MD Governor O'Malley Speaks to His Bill

At a hearing before Maryland's Senate Judicial Practices Committee on February 18, 2009, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley testified in support of the bill he sponsored to repeal that state's death penalty. It was a standing room only crowd, overflowing into the corridors. Read O'Malley's testimony here. If you live in Maryland, get involved here. If you know someone who lives in Maryland, ask them to get involved!

Former MD Attorney General and Chairman of MD's Death Penalty
Study Commission Benjamin Civiletti

MD Senator and Abolitionist Leader the Honorable Jamie Raskin

Montana Senate Hearing Report

Marietta Jeager-Lane Reports:
As you may already know, MT's Senate Judiciary Committee passed our abolition bill, SB236, on to the Senate Floor, 7-5. The bill will be debated Monday afternoon, 2/16 starting at 1pm Mountain Time. Click here to listen live! In the above photo are the main speakers at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, left to right:

Ron McAndrew, ex-FL warden, who oversaw 3 electric chair executions -- one of which men he felt was innocent and one whose execution was botched, literally cooking the poor guy to death for 1/2 hour.

Marietta Jaeger-Lane, whose daughter Suzie was a kidnap-murder victim in a well known Montana case.

Senator Dave Wanzenreid, (D), sponsor of our bill.

Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, from North Carolina; You all may have heard about her before, but I never had. In the thirty-plus years I've been speaking on this issue, she brought a very important perspective I not only had not ever even considered but had not ever heard! Twenty years ago (to the day before testifying), she was raped by an intruder she woke to find in her bed in the middle of the night. Because he held a knife against her throat, she had no choice but to submit without struggle. However, as terrified as she was, she managed to remain calm and had the presence of mind to make a concerted effort to remember all the details of his face and body that she could discern in the dark, hoping that the time and occasion would come when she could properly identify him. That time did come and she was able to positively identify her rapist not once but twice in a lineup. Although insisting on his innocence, the man was charged, sentenced and was serving his eleventh year in prison when he realized that another inmate in prison with him, had actually been the rapist. DNA evidence proved that to be the case and finally the man Jennifer had so positively identified was released. Jennifer was in anguish that, as certain as she had been that he was the "right" man, he had in fact been cheated out of 11 years of his life because of her testimony. However, she was also fearful that he would come looking for her now for "payback time". While struggling with what she should do, the man's pastor contacted her about meeting with him at the church rectory. With strong mixed emotions of repentance and fear, she did go. To her amazement, the man told her that he held nothing against her, he didn't blame her for her mistake, was not out to get even, and finally said, "I forgive you!" They have become good friends, keep in touch at least once a week and sometimes even speak together. The man's last name is Cotton and Jennifer's book about the whole experience is coming out in March. It's called "Picking Cotton" -- such a clever title! She's a very special woman, very articulate, attractive and wondrously humble to be willing to stand up before everyone and admit what her mistake cost a good man. We often hear about jail house snitches and dishonest folks who are willing to say anything for a buck, but Jennifer's honest, sincere misidentification is another facet of the possibility of putting innocent people on death row.

And lastly, to the far right, is Ray Krone, exonerated from Arizona's death row and now serving as Director of Communications for Witness to Innocence.

New Mexico Repeal Day A Huge Success!

The NM Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty's Lobby Day was Monday (Feb. 9) at the Roundhouse (NM's Capitol Building). More than 225 people from around the state came to Santa Fe for a press conference at noon, followed by visits with their Legislators. Those who had pre-registered received packets with individualized information on their legislators, while all others received help identifying their Legislators if they didn't know them. Death row exonerees and murder victim family members also met with selected legislators.

Everyone who came received a yellow NM repeal t-shirt and button and the halls were packed all day with our nice red logo and the word REPEAL. We heard from people who have worked in the Capitol for 20+ years who said this was the single biggest presence they had ever seen on any issue in one day. There were at least 4 times as many people there this year than had ever been there for NM Repeal's lobby day in past years.

Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation (MVFR) released its new booklet, "Not in our Name - New Mexico" which was distributed to every legislator and which you may see for yourself at MVFR.org.

And Witness to Innocence was out in force with Executive Director Kurt Rosenberg, communications Director and exoneree Ray Krone, and also Juan Melendez and Randy Steidl.

There was some good media coverage, but most reporters are working on a larger story that will run once the bills pass out of the House and then the Senate Judiciary. Once we get to the Senate floor, its much more real.

The press conference lineup was as follows:

1. Viki – welcome and introduce Representative Gail Chasey

2. Representative Gail Chasey

3. Michelle Giger – MVFR member

4. Juan Melendez – exoneree

5. Andrea Vigil – MVFR member

6. Representative Moe Maestas

7. Randy Steidl – exoneree

9. Cathy Ansheles - MVFR

10. Ray Krone – exoneree

11. Allen Sanchez – Catholic Bishops

12. Viki wrap up

PHOTOS: After the 3 crowd shots, we have Ray Krone and Holly Beaumont of the New Mexico Council of Churches. Next is Alexandria (wearing a button!), an assistance dog belonging to Bree Songer, a member of MVFR whose brother Jeffrey Songer was murdered in 1983. Next are MVFR-NM members Michelle Giger, Andrea Vigil, and Cathy Ansheles. And finally, Kurt, Kim and Viki evaluate the

day.... Photos by Jane Davis and Abe Bonowitz.

New Mexico One Step Closer to REPEAL!

I took the following images with my phone on Friday, February 6 at the New Mexico State Capitol, which incidentally is a very cool building with a fabulous display of all kinds of art - everywhere! This was a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee, which ultimately passed the bill and sent it to the floor with an 8 to 5 vote. Monday is Lobby Day - visit the NM Repeal web site for details!


The posted schedule...

Following testimony of the bill sponsor Gail Chasey and murder victim family member Michelle Geiger, the chair asked for a show hands of those here in support of the bill. All but two DA's present raised their hands....

Head of the state League of Women Voters weighing in....



After extensive debate, the NM House Judiciary Committee just voted 8 to 5 to send the bill to abolish the death penalty to the house floor. Below photo is MVFR member Michelle Giger immediately following the vote.

On the new administration

I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering what to expect from the next administration following what is expected from the Democratic electoral victory. Speaking strictly for me, and letting others speak to what type of judges President-elect Obama will appoint, here is what I think we’ll see.

A criminal law fact sheet of campaign promises is here.

A quick primer on Obama and the death penalty that appeared some time ago in the Washington Post. As David note here sometime ago, “in a nutshell: He’s pro-death penalty but he is also pro-let’s not execute the wrong guy”

Five years later, Obama waded into a complex capital-punishment debate after a number of exonerations persuaded then-Gov. George Ryan (R) to empty death row.

Obama wrote in his recent memoir that he thinks the death penalty “does little to deter crime.” But he supports capital punishment in cases “so heinous, so beyond the pale, that the community is justified in expressing the full measure of its outrage by meting out the ultimate punishment.”

In proposing changes, Obama met repeatedly with officials and advocates on all sides. He nudged and cajoled colleagues fearful of being branded soft on crime, as well as death-penalty opponents worried that any reform would weaken efforts to abolish capital punishment.

Obama’s signature effort was a push for mandatory taping of interrogations and confessions. It was opposed by prosecutors, police organizations and Ryan’s successor, Democrat Rod Blagojevich, who said it would impede investigators.

Working under the belief that no innocent defendant should end up on death row an no guilty one should go free, Obama helped get the bill approved by the Senate on a 58 to 0 vote. When Blagojevich reversed his position and signed it, Illinois became the first state to require taping by statute.

“Obviously, we didn’t agree all the time, but he would always take suggestions when they were logical, and he was willing to listen to our point of view. And he offered his opinions in a lawyerly way,” said Carl Hawkinson, the retired Republican chairman o the Judiciary Committee. “When he spoke on the floor of the Senate, he spoke out of conviction. You knew that, whether you agreed with him or disagreed with him.”

As to the narrow issue of this blog, following the elections the death penalty will likely continue to wither on the vine. Sen. Obama is a death penalty reformer, not an abolitionist. One of the rarely spoken accomplishments of Sen. Obama is his voice in reforming the death penalty and criminal justice system in Illinois. Invariably both would have been reformed without him in some shape and form, however, the scars of the fight to get the broad based reforms that ultimately passed he still bares.

As the campaign noted:

As a member of the Illinois state senate, Barack Obama led efforts to reform a broken death penalty system that sent 13 innocent people to death row because it was filled with error, questionable police tactics, racial bias, and shoddy legal work. Obama drafted and passed a law requiring videotaping of interrogations and confessions in capital cases to ensure that prosecutions are fair. As president, Obama will encourage the states to adopt similar reforms.

For the federal death penalty what is clear is the Bush administration’s capital prosecution practices are coming to an end. The last eight years saw a marked decline in new state death sentences but the federal system saw a huge uptick in federal death sentences. The disparity will likely draw to a rapid close. Although many cases where death is now authorized may continue to go forward new authorizations will likely be fewer and farther between. Where capital prosecutions are sought anticipate the authorization process to be much more rigorous. Similarly, the campaign had stated early on that if elected they would seek to bring many of the Illinois style reforms to the rest of the nation, however what shape those will take remains to be seen.

[adopted from a post at CDW]

More Montana Headlines

Once again, top of the front page....

Montana Standard - Death Penalty Opponents Speak from Experiences

MT Journey Touching Hearts and Minds

The Montana Journey continues to touch hearts and minds throughout the state. On Sunday evening I moderated an event at the University of Montana - Western featuring Murder Victim Family Members Eve Malo and Bill Pelke, and Leslie Lytle, author of the new book, "Execution's Doorstep." Here are a few photos....

Montana Journey - Top of the Fold!

The Montana Abolition Coalition is hosting the Montana Journey of Hope ...From Violence to Healing, starting yesterday with an event at Carroll College in Helena. Today we got up and drove to Bozeman for encounters with students at Montana State University, and we were welcomed by a top of the front page (above the vp debate coverage!) article in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle featuring Journey co-founder Marietta Jaeger Lane and David Kaczynski, brother of Ted Kaczynski, AKA the Unabomber, who was apprehended in Montana.

I'll post more on this blog when I can, but check the Journey of Hope blog, and while I am at it, I'll also plug the brand spankin' new web page of Murder Victim's Families for Reconciliation.

Rachel King: Thank You, and rest in peace....

Rachel King: 1963 - 2008

It is with sadness that we report the passing of our friend and colleague, Rachel King, on August 25, 2008 after a long and valiant struggle with cancer.

Rachel was first a daughter, friend, wife and step-mother, but her personal and professional lives merged in her advocacy and efforts to make our world a better place. She did so in volunteer and staff capacities with various organizations, including Alaskans Against the Death Penalty, the ACLU Capital Punishment Project and the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, where she served on the board of directors and as its chairperson. Rachel is the author of three books, two of which explore capital punishment from the perspective of the families who suffer the most as a result of the death penalty system.

Read more about Rachel’s history of successful advocacy here and here.

Rachel passed away in Wayne, Maine, where she was raised and later she and her husband, Richard McAlee, built a home together. Her last moments were spent surrounded by family and friends. Those who wish may reach the family by email through her step-daughter Lauren at lmcalee@gmail.com, or by mail through her mother Jill Howes at 282 Narrows Pond Rd., Winthrop, ME 04364. Rachel’s family asks those wishing to send a memorial to send donations to the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty in lieu of flowers.

NCADP's 1st Annual Death Penalty Abolitionist Leadership Institute

Maryland 9 - Texas 0: In Which Jane Gets A Talking To...

Sent originally from my Wireless BlackBerry while the game continued....

Subject: In Which Jane Gets a Talking to

It's MD Coalition Against State Executions night at Camden Yards and the Orioles are still shutting out the TEXAS Rangers, now 9-0 in the bottom of the seventh. MD CASE had expected to scroll its message calling for repeal but was given nothing more than a quick flash of a welcome to the group on the score board. Upon arrival John had been given a hard time about bringing in the signs, and ushers made certain to warn us not to display them. SO, in the 7th Inning Stretch, I pick up a sign just for a photo with Jane Henderson, Director of MD CASE. The music is thumping and Jane grabs the sign and starts dancing with it. The below shows what happened next. Yes, she was threatened with ejection! Enjoy...

--abe
At Camden Yards

OTSE Members Help Out NCADP at NAACP

The death penalty is on the agenda this week at the 99th Annual Conference of the NAACP in Cincinnati. NAACP delegates will consider a resolution calling for a Federal study commission, and a CLE course on strategies to prevent executions was scheduled to be taught by Bryan Stevenson. The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty has a presence in the "Ideas Exchange" area of the convention floor. NCADP is excited to welcome the incoming President & CEO of the NAACP, Ben Jealous, who was a staff member and later a member of the board of directors of our organization. The NCADP looks forward to working even more closely with the NAACP as we organize to create the changes necessary to abolish the death penalty.

Above from the left is Abe Bonowitz, NCADP's Director of Affiliate Support with Sue Prieshof and Sr. Alice Gerdeman (Board Chair) of Ohioans to Stop Executions and and Bo Chamberlin of both OTSE and Amnesty International.

100th Execution in Virginia

Here are a couple of video snippets of activities outside the prison in Virgina as that state conducted its 100th execution in the current death penalty era. Here is one news item...

100th Execution in Virginia - Tolling the bell 100 times...

Pilgrimage for Life from NC to DC

Making Strides toward Abolition and Reconciliation....

Here's a short clip from last Sunday, about 15 miles north of Jarratt, VA, site of Virginia's death house.... These folks are walking from North Carolina to the U.S. Supreme Court in DC, educating and activating on the issue of the death penalty.... See their BLOG here.

Rev. Pickett on the Hill

"At the Death House Door" was screened for Congressional staff and interns on Thursday, June 19, 2008 in a special presentation hosted by Congressman Bobby Scott and co-sponsored by the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, Amnesty International and the United Methodist Church Genral Board of Church and Society. The screening was followed by a lively Q&A session with Rev. Pickett, his wife and film maker Steve James.




Congressman Bobby Scott















NCADP Executive Director Diann Rust-Tierney















Rev. Carroll Pickett

Meeting with the Special Rapporteur

This morning (June 19, 2008) Amnesty International hosted a meeting with Professor Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions. Providing perspective for him were Sue Vaughn of Amnesty International USA, Dick Dieter of the Death Penalty Information Center, Deborah Fleischaker of the ABA's Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project, Renny Cushing of Murder Victim Families for Human Rights and Diann Rust-Tierney of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Professor Alston started by explaining his position and noted that he had met with much officials of the U.S. Justice Department yesterday, who expressed that they did not feel he has much to be concerned about. He also noted that a week from Monday (June 30) he'll hold a press conference to give his preliminary report, noting that the UN process then allows governments reported upon six weeks to comment, plus editing and translation prior to the issuing of a final report. Here is a bit more about his mission, followed by some photos from the meeting.

"The Special Rapporteur places a very high priority on receiving the views of civil society on the issues within his mandate. These are often invaluable in ensuring that his final reports and balanced and well-considered. The key aspect is that his mandate is actually not an abolitionist one. The matters that do come within the mandate are:

- Whether the due process requirements set out in international human rights law are observed in any trial (or subsequent pardons process) which may lead to the application of the death penalty;

- Whether, in retentionist states, the death penalty is only available for the "most serious crimes" (the legal position of the Special Rapporteur is that capital punishment is only permitted in international law for intentional murder. (His views are set out here)

- In the USA, he will also look at the allegations of racial bias in the application of the death penalty.

Although the mandate is not abolitionist, in some contexts (eg., Afghanistan) we have recommended a moratorium on the death penalty because it was clear that due process was just not observed at all (and could not be, in the circumstances currently prevailing). "




















Diann Rust-Tierney
















Richard Dieter















Renny Cushing

Sleeping with the Judge

(NOTE: An hour before the execution was to take place, the death warrant was rescinded and Hood was returned to death row)

Texas is at it again. The eight month moratorium on executions has come and gone and Texas is moving forward with executions even in the face of utter and complete injustice.

Do you remember the case of Calvin Burdine or George McFarland. Their lawyers fell asleep during their capital trial and they still got sentenced to death.

Well here’s another crazy Texas death penalty case.

Charles Dean Hood is scheduled to be executed today, June 17^th in Texas. His lawyer fortunately was not caught sleeping, but the District Attorney in his case, Tom O’Connell, was caught sleeping, that is sleeping with the judge in Hood’s trial.

Judge Verla Sue Holland and District Attorney Tom O’Connell had a long-time intimate relationship including during the time of Hood’s trial, something that was all but public knowledge in the legal community. Hood’s attorneys have been trying to fully out this relationship and all the seedy injustice around it for years. Hopefully it’s not too late for Charles Dean Hood.

March from NC to DC starts Sunday...

Click here to learn more about, support, and/or participate in the Pilgrimage and Walk of Remembrance 2008.

"The Pilgrimage and Walk of Remembrance 2008 is a 300-mile walk from Raleigh NC to Washington, DC. We embark on a spiritual pilgrimage and walk of remembrance – remembering murder victims and their families, people on death row and their families, persons executed and their families and calling for abolition of the death penalty...."

15th Annual Fast and Vigil Approaching

Every year, for the past fifteen years, from June 29 – July 2nd, something amazing happens in Washington, DC. Abolitionists from around the country and world come together for a four day Fast and Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty.

They set-up shop on the sidewalk of the U.S. Supreme Court and put their ideals into action. And they lose some weight.

You might wonder why hold such an event during such a hot time of the year. And if you know DC in the summer, you know that it can be brutal. Do note that the fast is optional for participants and those who fast drink plenty of liquids.

Yup, summers in DC are high tourist season and the U.S. Supreme Court is a heavily trafficked spot for tourists and DC residents. So, it’s a fantastic opportunity to engage thousands of people on the death penalty. And since many of those who participate in The Fast and Vigil year after year have such powerful stories to tell – they are death row exonorees, family members of murder victims, family members of death row inmates and other long-time abolitionists - if a passerby takes the time to stop and have a conversation with someone, that will likely be one profound conversation and experience.

But why not hold court at the court in April or May, at the beginning of DC’s tourist season and when the weather is much more moderate?

The answer is that June 29th and July 2nd are the anniversaries of two historic death penalty cases heard and decided by the very Court where this protest now takes place – the U.S. Supreme Court.

On June 29, 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty is arbitrary and capricious. More than 600 condemned inmates had their death sentences reduced to life. On July 2, 1976, in Gregg v. Georgia the U.S. Supreme Court upheld new state death penalty laws allowing the resumption of executions in the United States.

For more information about the Fast and Vigil and to see a schedule for this year’s event, click here.