension and sadness of those days.

In the hours after his son's disappearance, Bob Curley did his own investigative work, locating Jaynes at his Newton workplace and demanding, at gunpoint, that he reveal the whereabouts of his missing son. Soon, Newton police arrived and took everyone into custody. MacQuarrie grippingly brings us inside the police interview rooms where Jaynes and his accomplice, Salvatore Sicari, were questioned about the missing boy. After Sicari confessed, police eventually discovered Jeffrey Curley's corpse in a Maine river.

Bob Curley would become an outspoken advocate for capital punishment in Massachusetts. About his son's killers, he'd tell one television interviewer, "Let's go get them and put the hurt on them. Until people are willing to make a stand, it's just gonna keep going on and on." MacQuarrie offers a detailed account of the passionately fought legislative battle over establishing the death penalty. Just when it looked like the pro-death-penalty position had won, one legislator (Representative John Slattery) switched sides and voted against the measure, defeating it.

MacQuarrie describes how deeply involved Bob Curley would become in the battle, as he lobbied legislators face-to-face and even verbally attacked a few opposing State House demonstrators. Upon seeing one man with a sign opposing the death penalty, writes MacQuarrie, Curley "began screaming uncontrollably."

Although Bob Curley and his family would commit themselves to passing the death penalty in Massachusetts, they were psychologically devastated by Jeffrey's death. MacQuarrie gives us a visceral account of how this trauma affected the Curleys, especially Bob.

MacQuarrie writes of how Bob Curley's encounter with a man named Bud Welch triggered a long process of soul-searching about the death penalty. Welch's daughter had been killed in the Oklahoma City bombing committed by Timothy McVeigh, yet Welch opposed the execution of McVeigh, and the death penalty. "I always thought that if you were against the death penalty, you were a wimp," recounted Curley, but clearly Welch was no wimp. Despite his own experiences, Curley would gradually change his views on the death penalty.

MacQuarrie's account, besides explaining the impact of a terrible crime on a family and a community, also describes how it transformed a single man. It's clear from MacQuarrie's account that Bob Curley's rage could have easily destroyed him (or possibly led him to destroy others), but the book's biggest revelation is how Curley got beyond the hate to discover something positive in himself and in others. "The Ride" is a fascinating story of loss, profound anger, pain, and the difficult, soul-searching aftermath of trauma.

Read more about Bob Curley at MVFHR

CALIFORNIA: Breaking News! Call to Action Now!

MY NOTE: There's a lot of information here but for active abolitionists the nation here's a way to make a difference. Please send this information out right away! Some of the actions are strictly for Californians yet some are for us ALL.

Our friends at DEATH PENALTY FOCUS here

in California are asking everyone to participate in the below action. You can this take action even if you do not live in California! Your few minutes right now could really make a difference!

But first, two quick announcements: #1 - See opportunities for action on NCADP's calendar of upcoming events here and #2 - See NCADP's summer edition of Lifelines, available now on our web page here

And now, the California action:

Breaking News!

The State of California has announced that it is moving forward with developing execution procedures so that executions can resume. Executions have been on hold for more than three years. The State will be holding a hearing on Tuesday, June 30th from 9am to 3pm in Sacramento to hear public comments about the proposed execution procedures.

Death Penalty Focus, along with our allies, will be organizing a critical Day of Action to End the Death Penalty on June 30th.

What you can do:

1. Please join us in Sacramento on June 30th. Click here to sign-up.
Name and Contact Information here

Free buses/carpooling from Oakland and San Francisco will be available.

2. Please consider submitting a written comment expressing your concern about the proposed lethal injection procedures in California. (Sample letter bottom of this post) Please TAKE THIS ACTION even if you do not live in California.

How to Submit a Written Public Comment on CDCR's Proposed Lethal Injection Procedures:

1. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has released proposed regulations on the lethal injection process for public comment. Any member of the public may comment on any aspect of the proposed regulations.

2. The CDCR is required by law to read and consider every relevant comment. The summary below is provided to assist interested members of the public in understanding how the proposed regulations impact individuals and the state, and in drafting relevant public comments.

3. You are encouraged to make your letter as long as you want, and to include as much information as you want about yourself and your perspective on the death penalty. (Please feel free to visit DEATH PENALTY FOCUS's website (SEE TOP of this blogpost) for the latest facts and statistics. Please make sure to include at least one comment that is specific to the proposed regulations (examples below).

4. Written comments may be submitted by mail, fax, or email. They must be received by June 30, 2009 at 5:00 pm PDT. If possible, please consider submitting your comment between June 20th and June 30th. If you send your comment by mail, please also consider sending a copy by email to ensure it arrives by June 30th.

5. Comments should be directed to:

Mr. Timothy Lockwood
Chief, Regulation and Policy Management Branch
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
P.O. Box 942883
Sacramento, CA 94283-0001
Email : rpmb@cdcr.ca.gov
Fax : (916) 255 5601

6. Comments should note that they are regarding the proposed Amendments to Title 15, Article 7.5, Sections 3349.

7. Please include your name and address in your letter.

8. Please consider looking at our Sample Letter for ideas on how to set-up and structure your letter.

Primary Issues of Concern:

I. Fiscal Impact of the Proposed Regulations
The CDCR is required to make an assessment of the fiscal impact of the proposed regulations. The CDCR has declared that the proposed regulations have no fiscal impact at all. This is incorrect. The public has a right to know exactly how much it will cost taxpayers to carry out executions using lethal injection at San Quentin prison, as proposed in the regulations.

II. Media Access and the Public's Right to Know
If the state of California kills prisoners in the name of the people, then the people have a right to know the truth about the process. The First Amendment protects the right of the media to witness the execution and to access information about the process. The proposed regulations unduly limit the media's access to information, and therefore the public's right to know.

III. Religious Freedom and Rights
The Constitution, human rights norms, and basic human decency require that before the state takes a person's life, he or she should be provided with full access to and support of appropriate religious advisors. The proposed regulations unduly interfere with the religious rights of the person to be executed and fail to guarantee all necessary religious freedoms.

a. The State Chaplain Cannot be Asked to Disclose Private Communications
The proposed regulations require the State Chaplain to report to the Warden the contents of private conversations with the person to be executed (3349.3.1(e), 3349.3.3(f)). This is an unnecessary violation of the clergy penitent relationship, is contrary to the ethical obligations of clergy, and may violate state law.

b. Accommodation Must be Made for End of Life Rituals
The proposed regulations make no accommodation for end of life rituals such as sweat lodges (3349.3.4(e)). The regulations are silent as to how such requests will be handled. The CDCR previously denied at least one Native American's request to have a sweat lodge prior to execution. The regulations should include a process for requesting and accommodating such rituals.

c. All Spiritual Advisors Should be Allowed Cell Front Visiting
The proposed regulations only permit the State Chaplains to visit the person to be executed in front of his cell to conduct necessary religious rituals (3349.3.4(e), 3349.4.2(b)). All other spiritual advisors are limited to visiting in the common visiting area, a space that may be inappropriate for some rituals such as confessions. All spiritual advisors should be allowed equal access to cell front visiting.

d. A Spiritual Advisor and/or Prison Chaplain Should be Permitted in the Execution Chamber (this section may be revised slightly)
The proposed regulations limit the spiritual advisors to visiting in the holding area next to the execution chamber, and do not permit the advisor to accompany the person to be executed into the chamber (3349.3.4(e)(3)). Under the proposed regulations, other individuals are stationed in the chamber, particularly a non guard execution team member (3349.4.5(e)(8)) and the Warden (3349.4.5(f)(1)). Texas has long permitted the spiritual advisor prison chaplain to enter the execution chamber and to touch the person during the execution. There is no legitimate reason to exclude the prison chaplain and/or spiritual advisor from the execution chamber or prohibit physical contact with the person being executed.

IV. Treatment of the Person to be Executed and Their Family
Many aspects of the proposed regulations are unnecessarily dehumanizing and burdensome to the person to be executed and his family. Undoubtedly, the state's actions in carrying out the execution will always be hurtful to these individuals. But the proposed regulations impose many unnecessary burdens and restrictions that only serve to isolate and intimidate the person to be executed and his family.

V. Denial of Legal Rights
The proposed regulations fail to protect the legal rights of the person to be executed, particularly the rights of individuals with mental or physical disabilities. Further, the regulations ignore the rights of surviving family members to review and potentially contest the manner in which the execution was conducted.

For more detail on any of these sections, please request a 10-page analysis by contacting stefanie@deathpenalty.org.

CDCR's proposed regulations (43 pages) and supporting material are available here.
here
======================================
SAMPLE LETTER

[Date]

Mr. Timothy Lockwood
Chief, Regulation and Policy Management Branch
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
P.O. Box 942883
Sacramento, CA 94283-0001
Email: rpmb@cdcr.ca.gov

Re: Comment on Proposed Lethal Injection Regulations, Number 09-09
Proposed Amendments to Title 15, Article 7.5, Sections 3349

Dear Mr. Lockwood:

I care about the issue of the death penalty because... [Insert personal reasons such as your religious or moral beliefs, your experience as a teacher, police officer, lawyer, etc., your experience loosing a loved one to murder or execution, relationship to a prisoner on death row, etc.]

I am opposed to the death penalty because… [Visit www.deathpenalty.org/facts for ideas].

I am particularly concerned about the fiscal impact of the proposed lethal injection regulations. The CDCR has declared that the proposed regulations have no fiscal impact at all. This is incorrect. The public has a right to know exactly how much it will cost taxpayers to carry out executions using lethal injection at San Quentin prison, as proposed in the regulations. The proposed regulations require hundreds, possibly thousands of hours of staff time to implement. The CDCR must calculate and disclose the cost of this staff time. In addition, implementing the proposed regulations will result in significant demonstrations outside of San Quentin, as noted in the proposed regulations (3349.3.5(a)(1)). This will require the California Highway Patrol to assist local law enforcement with crowd control and Caltrans to assist with directing high traffic flow. The CDCR must calculate and disclose these costs to the state. Finally, the land at San Quentin has been valued at $2 billion and the Governor has proposed selling it in order to raise funds for the depleted state coffers. The proposed regulations, however, are specific to San Quentin. If the proposed regulations are approved, the state will, by the Governor’s own estimates, lose the ability to realize a $2 billion gain from the sale of the San Quentin land. The CDCR must include this $2 billion opportunity cost to the state in its fiscal impact.

In addition, I am concerned about… [Select one or more and add comments.]

• The limitations placed on media access in the proposed regulations: If the state is going to kill, the public should know the truth about what is happening.
• The limitations placed on religious rights: Human rights laws and basic decency require that we provide full religious rights to any person the state plans to kill.
• The dehumanizing treatment of the person to be executed: Many aspects of the proposed regulations serve to isolate and intimidate the person to be executed and are unnecessary.

In conclusion, I support ending the death penalty in California and I oppose implementing the proposed regulations on lethal injection as drafted.

Sincerely,