UK Business Secretary - Stop exporting execution drugs to US or face legal action

The UK's Business Secretary Vince Cable has been given an ultimatum by legal action charity Reprieve - ban the export of execution drugs to the US within 72 hours, or face legal action.

The charity's director yesterday wrote to Cable giving him until close of business on December 30th to stop British firms from exporting the drugs sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride to the United States, where they are all used as part of the lethal injection process. Reprieve argued that it was a breach of European Human Rights Law and Britain's opposition to the death penalty for the government to have allowed the export of the drugs.

The charity has successfully brought one legal action against the government over its failure to prevent the export of sodium thiopental. A shipment of the British manufactured drug has already been used in at least one execution already - Jeffrey Landrigan in Arizona.

Despite being forced to ban the export of the chemical, Cable's delayed response allowed a large shipment to be despatched to California before the ban came into effect. It has been estimated that this shipment contained enough of the drug to execute at least 80 death row inmates in the US. It has yet to be released by the US Food and Drug Administration, and Reprieve believe an intervention from Cable could prevent the shipment reaching its destination.

Reprieve's director, Clice Stafford Smith noted that Cable apparently devoted 20 hours to rehearshing his foxtrot for the TV show Strictly Come Dancing, but has yet to devote the half hour of his time which would help to prevent scores of executions. He also pointed out that "the Foreign Office is struggling to help us prevent the execution of British nationals in the US, at the same time as Mr Cable sits on his hands and allows the export of British drugs that will kill those same prisoners."

America's shortage of drugs used to legally murder people is apparently bringing out the worse in a lot of people. Mr. Stafford Smith said one British firm had marked the price of the drugs up 3,500 per cent to capitalize on the demand for death drugs. In a country which opposes the death penalty, some people are making money from helping to carry out executions.

Although, to be fair, if a state is so desperate to legally murder the population of its death row that they're willing to pay 3,500 per cent more than they would normally pay for the drugs to do it, they probably deserve to be ripped off. I think they deserve to be ripped off and then have the drugs taken off them too. That'd show 'em. Why isn't this much money and effort going into crime prevention, or better education schemes?

UN General Assembly approves new resolution for universal moratorium on death penalty

On December 22nd, the United Nations General Assembly approved a new resolution in favor of a universal moratorium on the death penalty. The same resolution was approved in December's 2007 and 2008... Third time lucky?

108 countries voted in favor of the resolution; 41 voted against; 36 chose not to vote; and 7 were absent at the time of the vote.

The only new part of the text of the resolution is the request which asks member states to "make information available relevent to the use of the death penalty to allow an informed and transparent national debate."

Merry Christmas

I think this goes without saying, but I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a trully wonderful Christmas. I'll probably say this again before we usher in the new year, but a huge thank you to all our members and supporters for all your hard work over the past year. Since I doubt Santa will leave the abolishment of the death penalty under my tree this year, I just hope we can keep up the good work for 2011!

Merry Christmas!

- Tiffany & Samantha

2010 - 12% decline in executions

46 men and women were executed in the United States in 2010, a 12 percent fall in executions compared to the previous year which saw 52 death sentences carried out in the country. Texas alone carried out 17 of this year's executions, but that was down from 24 executions in 2009.

The Death Penalty Information Centre's executive director Richard Dieter commented that the nation "continued to move away from the death penalty in 2010". He noted that there are concerns about the high cost of the death penalty, the risk of executing innocent people and unfairness in application which may be contributing to the changing attitudes on the practice.

A recent nationwide survey of 1500 registered voters carried out by DPIC found that most voters prefer the prospect of life without parole for murderers as opposed to a death sentence.

So is the United States prepared to get rid of the death penalty? Dieter said: "About 60 percent of the public is ready. They may still support the death penalty, but they are willing to replace it because of the problems that exist with capital punishment."


He also said that capital punishment was ranked lowest by voters among budget priorities, and that a majority of those polled favoured replacing the death penalty with life without parole if the money saved were used to fund crime-prevention programs.

A death penalty case costs $3 million, three time more than imposing a life sentence which costs $1 million. I can think of quite a few areas that money could be better spent than in killing a person.

If you would like to read more about this, you can see the entire poll results from DPIC at http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/

Texas Monthly endorses moratorium on executions; Dallas Morning News says moratorium is best way to protect innocent lives

Bad news for the Texas death penalty - good news for sane people! As the hearing to determine the constitutionality of the Texas death penalty continues, magazine Texas Montly has endorsed a moratorium on executions in their January 2011 issue. Click Here to read the article.

And on the same day, The Dallas Morning News renewed its call for a moratorium on executions, saying a moratorium is the best strategy for protecting innocent people already on death row from wrongful executions.

They also said "Texans should stand mute no longer on this madness."

Here, here! My thoughts entirely.

Arizona are 'life-savers' after supplying California with the drugs to kill a person

I read this on the Texas Moratorium Network's blog and it just made me sick. California has been desperately scrambling to get the drug Sodium Thiopental in order to carry out executions. ACLU of Northern California  recently obtained emails sent by a number of prison officials as they tried to find a supply of the drug, at one point even moaning that Texas isn't sharing their supply, boo hoo. But now unfortunately California has found a small ammount of the drug and Scott Kernan, California's undersecretary for Corrections and Rehabilitation had this to say to his Arizona counterpart after taking the delivery.

"You guys in AZ are life-savers... Buy you a beer next time I get that way."

Life-savers. Because they supplied a drug which will be used to kill a person. I don't see the logic there. In fact, the hideous disregard for a human life makes me really sick.

If you're life-saver for helping kill a person, why are we killing killers in the first place, doesn't that make them life-savers too?

And if the cost of a human life is a beer, what the hell is this world coming to?

Amnesty International 'Write for Rights' Campaign

Every year thousands of people across the world mark International Human Rights Day on Dec 10th by taking apart in Amnesty International's Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon - the largest letter writing event in the world. It's all about writing letters to demand that the rights of individuals are respected, protected and fulfilled - rights which many of us take for granted. Your words can have real power so it's a great thing to get involved with.

One case which caught my eye was that of Reggie Clemons, just one more example of the flaws in America's death penalty system. Here is what AI has written about Clemons case:


Reggie Clemons was sentenced to death in St. Louis as an accomplice in the 1991 murder of two young white women, Julie and Robin Kerry, who plunged from the Chain of Rocks Bridge into the Mississippi River. Two other black youths were also convicted, including Marlin Gray (executed in 2005). Clemons has consistently maintained his innocence. His case illustrates many of the flaws in the U.S. death penalty system.

At the time of the trial, the prosecution conceded that Clemons neither killed the victims nor planned the crime; there is no physical evidence that ties him to the crime itself or the events leading up to it. Clemons alleges that he confessed under the pressure of police brutality to raping one of the victims. He never confessed to the murders. He subsequently retracted his confession. Two other suspects independently alleged mistreatment by the police. Witnesses attest to Clemons' face being swollen after his interrogation.

Four federal judges have agreed that the prosecutor's conduct was "abusive and boorish." The prosecutor had a history of criticism from both state and federal courts, and compared Clemons to two convicted serial killers, despite Clemons' clean record. Clemons' lawyer had experienced some past complaints as well. His co-counsel had a full-time job in another state during her representation of Mr. Clemons, resulting in poor preparation for the trial.

Of equal importance when considering the case of Mr. Clemons, is the question of race; not only were the murder victims white, but the two crucial witnesses were as well. The three convicted defendants were black, and during jury selection, blacks were disproportionately dismissed, resulting in an unrepresentative jury, given St. Louis' sizeable black population. The jury's flaws were also noted in 2002 by a U.S. District Court judge who ruled Clemons' death sentence should not stand because six prospective jurors had been improperly excluded at jury selection.

 
If you have even the slightest shred of doubt about Clemons' guilt or oppose the death penalty period, I'd urge you to join in with the write-a-thon. It'll take a few minutes and the cost of a postage stamp. I'll be writing from the UK. You can also send messages of support and hope to Reggie Clemons. All the postal information and other details are on the campaign website.
Click Here for more information.

Hearing to determine constitutionality of Texas's death penalty to be held Monday

http://stopexecutions.blogspot.com/2010/12/text-of-motion-to-declare-texas-death.html

It's all heating up now. If you click that link above you'll get to the Texas Moratorium Network's blog on which you'll find the powerful 81 page motion written by attorneys asking Judge Kevin Fine to declare Texas's death penalty unconstitutional.

A hearing will be held in Judge Kevin Fine's courtroom in Houston on Monday 6th December at 9am. The Texas Moratorium Network are asking anyone interested who lives in Houston or can be there to participate in a demonstation outside the courthouse at 8am before going inside for the hearing. You can RSVP on their Facebook page Click Here. It's times like this that I hate being stuck in Scotland - this is big news.

The hearing will see Texas's use of the death penalty undergo legal scrutiny. It is likely that evidence and arguments will be presented concerning the substantial risk that innocent people are not adequately protected from execution by the state's death penalty law.

I must say - I'm quite excited about this. This is a big step. My enthusiasm is not without its doubts though. I've always imagined that when the death penalty is finally abolished in the US, Texas will be the last state to go - kicking and screaming. But for now I'll dare to be cautiously optimisic. Bring on Monday.

Broom to stay on death row after botched execution

How many times can you try to kill a man before it becomes unconstitutional? As if once wasn't bad enough, apparently twice is fine.

Romell Broom was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a 14 year old girl in 1984. In September of 2009 the state of Ohio attempted to execute him. 3 hours and 18 puncture wounds later, they gave up, unable to find a suitable vein. What Broom must have believed to be his final hours undoubtedly caused great psychological distress - it was reported that he even tried to help his executioners to get the needles in.

Living through one failed execution is bad enough. But on Thursday, Ohio's Supreme Court ruled that Broom is to stay on death row despite attorneys arguing that any attempt to execute Broom will violate his constitutional rights which prohibit double jeopardy.

A similar argument by Broom is pending in federal court.


I empathise a lot with Broom at the moment after a botched attempt to donate my blood in November. After lying on a table with tight things around my arms being prodded and pinched for over and hour whilst they searched for a decent vein before they eventually gave up and pulled the needle out again, I couldn't help but recall this case. I was given a biscuit and told not to bother trying again for 4-5 years. Broom was sent back to death row. Yes, I can empathise with him.

Our new Facebook page - 'Like' the cause to end the death penalty

Myself and my co-director ScofieldBurrows have been discussing the best way to move our little organization forward and make it more accessible in this computer generation, et cetera, and so we decided to start a Facebook page for Death Watch; Stardoll.

Since neither of us is especially computer-literate, it might take us some time to get things well and trully underway, but we're just getting started. We think a Facebook page is the perfect way to make information more readily available to members (most people check their Facebook status at least once a day), and also easier for ScofieldBurrows and I to get information out quickly and easily. But we'd love to hear what you think about the page, and if you have any ideas for how we might use it. And of course, whether you'll be following our not!

Click HERE to go to our Facebook page (remember to 'like' us!)

Tell the UK not to export execution drugs to the US!

As you may have heard, the US is having a bit of trouble executing it's citizen's at the moment due to a shortage of sodium thiopental, one of the drugs used in the lethal injection cocktail. The obvious, intelligent and long-overdue thing to do would be to call a moratorium on executions, but insead they've decided to obtain the drug from British manufacturers.

The UK hasn't had the death penalty on it's statutes since 1998, and the last execution was way back in '64. Despite what some of our citizens might think (you should hear some of them in my RE class...) the UK does not support the death penalty - we already ban the export of guillotines and tools used in gas chambers and electrocutions - so the export of a drug used to carry out lethal injections is a clear violation of our government's position on the death penalty.

Vince Cable, the British Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills, refused to block the export of the drug for executions, although the law allows him to. The issue is now before UK courts, but please sign the petition urging Cable to change his position and ban the drug's export for executions!


Click Here to Sign the Petition

By the way, you can sign the petition even if you're not from the UK, although if you are that would be great! Let them know we do NOT support the death penalty, and we do NOT support other countries carrying it out either! Thanks everyone :)

- ScofieldBurrows

British author jailed over book critisising Singapore's death penalty

75 year old British author Alan Shadrake has been jailed for six weeks and fined 20,000 Singapore dollars ($15,000) for publishing a book critical of executions in Singapore.

The book, titled "Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock", unearths the disturbing truth about Singapore's use of the death penalty.

Prosecutors representing the attorney general's office had demanded a 3-month jail term for Shadrake.

Shadrake offered an apology last week but stood by the claims made in his book. Judge Quentin Loh dismissed the apology as "nothing more than tactical ploy in court to obtain a reduced sentence." He ruled the journalist will have to serve an additional two weeks in prison if he fails to pay the fine.

"A fine should be imposed to prevent Mr Shadrake from profiting from his contempt [of court]," the judge said.

Shadrake has admitted one minor innacuracy in his book but insists the rest is "devastatingly accurate".

"They know the book is accurate, which is why they're going to all this trouble," he said.

Ohio Gov. grants clemency for Sydney Cornwell

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland yesterday spared Sydney Cornwell from execution - a day before the sentence was due to be carried out.

Cornwell was convicted of killing 3-year old Jessica Ballew and 3 adults in 1996, and was scheduled to die by lethal injection today. He will now serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Strickland's decision is at least in part influenced by Cornwell's recent diagnosis with Klinefelter syndrome. From what I remember of high school biology, this condition means that males have an extra X chromosome in most of their cells (XXY instead of XY) which affects the amount of testosterone produced during puberty. Some males with XXY condition can exhibit symptoms during puberty such as less facial and body hair, broader hips and larger breasts, but it can also lead to boys developing language problems and struggling in school and sports. Althouth adult males with XXY condition live similar lives to men without the condition, Strickland questioned whether the jury or sentencing judge would have sentenced Cornwell to death had they known about his disorder. Strickland believed there was a "substantial possibility that... one of more of them would have found that the death penalty was innapropriate in this case."

Cornwell is the third death row inmate that Strickland has spared this year.

Surely it would save a lot of time and money to just call a moratorium... Just saying.

"Echoes of many" - a letter writing campaign against the death penalty

Just found this on Death Penalty News, but it's after midnight here in Scotland and I don't have time to go through it right now so I'm just going to post what's on their blog. Suffice to say I think it's an excellent idea we should all try to get involved in - I will personally be licking envelopes after school tomorrow, and Tiffany will probably start now if she's awake. Get involved if you can - I will update this tomorrow if I get a chance.
- Samantha


Source:
http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com/2010/11/echoes-of-many-letter-writing-campaign.html

THE DEATH PENALTY. We do not need it as a form of punishment in our modern world. Who are we as a people and a society to decide who lives and who dies? Many countries and states in the USA have found other ways to deal effectively with crime and violence without killing people to show that killing is wrong. Children of today and the future need to learn that all human life is precious and no one should ever allow their actions to end someone else’s life because of greed, jealousy, anger, disrespect, revenge, hatred, or any other reason not mentioned here.
We have the power to swiftly bring a stop to the death chambers and killing machines if we work together and use our pens, computers and voices to speak out and speak up. Tying men and women down to tables and pumping poison into their veins until their blood no longer dances to the beat of their hearts is immoral and not right no matter how you look at it. We are not defending or excusing the actions of murderers; we are defending life, all human life. Death is irreversible. Since 1973, 130 people in 26 states have been released from death row with evidence of innocence.

Echoes of Many is a letter-writing campaign aimed at eliminating the death penalty one–state-at-a-time in the USA by using mostly old fashioned snail mail. We need many to join us on this journey to enlighten others to a greater respect for one’s self and all human life.

The targeted state is the poorest state in the nation: MISSISSIPPI

All citizens of Mississippi who want the death penalty abolished because of moral, ethical, religious, economic or any other reason, this is the time to let your state lawmakers know how you feel. There is now a great deal of national support aimed at your state because of Echoes of Many’s new strategy and other anti-death penalty organizations and groups participating as well.

Here are two things that can be done by those who wish to be more active:

1. Contact newspapers in all parts of Mississippi and make them aware of your opinion regarding the death penalty and aware of your pledge if you don’t live in Mississippi.

2. Contact Mississippi businesses and churches to make them aware of your support to help eradicate the death penalty. Student Presidents of colleges and universities in Mississippi and other states can be contacted also.

Sending any of these mentioned places or individuals a copy of this letter and saying that you support Echoes of Many and hope that they would also is just as good.

For those of you who have creative ideas of your own, please put them into action so that the echoes of many others can join in to let the lawmakers feel our strength, unity and determination.

There’s a new campaign in Mississippi called (EENJ) End Executions Not Jobs. They are inviting everyone to come to Smith Park in Jackson across from the Governor’s Mansion sometime during the entire month of November 2010 if you wish to be a part of a historic peaceful assembly that’s trying to make Mississippi the first southern state to abolish the death penalty for economic reasons. There will be people there of all religions, ages and ethnic backgrounds. (EENJ) wrote that “If the voices and the will of the people are ignored in the November assembly, April and May of 2011 will be even a larger assembly for the lawmakers to deal with.” Things such as what (EENJ) are doing will help our one-state-at-a-time strategy a great deal. Now let us get busy in reminding lawmakers to get it right.

For those who do not live in Mississippi, send your protest letters to one or both addresses.

Mississippi Tourism
P.O. Box 84
Jackson, MS 39205
USA
Phone: (601)359-3297
Website: www.visitmississippi.org


Mississippi Religious Leadership Conference
9 P.O Box 68123
Jackson, MS 39286
USA
Phone: (601) 924-7430
Email: mrlc@netdoor.com


We do not ask for donations because we are not set up for that. You could take that same money which you may want to send us and use it yourself to send copies of this letter out to places of worship, universities, organizations, individuals and other places like we are doing.

A victim’s family and friends have a right to be angry when their loved one is suddenly taken away by a senseless act of violence. Unless you have lost a loved one to violence, you don’t know what the victim’s family and friends are having to deal with inside. In no way should we ever have anything negative to say about them while we work to erase the death penalty from our society because we cannot fully feel their grief.

There are many people on this planet who are thirsty to get involved and take a productive stand against a barbaric practice. We need this letter to spread like an out-of-control wildfire in order to locate those thirsty people.

If you live in the targeted state, send your protest letters to the state representative of your district. Inform them that you want a moratorium placed on all executions until the death penalty is abolished and why.

If you do not live in the targeted state, send your protest letters to the appropriate addresses listed on the last page of this campaign letter. Make them aware that you are pledging to boycott their state by refusing to purchase items made or grown in that state and will not visit that state to spend money as long as the death penalty is there. Let them know that you are also advising your friends and others to make the same pledge and to spread the message.

Feel free to contact Robert Simon Jr. (ex-prison guard now death row inmate) and let him know of what actions you have taken or plan to take. This would allow Echoes of Many to know where they need to strengthen their efforts. Since Robert has become a creative thinker and is at ground zero, he will work harder than anyone to succeed because he has the most to lose and the most to gain. You cannot send him stamps and you must put your full name and complete address on the envelope.

Robert Simon Jr.
46380
Death Row 32-B
Parchman, MS 38738
USA


Email: echoes_of_many@att.net

Anthony Graves - 12 years on death row for a crime he did not commit

I haven't posted in a while because I was on a roadtrip down Route 66 with some friends to celebrate my birthday. One of my friends is a vehement supporter of the death penalty, something which causes us endless arguements, such as the one we had somewhere between Chicago and Springfield on our trip, which ended the same way as all our arguements about the death penalty usually do - I said the death penalty risked innocent lives, she said we just need to prevent innocent people ending up on death row (the exact phrase I think she used was "not throw the baby away with the bathwater") and I told her to prove to me the infallibility of human nature which would result in absolutely no innocent deaths. She told me I was talking nonsense. I brought up Anthony Graves.

It was unfortunate for my friend that it was October 29th, two days after Anthony Graves was released from prison after spending 18 years behind bars (12 of which were spent on death row) for someone else's crime. He was convicted for the 1992 murders of an entire family, including 4 children - an unforgivable crime, I know, but one which he did not commit. On October 27th 2010, after almost two decades in prison, some bright spark finally listened to what he'd been saying all along.

He's innocent.

Let me tell you a few things about Graves's trial. There was no physical evidence tying him to the murders. There was no motive for him to slay the six strangers. And there was no possibility of it being true. Three witnesses testified that he was at home at the time of the killings.

In fact, the only 'evidence' came from the absolutely reliable testimonies of some jailhouse inhabitants who claimed they'd heard him confess, and on the testimony of Robert Carter, a death row inmate executed in 2000 who admitted to the killings but initially blamed Graves. Carter actually recanted the claim several times. He told District Attorney Charles Sebesta the day before Sebesta put him on the stand to testify against Graves that is wasn't true - something which Sebesta never told the defense, even though he was required to.

I bet I know what you're thinking. You probably think I'm exaggerating. You think that there's no way a jury would convict a man at all based on that little 'evidence', let alone send him to death row. But convict they did, and send him away to be executed they did.

He wasn't executed - thank the Lord for small mercies - and a few days ago he called his mother to ask what she was cooking for dinner. When she asked him why he wanted to know, he said "Because I'm coming home". Hurrah. Justice has prevailed this time.

Or has it? Anthony Graves spent 18 years in prison - 18 years which we, as a society who favor irrevocable punishments like the death penalty, will never be able to give him back. He was 26 when he was arrested. Now he's 45. The phone call to his mother was made on a cellphone he borrowed from his lawyer. His lawyer had to show him how to use it. Can you even begin to imagine how terrible it would be to spend 18 years of your life in prison, 12 of those years spent waiting to be killed, and then just be expected to put your life back together? I can't. I think I'd rather be executed. It's all fine and good to say that he's free now, wonderful... But can we just ignore the irreparable damage we've caused to him, mentally and in terms of what he might have done with his life if we hadn't stolen such a huge chunk of it? Furthermore, is it right to shrug and say we caught it in time, and then continue with the killing?

No. Just finding one innocent man on death row is enough evidence to support a moratorium in my opinion. I don't think any evidence was even needed to support a moratorium (if a man can be sent to death row on no evidence, why can't we do the same with the death penalty?).

Just as every argument about the death penalty which I have with my friend bottles down to the very real problem of innocent people ending up on death row, so does almost every single thing I post in this blog, and this post is no exception. The death penalty is dangerous. It is an addiction which America (indeed, the world) needs to kick because if we keep bargaining with ourselves in tinkering the legal processes and everything in between to make the death penalty more 'foolproof' just so we can keep fueling that addiction a little bit longer, the more dangerous it becomes and the less likely it is we'll ever be able to kick it. Aristotle once said "the law is reason, free from passion". That's what it should be, at least. Passion is the downfall. It is society's passion for vengeance which makes us crave the death penalty (no matter how we sugarcoat it to make ourselves feel better) and it is this same passion which clouds our judgment and prevents reason from having anything to do with it. Just look at Graves's case. The District Attorney who prosecuted him was told by his key witness that his testimony was a load of crap! (Not in those words, obviously). The DA chose to put the man on the stand anyway and then stood there calmly while an innocent man had an undeserved death sentence handed to him by the jury, another bunch of idiots I supect were blinded by their support for the death penalty. How else could they come to that verdict from the 'evidence' they were presented?

Gandhi was right. An eye for an eye is really making us all blind. Because if we cannot see that men like Graves are innocent, and that our addiction to the death penalty needs to be kicked, we must all be blind as bats.

You can read more about Graves's case at www.texasmonthly.com/

Happy Hallowe'en...

Just a quick note to say Happy Hallowe'en if you celebrate it.

Apologies for having not posted since the march... We've both been busy and away from home in the last fortnight so it's been hectic.

Also, hundreds of people marched for the abolition of the death penalty yesterday (Oct 30th) in Texas, including former death row convicts who were proven to be innocent. I haven't had time to properly research what happened but it sounds like everything went very well.

To see Death Watch; Stardoll's online march for abolition which we held on World Day Against the Death Penalty (10.10.10) click HERE

World Day Against the Death Penalty

Happy World Day Against the Death Penalty!!!

It's been a big day, and an extremely stressful day on our end. Myself and Scofield have been busy all day piecing together all the submissions from you guys for our Metaphorical March for Abolition (we kept getting new stuff as we were working!), and then we were arguing about what music to include, etc, and then movie maker stopped working for a long time which was just ridiculous... But it's here now!

The video of our 'march' is just up on YouTube so do check it out, but in case they remove our audio again we're posting it here too! Tell us what you think! We even had some submissions from people outside the group, which was wonderful, including a video clip from a group called 'Friends Meeting of Austin' I think! Thank you so much to everyone who got involved!

We've done a few other things for World Day Against the Death Penalty, but this is the main one. I've been protesting all week, Scofield's been wandering all over Scotland by the sound of it in her t-shirt, and she even did a special segment on her radio show on Wednesday, where she talked about the cause and played a few songs against the death penalty.

Death Watch; Stardoll's Metaphorical March for Abolition

Texas Judge orders inquiry into Todd Willingham conviction and execution

Judge Charlie Baird of Travis County in Texas today ordered a court inquiry to determine if Cameron Todd Willingham (pictured left) was wrongfully convicted and executed for committing the arson which killed his three daughters in their Corsicana home in 1991.

Willingham was executed in Huntsville, Texas in 2004, despite always insisting that he was innocent. Since then, numerous arson experts have said that there was no reason to suspect arson and that Texas executed an innocent man. But the matter has yet to be resolved and Willingham has still not recieved justice (even if it is too little, too late). This inquiry could be a big step in the right direction.

Judge Baird told the Star-Telegram that he has decided to move forward with the court inquiry into the Willingham case after reviewing a petition filed Friday by lawyers representing Willingham's relatives. In a telephone interview, Baird said: "I have decided that the petition warrants a hearing". The inquiry will be held in his courtroom on October 6th and 7th, but may be longer if necessary.

"Obviously the most troubling aspect of this - and it just dwarfs everything else - is whether or not to believe that an innocent person has been executed by the State of Texas," the judge said. He also said that the inquiry could lead to Willingham's posthumous exoneration. He stated that he has no preconceived view of Willingham's guilt or innocence but felt that the questions raised by Willingham's case justified further examination.
"I agree with them that they're entitled to a hearing but I wouldn't say at any level that he's innocent," Baird said. "A lot of this stuff has either been done piecemeal or in secret and this will bring it all to light."

Due to appear at the trial is a jail trusy who testified that Willingham admitted the crime while in jail awaiting trial. Gov. Rick Perry's chief counsel, the Texas Fire Marshal, the Navarro County district attorney and the state prosecuting attorney may also attend but are not required to do so.

Texas Governor Rick Perry, completely ignoring all the new opinions from experts, of course, is continuing to avidly defend the execution, and happily describes possibly-innocent Willingham as a 'monster'. Those of us who believe Willingham was in fact innocent have accused Perry of interfering with the commission's inquiry by ordering a shakeup of the membership during a crucial phase of the inquiry (he did and it was a blatant way of sweeping the matter under the rug - guilty conscience Perry???). He disagrees. Well, he would. Remember Perry, when you point one finger and say 'monster', there are always three fingers pointing right back at you.

This inquiry can't be a bad thing, but I'm worried that if the findings are significant, the powers that be (the powers that just love the death penalty) will find another way to sweep this under the rug. I think they need to remember that a human life may well have been cut short for no good reason at all, and nothing in the world can change that - further more, it might happen again and we cannot let that happen. Willingham is dead and finding out the truth won't bring him back to life. But it will give his family some peace of mind. And if he becomes a martyr for the death penalty, as terrible as it is, at least his death might prevent further innocent deaths. That all depends on whether the powers that be down in Texas have the balls to admit they made a terrible mistake.
One way or another, Baird says he can make a ruling within 2 weeks of the conclusion of the inquiry.

Our plans for World Day Against the Death Penalty (10/10/10) - First pics

So... It's 20 days until World Day Against the Death Penalty so it's time to act people!

Myself and ScofieldBurrows have finally (and I'm sorry they're quite late in comming) uploaded our pictures. Left are the front and back of the rather wonderful t-shirt ScofieldBurrows is going to wear in our video march for abolition, and on the right is the photo I took - I made a placard out of a cardboard box and some paint, very easy, very quick and something which I know every one of you could do so no excuses! :)

If you don't already know, we're holding a 'metaphorical march for abolition' on World Day Against the Death Penalty (10th October) and we want everybody to get involved. Basically, we want everyone to send in a photo or quick video clip of themself protesting the death penalty (like in my photo top right). We're also hoping to make a video for the One Day on Earth project (onedayonearth.org) because it also happens to be on 10.10.10! To see more info about both of these ideas, see the two posts previous to this, but please send your photos/video clips for the video to deathwatchstardoll@hotmail.co.uk as quickly as possible - we need as many as we can get before October 10th! This is our chance to make a mark on the world... please get involved. It can be anonymous - as you can see from my pic, you don't need to show your face at all.

Thank you - start taking those pictures!

Important and exciting update for the 10/10/10...

Hi everyone. I would like to apoligize for the fact that neither myself nor ScofieldBurrows has put an example picture up for the Metaphorical March for Abolition on the 10/10/10. My excuse is that my mother has my camera and is out of town, but she's coming back Friday morning. ScofieldBurrows emailed me to inform me she's made a t-shirt on CafePress especially for the event and is waiting on its arrival to wear in her photo. We hope to both put our pictures up for the weekend.

We haven't recieved any photos from you yet but I'll put that down to myself and Scofield having yet to upload. But we really want to start seeing photos coming in as soon as possible. October 10th may seem far away but it's actually only 24 days from now so please get invovled, we want this to be BIG especially now that we're going to be making the project even BIGGER!!!

ScofieldBurrows got an email earlier telling her about an event which is coincidently also happening on the 10/10/10! It's called 'One Day on Earth'. This is what she forwarded me:

If you haven't heard of the One Day on Earth project, it's time you did. On October 10th (10.10.10), people in every nation of the world will be documenting a topic that matters most to them over a 1 day period to contribute to a unique film and archive. Participants that contribute 1 minute or more will receive the film for free and access to the non-commercial downloadable archive. If you're game for a cool, easy and history-making project to participate in, this is the one for you.


How cool is that? The website is http://www.onedayonearth.org/ if you want to know more but I think this is the PERFECT opportunity for us to 1. Promote awareness of death penalty abolition and 2. Promote our organization. The fact that it falls on World Day Against the Death Penalty is just the icing on the cake! So we thought we could make another version of the video we're making for YouTube about our Metaphorical March for Abolition, possibly even with an introduction from myself and/or ScofieldBurrows? I think this is a fantastic opportunity. What do you think?

If you like this idea, show it! Send your photos or short video clips of you protesting the death penalty (by holding up a poster, banner, etc - can cover your face if you want) to deathwatchstardoll@hotmail.co.uk. Or you can put them somewhere on the internet and send me the link if you want. I don't care how you get involved, just please do! We're aiming high here... We'd like 50 people to have participated by October 9 when we make the video up... Get your friends involved, your family, your robot... GET INVOLVED!

You are Death Watch; Stardoll and this is your chance to showcase how great you are!

Our plans for World Day Against the Death Penalty (10/10/10)

M'kay then people, let's get to work. Here are our preliminary plans for probably the most important date in our calender this year, World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10th, one month from now.

Obiously we're a comparitively small organization with zero funding, so we can't do anything major. But we can still make a difference. As they say, every little helps!

The Plan:

First of all, we plan to hold our first ever 'Metaphorical March for Abolition'. We can't literally have a march because we're scattered all over the globe, but we can 'march' symbolically.

To do this, we're asking all our members who want to get involved (we'd hope that's all of you!) to take a photo or even a quick video clip of you 'marching'. The pictures to the left are of former protests, I think they're both from last years 10th Annual March Against the Death Penalty in Austin. We want to make up a video for our YouTube channel of us 'marching'. You can represent your feelings in any way - a placard or a banner, doesn't have to be much, even just a sheet of paper with your message on it. Your message doesn't have to be Shakespeare - 'end the death penalty' is fine. Stop executions. Etc. Whatever you want. If you're uncomfortable about showing your face, cover it with the sheet of paper, or just cut it out of the photo. Be as creative as you want. Why not show where you hail from? We're not talking about writing your zip code on the sheet (that'd be creepy), but you could stand next to a sign or famous landmark. For instance, ScofieldBurrows has told me she's trying to find a Scottish flag to wear. Anything. We don't care as long as you're getting involved!

We'll put up the pictures we take as soon as we've taken them to show you an example. And to show you we're not asking for much.

By the way, we're currently scouting for new managers for the Stardoll club, and this would be a perfect opportunity to show you get involved! Hint hint :)

Send your pictures (or questions, if you have them) to our email address: deathwatchstardoll@hotmail.co.uk

Tell your friends. Why not get them in the photo too? Remember, we don't need to see your faces! We just wanna see your support. And we need as many photos as we can get by October 9th when we'll make up the video ready for presentation on October 10th! What are you waiting for?

Tomorrow...

Just a heads up, tomorrow we will be unveiling our plans for World Day Against the Death Penalty (Oct 10th - 10/10/10 cool huh?) since it will be exactly one month tomorrow.

The 11th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty is this year being held on Saturday October 30th at 2pm in Ausin, Texas and starts outside the Texas State Capitol Building South Side (11th and Congress) I think. The details are all at:
http://marchforabolition.org/
This year, special guests include a number of exonerated former death row inmates, such as Curtis McCarty who spent 21 years in prison - 19 of which were on death row - in Oklahoma for a crime he didn't commit.
It promises to be a great event but I can't go because I'm stuck in Scotland, and Tiffany regrettably can't attend either this year but she's gonna try to get some pictures for us from her friends. If any of you are from the area and will be attending, we'd be really interested in hearing from you, seeing pictures, etc. Please email us at: deathwatchstardoll@hotmail.co.uk

Obviously, our organisation is from all over the world and we're young, so we can't do anything on that sort of scale, but we have a few plans which we hope will be really successful in raising awareness. Heads up; we'll be making good use of our YouTube channel we hope.

We want to do something special because this is the big day of the year for death penalty abolition, so we want to make our voices heard! We'll need your cooperation, but we won't be asking for too much so relax!

So check back tomorrow for us to begin preparations...
- ScofieldBurrows

Ohio Gov. commutes Kevin Keith's sentence

Breaking News...

Very quick article from me because it's late here in Scotland but I just saw this on Facebook and am delighted!

Ohio death row inmate Kevin Keith has been spared the death penalty by the Governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland. Kevin Keith was scheduled to be executed on September 15th and we've been working hard to prevent it. His sentence has now been commuted to life without parole.

Keith has maintained his innocence since his 1994 conviction. Strickland had previously stated he found the case 'troubling', and cited an absense of full investigation, a failure to investigate other possible suspects, and an over-reliance on eyewitness testimony.

I've always thought Keith's conviction was dodgy, and now that he's not facing imminent death they can pursue his claim of innocence more carefully and, should he be found innocent, he'll probably still be breathing when it happens.

This is a tremendous victory. The board of paroles advised Strickland 8-0 not to commute the sentence, but Strickland thought the case was troubling and did what he thought was right. Not like in Texas, where an entire board can advise the governor against an execution and he'll still go through with it...

But we'll take small victories where we can get them.

Texas Warden Retires After 140 Executions

Charles Thomas O'Reilly, warden of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Huntsville Unit, retired on Monday after having presided over out about 140 exexutions.

O'Reilly, who turns 60 on Wednesday, says he leaves with no reservations and no nightmares. He began execution duty in September of 2004, but has been with the Texas prison agency for over 33 years.

Although he didn't keep an exact tally of the number of inmates whose executions he oversaw, he estimates it is around 140. That accounts for about a third of all the executions in Texas since it resumed executions in 1982.

If I'd watched 140 people die, regardless of what they had done, and had 'no reservations' about it, I'd worry I was a sociopath.

Teresa Lewis - 'Unfit for Execution'

A friend emailed me this article from 'Newsweek' which I thought I would post. It's about Virginia's only female death row inmate, Teresa Lewis, who is due to die on September 23rd. I'd like to point out that Teresa Lewis didn't actually kill anybody. She participated, but she didn't physically kill a soul. I'll let this article do the talking though. It was written by Lynn Litchfield, chaplain at Fluvanna Correctional Centre for Women in Virginia from 1998 to 2009.



For 6 years, I regularly spent an hour talking and listening through a small slot in a metal door. On the other side was the only woman on death row in Virginia, an inmate who pleaded guilty to hiring 2 men to kill her husband and stepson, allegedly in exchange for a cut of the insurance money. Sometimes I was allowed to sit in a chair as I stooped down to hear her, give her communion, or just hold her hand; usually I alternated between half-squatting or kneeling on the concrete floor. As chaplain at Virginia's only maximum-security prison for women, I expected to minister under challenging circumstances. These visits were unbearable, however, and not because of the physical conditions. It was my feeling—at first fleeting, now certain—that this woman doesn't deserve to die.

On Sept. 23, barring the governor's unlikely pardon or the Supreme Court taking her case, Teresa Lewis will die in the electric chair or by lethal injection (she hasn't chosen). She lost a federal appeal earlier this summer, putting her in line to be the 1st woman the state has killed in 98 years—and the 12th nationally since the high court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. She'll be the 1st of at least 16 executions scheduled across the country in the next 6 months, and the latest in a long, sad list of mentally handicapped people to receive a punishment they don't deserve. I'm not advocating for her release or making excuses for her crime. She isn't, either. But I am calling for clemency. The death penalty is too blunt and final for a world about which we can never be certain. More than 130 death-row inmates have been released for wrongful convictions in recent years. Even when someone pleads guilty, as Teresa did, there's almost always more to the story.
Teresa arrived at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women the same day she was sentenced in 2003. She wore blue scrubs; chains around her ankles, waist, and hands; and a bewildered expression. It's common for inmates to project you-can't-hurt-me indignation. But Teresa seemed meek, almost pliant. When I hugged her—the only hug we ever shared—she was so grateful. She didn't look like a remorseless killer, a "mastermind" who plotted 2 murders, as the judge put it (her original lawyers did little to dispute this image). In one of our sessions, she collapsed into great soul-shattering, body-heaving sobs and cried into my wrist, the only part of me I could get through the slot in the door.
Teresa stood out to me in other ways, too. Beneath a gloss of social pleasantries, she seemed slow and overly eager to please—an easy mark, in other words, for a con. A Duke University psychiatrist who testified at a 2005 postconviction hearing said she has an IQ of 72, placing her on the cusp of mental retardation as the Supreme Court defines it. Also disclosed since Teresa's original trial: a 2003 letter from 1 of the 2 men who carried out the killings admitting that it was he, not she, who masterminded the murders. Still, the state Supreme Court, a U.S. District Court, and, most recently, a U.S. Court of Appeals, have upheld the ruling that Teresa deserves to die. The actual killers got life in prison.
Last year, as Teresa's prospects receded, I left the prison ministry. On the inside, I was forbidden from speaking out. Now I can help her cause. My 5-year-old daughter recently asked me what an execution was, and I told her it's when someone is killed as punishment for killing someone else. "But she didn't actually kill anyone," my daughter said. No, but she participated, I explained, and in the state's eyes, that's enough. "Don't they know that doing bad to someone, even if they did bad to you, is wrong?" she responded. It's a good question.

URGENT ACTION NEEDED FOR KEVIN KEITH

Urgent action is needed to spare Kevin Keith from execution in Ohio on September 15th.

Ohio's Parole Board voted against clemency for the 46 year old African American man (right), who has always maintained his innocence. The case now rests in the hands of Governor Strickland, who has already said that he finds parts of Keith's case "troubling".

If you want to read about the Keith case in detail, follow this link to our earlier post about Kevin Keith.
In summary, Keith was sentenced to death for the 1994 murders of three people. There are some SERIOUS problems with his case, including the police's use of 'suggestive techniques' in identifying Keith as the killer, and much more. I honestly do not believe that this man is guilty. There is most definitely reasonable doubt. He should not be executed on September 15th.

Thousands of people have already called for clemency for Kevin Keith, including several former federal and state judges and prosecutors. They include former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Herbert Brown, and former state Attorney General Jim Petro. Petro has said that he is “gravely concerned that the State of Ohio may be on the verge of executing an innocent person.” That makes two of us.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION.

There is a petition you can sign to the right of this page (I'm not sure if it's still valid though, we may need to update).

The best course of action you can take is to send an appeal directly to Governor Strickland AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Keith will be executed on September 15th so time is of the essence. You should note the serious doubts raised about Keith's guilty, note the fallibility of the eyewitness testimony which is central to the prosecutions case, and call on the Governor to commute Kevin Keith's death sentence on the grounds that he might be innocent and this punishment is irreversible. You can find out about some of the striking problems with the case in our previous post about Kevin Keith

Send your appeals to:

Governor
Ted Strickland
Governor's Office,
Riffe Center, 30th Floor
77 South High Street,
Columbus, OH 43215-6108
USA

Or Fax: 1 614 466 9354

Start your letter/fax with the salutation 'Dear Governor'.

I am about to pen a letter on behalf of Death Watch; Stardoll. I really hope you will take the time to help. A man's life is at stake here and we have to act fast. Please, help.

Final appeal for Bali Nine Scott Rush

Scott Rush, one of the infamous Bali Nine drug smugglers, is to make a final appeal against his death sentence.

Rush was arrested in 2005 at Denpasar airport in Bali, trying to smuggle 1.3kg of heroin strapped to his body. He was just 19. The Australian is one of three Bali Nine members to have recieved a death sentence for his part in the smuggling ring.

After being sentenced to life imprisonment, Rush had his appeal for a shorter denied by the High Court. When his lawyers then took the case to the Supreme Court in 2008, he lost again but at a terrible price - the court handed him a death sentence instead.

This is his last chance chance to have a court cancel his death sentence.

"I often wake up having nightmares," Rush told yesterday's hearing. "I often think about the firing squad and how long it would take me to die."

He told the court that he would like to be "an ambassador against drugs" and how he is "the living example of how drugs can destroy lives and do cause family and friends so much unhappiness, pain and distress".

If this final appeal fails, Rush's only hope would be to seek clemency from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The president, who took office in 2004, has never granted clemency to a drug criminal before.

Virginia set to end face-to-face visits for death row inmates

35 states of America have the death penalty, and 34 of them allow face-to-face visits for inmates on death row. Kansas is the cruel exception, forcing inmates to conduct their visits with family, other loved ones, etc via video conference. Now Virginia plans to join them.

The state correction officials favour the policy because it's apparently less intrusive on the visitors, as well as being less labor-intensive on staff (ie. they only have to press a button). They also say it could lead to expanded visitation opportunities. Sounds pretty limited to me - you can't kiss your wife or hold your child's hand through a TV screen. The relatives of inmates on Virginia's death row are calling it a cruel and unnecessary policy. I agree entirely.

Apart from Kansas, as of right now all other death penalty states allow face to face visits. Some states allow contact visits (ie you're allowed to touch), but most have a sheet of glass between inmates and visitors. Ohio has glass but also has a slot to allow inmates and visitors to hold hands.

If you've ever seen something in person and then seen it on film, you might know what I'm talking about when I say that you really lose something when you put a thing on film. In my opinion, this is just cruel. If I was forced to spend 23 hours a day cooped up in a small box, I would spend every waking moment savoring the thought of seeing my loved ones in the flesh, even if it was through a sheet of reinforced glass.

As of September 1st, Virginia's death row population will sadly not have this 'luxury'.

CA Governor Schwarzenegger wastes $64 million on new death row

I've always been a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger, not so much on the political side of things as opposed the silver screen, but my opinion of him is dropping rapidly.

It began in Sacramento on Wednesday when the California Governor announced that he planned to 'borrow' an eye-watering $64 millions from the already almost-broke General Fund. Why? Well, to build a new death row facility at San Quentin of course!

It gets worse. $64 million is nothing - the new facility is expected to cost upwards of $400 million in total.

California doesn't need more debts. Even if you're in favour of the death penalty, I bet you can't look me in the eyes and say that this will be $400 million well spent.

California already has the largest and most expensive death row in America - by FAR. There are over 700 death row inmates in California. Los Angeles County alone sends more people to death row than the entire state of Texas. And yet, nearly all of California's death row might as well be sentenced to life without parole - they nearly all die of natural causes as opposed to state-sponsored murder.

And each of those pointless death sentences is costing the state a small fortune. The state could save at least $1.1 million in each trial if it was seeking permanent imprisonment instead of the death penalty. That's just the trial. The annual cost of California's death penalty is $126 million. Per year.

So take that $400 million figure and make it more like $1 billion in five years.

To summarise, Governor Schwarzenegger could save the California taxpayers a heck of a lot of money if he would only chuck the death penalty out of the window and commute all the current death sentences to life imprisonment. No imate gets of lightly. Justice is still served - and quickly - for murder victims and their families; no decades of waiting and having the ordeal dredged up with every new appeal and clemency hearing and execution date set and reset. It is basically a cheaper, quicker and less painful way of doing things for everyone involved.

Thank you to James Clark, Death Penalty Field Organiser of ACLU California, who wrote the report this post is based on.

If you have any ideas how that $64 million could be better spent, why not Tweet Governor Schwarzenegger and let him know. Tweet @Schwarzenegger Say No to Death Row! Spend #64million on [insert your preferred state program] #cabudget.

Alabama executes Michael Jeffrey Land

Michael Jeffrey Land (41) was put to death on Saturday August 14th by the state of Alabama.

Land was convicted of the 1992 murder of Candace Brown, a 30 year old mother who was kidnapped from her home and later found dead on Ruffner Mountain. She had been shot in the head.

When asked if he had any final statements, Land said: "No. Thank you though."

Chris Summers, the Chaplain of Holman Correctional Facility, then got on one knee and held Land's hand. He prayed with him until Land became unconscious.

Land was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m. at Holman Prison, Atmore. He had been on Alabama's death row for 17 years. He is the third inmate to be put to death in Alabama this year, the 47th overall since Alabama resumed the death penalty in 1983, and the 1223rd in the USA since the nation resumed executions in 1977.

Ohio executes Roderick Davie

Roderick Davie (38) was executed by lethal injection in the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility on Tuesday morning.

Family of Davie's two victims sat quietly together as the execution proceded.

Davie was convicted of the 1991 murder of a man and a woman at his former workplace in Trunbull County. In the attack he also shot a man three times who lived to attend the execution.

After making a final statement in which he apologized to the family members of his victims and the survivor of his attack, as well as thanking his own family for their love and support, the lethal cocktail was administered. The warden pronounced him dead at 10:31a.m.

Davie is the seventh death row inmate to be executed by Ohio this year, and the 40th since 1999.

Taliban flogs and executes pregnant woman

35 year old pregnant widow Bibi Sanubar was publicly flogged and then executed by the Taliban in Afghanistan on Sunday.

The Afghan woman was accused of having had an "illicit affair" which left her pregnant. She was kept in captivity for three days, punished with 200 lashes in public, and was then shot three times in the head.

Taliban commander Mohammad Yousuf is said to have carried out the execution before the woman's body was dumped in an area under government control.

A Taliban spokesman on Monday denied that the militia was responsible for Sanubar's death:
"We have not done anything like that in Badghis or any other province" said Qari Yosuf Ahmadi. He called the report "propaganda" by foreigners and the Western-backed Afghan government.

The execution has been confirmed by Mohammad Nasir Nazaari, head of Badghis provincial council. He said the Qadis district, where the execution was carried out, was entirely under Taliban control.

Since their ouster in 2001, hardline Taliban militants have executed many people accused of spying for foreign forces, including children as young as 7 or 8, and another woman, a mother of five, whose death has been watched by millions after secret film of her publicly being dragged out, forced to kneel and shot in the head was leaked.

Abdul Qadir Rahimi, head of the Afgan Independant Human Rights Commission in western Afghanistan, condemned Sunday's killing:

"Any such trial is unacceptable and is a violation of human rights. All trials must take place in an authorised court observing every single measure of justice."

Any execution is a violation of human rights, I believe. But this... If this is what the world has come to, we ought to hang our heads in shame.

DNA clears innocent man in Houston... after 27 YEARS behind bars

27 years after his conviction, Houston inmate Michael Anthony Green (45) is expected to be freed this week in light of new DNA evidence proving his innocence.

In 1983, Green was sentenced to 75 years in prison for the rape of a Houston woman. His conviction was based on faulty eyewitness identifation, says his attorney, Bob Wicoff.

27 years in prison is the longest time that any innocent Texan has spent in prison before being exonerated. If he is freed, Green will become the second innocent man from Harris County to be released from prison THIS WEEK. Last Friday, Allen Wayne Porter was also released based on new DNA testing after serving 19 years behind bars for a rape he didn't commit.

In this case, justice prevailed. Hallelujah. It's terrible that an innocent man spent such a large portion of his life jailed for someone else's crime, but at least this story has a happy ending. If this had been a death penalty case, the reality is he probably would have been executed 20 years ago. This is Harris County's second exoneration in a week. How many more innocent men are sitting in unjustified prison cells? I wonder. How many are on death row right now? If we want to see justice prevailing like this and innocent men being handed their lives back, we must have a moratorium on the death penalty. The next innocent man might not be so lucky.

Ohio executes William L Garner

Ohio executed William L Garner (37) at 10:38 this morning at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility.

Garner died by lethal injection for the 1992 arson in Cincinnati which resulted in the deaths of 5 children. The lone survivor of the crime, Rod Mack, who was just 13 at the time, was amongst the witnesses at Garner's execution.

Garner is the 6th man to be executed in Ohio this year, and the 31st to be put to death so far this year in the US.

URGENT APPEAL FROM AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Kevin Keith is a 46 year old African American male who is scheduled to be executed in the state of Ohio on September 15th for 3 murders he has always claimed he did not commit.

On February 13th 1994, someone fatally shot Marichell Chatman, her 7 year old daughter, and her aunt, as well as injuring her two young cousins and her boyfriend. Keith, an occasional babysitter, was arrested on the 15th of February. Three days later, one of the two cousins who survived the shooting told the police that the gunman was her "daddy's friend, Bruce", and when shown Keith's photo, she said he was not the shooter. But less than 4 months later, Kevin Keith was sitting on death row awaiting execution for the murders.

The prosecution claimed that, whilst in hospital, one of the victim's, Richard Warren,  named Kevin Keith as the shooter. A police officer testified that he first heard the name 'Kevin' from Warren's nurse, Amy Gimmets. Amy Gimmets was not called as a witness during trial. In 2007, Keith's lawyers discovered why. No one by that name had ever been employed at the hospital. The victim's attending nurse was a woman named Amy Whisman, who later signed a statement saying that, although she had called the police when Warren woke up after surgery, she had neither asked him nor been told by him who the gunman was.

Keith's attorneys argue that it was the police who suggested the name Kevin to the victim not the other way round, and that immediately after the shooting Warren told four different people that he didn't know who the gunman was. The day after the crime, however, the police called Warren and offered him the names of four 'Kevins', including Kevin Keith, and that Warren then selected 'Keith' as the surname. That phone call was not reported, and so we can't know if it really happened. But when videotaped later that evening, Warren said he did not know 'Kevin's' last name. He was shown photographs of six men including Kevin Keith, and the photo of Keith was the only one providing a facial close-up (a hint-hint, in other words). Warren chose the photo of Keith.

13 US experts in eyewitness identification note that "fault eyewitness identification is the single most likely factor to result in wrongfrul conviction". They concluded that Warren's identification of Keith was "tainted by many factors". The police used suggestive techniques. They hinted at Keith so much that, in his shocked and likely fragile condition, Warren was inclined to start questioning his own uncertainties about the gunman and choose Keith.

Furthermore, how reliable is the testimony of another eyewitness who caught a brief glimpse of the fleeing gunman, initially couldn't identify him, and then only identified him as Keith after Keith appeared on television news???

In light of all this newly discovered evidence that the state withheld evidence favorable to Keith, his lawyers are seeking a new trial and executive clemency.

There is a LOT more evidence which sheds doubt on Keith's guilt, but I'd be here all day writing it down. If you want to find out more, email me and I can send you some stuff. But I personally believe Kevin Keith is about as guilty of those murders as I am (and I was no where near Ohio in 1994, trust me). Amnesty International doesn't know if he's guilty of the crimes for which he was sentenced to death, but in any event unconditionally opposes any use of the death penalty anywhere, as I do. That's why I'm doing what I can to spare him from the lethal injection. If you have even the smallest doubt about his guilt, please help.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Send appeals as soon as possible to:
Ohio Parole Board

770 West Broad Street

Columbus, Ohio 43222, USA



Fax: 1 614 752 0600


Email: drc.publicinfo@odrc.state.oh.us


In your letter, you should:
- Note the serious doubts that have been raised about Kevin Keith's guilt (so if you want to know more, please do get in touch to us at deathwatchstardoll@hotmail.co.uk - we're always happy to provide anyone information they require)
- Explain that you do not seek to excuse the murders in this case or to downplay that suffering cause (the pro-death penalty folk are so keen to think of us as sympathisers of murderers...)
-Call on the Ohio Parole Board to recomment that Governor Ted Strickland commute this death sentence.
- And you should start with 'Dear Board members'

There is also a petition you can sign which will be presented to the Board at the hearing on August 11th.

http://criminaljustice.change.org/petitions/view/relief_urgently_needed_for_innocent_man_on_ohios_death_row
 
The link to the petition is also at the right hand side of the blog.
 
 
If you have even the slightest hint of doubt about Kevin Keith's guilt, please try to help. It is wrong to risk innocent lives at any time, but when there is blatant doubt about guilt it is even worse. It will only take a few minutes to send an email, write a letter, or sign the petition. An innocent life could be at stake here.

Executed at 8 - Taliban's shocking death penalty regime

(Info from The Age, June 24th 2010) - The Taliban has executed an eight-year-old boy who was accused of "collaborating" with foreign forces.
'Islam does not permit anyone to sentence a minor to execution,'' said Mawlawi Mehr Del, deputy head of the Muslim clerical council in Helmand. ''It is against Islam, against sharia. God may be extremely upset with them. Those who do something like this are neither jihadis nor Taliban, they are enemies of human life.''

It is illegal under islamic law to execute anyone under the age of 18. Even in the Taliban's own code of conduct which was drawn up by the movement two years ago, no commander may order the execution of minors. And, surely, any person other than Satan himself should be aware that executing 7 and 8 year old children is evil.

Senior Taliban member Mullah Abdul Bari disagrees, apparently, suggesting that the code of conduct does not apply in Helmand because "the number of infidels there has increased, and the Taliban don't have time to hold trials". Basically, therefore, local commanders in Helmand province can do as they please to people accused of spying.

The eight-year old was named Delawar. He was executed in a garden near his home in the village of Heratian in the Sangin district of Helmand. Accused of spying for British forces, the boy is reported to have screamed for his parents before the group of approximately 12 militants put the rope around his neck and hanged him.

The child's father, Abdul Quddus, initially reported that the Taliban had killed his son but now claims "ghosts" did it, and won't talk further. Of course he won't. If they'll hang an eight-year-old child, what do you think they'd do to a man who got them in trouble?

Worse still, the child's grandfather Naqubullah claims the boy was only hanged (under the pretext of spying) because the boy's father was too poor to pay the $US600 which local Taliban commanders tried to extort from him the day before the hanging.

This comes only a fortnight after the reported June 8th Taliban execution of a seven-year-old child for supposedly spying for the government, also in the Helmand province.

During a news conference the Afgan President Hamid Karzai told that officials were looking into reports of the execution, and said he condemned the act if it is confirmed to be true, calling it "a crime against humanity."

Newly elected British Prime Minister David Cameron said during a news conference in Kabul: "If this is true, it is an absolutely horrific crime. If true, I think it says more about the Taliban than any book, than any article, than any speech could ever say."


"Horrific" doesn't do it justice in my opinion. There are no words strong enough to trully express how sickening this is. Seven and eight years old. How can that be justice?

Utah executes Gardner by firing squad... And attorney-general tweets about it

In the early hours of Friday June 18th, Utah death row inmate Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by a firing squad.

In front of nine media witnesses, Gardner sat locked into the chair, head held upright, as the prison warden draped the black hood over his head and fixed a small target over his left breast using Velcro. The 5 man firing squad then readied their weapons, only 4 of which were loaded with live ammunition allowing some doubt in their minds as to who committed the act. Shots rang out. Several witnesses later described Gardner moving his hand and arm after he was shot. At 12:20 a.m. MST, he was dead. The medical examiner lifted Gardner's hood, revealing his ashen face, mouth hanging open, very dead.

The execution is reminiscent of the good old days when men were marched up to brick walls, given a ceremonial last cigarette, blindfolded, and then shot dead. However, the method by which Utah's attorney general announced the execution was anything but old fashioned.

"I just gave the go ahead to Corrections Director to proceed with Gardner's execution" tweeted attorney general Mark Shurtleff. "May God grant him the mercy he denied his victims."

I don't use Twitter because it irritates me - people I barely know and certainly don't care about tweeting every few minutes about eating breakfast or thinking about going to the pub. This makes what the AG did even more shocking. To announce that a man is about to be killed in such a casual way is almost as sickening as the awful way in which the execution was carried out. Sure, Gardner chose that method. But then again, it may well have seemed like the lesser of two evils in his mind. The barbaric nature of the execution was such that even some of the friends and relatives of Gardner's VICTIMS were amongst those petitioning for a commuted sentence.

I'm sickened by Shurtleff's disgusting disregard for the sanctity of human life. I'm sickened by the cruel way this man died. But most of all, I'm sickened that - as we continue to kill and kill in methods old and new - nobody seems to realise how outdated the death penalty is.

If we've come to a point where it's acceptable to announce whether an execution will proceed or not on TWITTER, then we've come to a point where a moratorium on the death penalty is not only desirable. It's essential.

2 executed in Somalia for watching the World Cup

While the rest of the world (including Stardoll) throws themselves whole-heartedly into the spirit of the World Cup, 2 football fans were reportedly executed by Islamist militants in Somalia on June 14th.

Islamist groups had banned Somalis from watching World Cup matches on TV, claiming that watching football is 'un-Islamic' and saying it distracts citizens from their duty to overthrow the troubled east African country's government.

Ali Yasin Gedi, vice-chairman of the Elman rights groups, said that "Islamists unexpectedly entered houses in Afgoi district and fired (at) some people who tried to jump over the wall to escape."

Gunmen from the Hizbul Islam group swooped on homes in the Afgoi district, 19 miles south of the capital Mogadishu and executed two football fans while arresting dozens of others.

David Powell Executed

David Lee Powell was executed in Huntsville last night (06.15.10)

Powell, 59, was sentenced to death for the murder of Austin police officer Ralph Ablanedo 32 years ago. Seven members of Ablanedo's family watched silently from nearby as Powell took his last breath.

Powell had no final words. The lethal cocktail of drugs began to flow through his veins at 6:10pm. He was pronounced dead nine minutes later.

After the execution, Bruce Mills, a former Austin police officer who was a friend of the victim and later married his widow, said he felt as if a weight had been lifted. "Relief would be the word to describe it."

Yes. An old used-up convict who had already served 32 years on death row with excemplary behaviour, and who was "infinitely sorry that [he] killed Ralph Ablanedo", has been executed. What a relief.

Powell was a model inmate in the 3 decades he spent on death row. He helped illiterate prisoners to learn to read and counseled others on death row. He was no longer a threat to society.

Roughly 150 current and former Austin police officers waited outside the Walls Unit in Huntsville, Texas, where the death chamber is located.


There were protesters there too. When it became obvious that the execution was going to go ahead, they stood silently and kept their distance from the officers.

So Powell is dead. Ablanedo is still dead. Ablanedo would still be dead if Powell's sentence had been paroled to life without parole. So this was a great use of 32 years worth of time and money. I hope Texas feels mighty proud of itself. Another man dead. The folly.

And so it goes on and on and on...

David Powell scheduled for execution tomorrow (June 15th)

I am of the belief that the execution of David Powell has lost its meaning somewhat after his 32 years on death row. Clearly, Texas's trusty parole board doesn't agree as they unanimously declined to commute his sentence. Powell's life now lies in the hands of Governor Rick Perry who can still grant a 30 day reprieve... The same Rick Perry who has allowed 220 executions in his state since he became governor....

Things aren't looking good.

Powell is now 59 and has been on death row for 32 years for the murder of police officer Ralph Ablanedo. The Austin Police Association has chartered a bus and booked a block of discounted hotel rooms because they want as many officers as possible to stand outside the prison walls at the execution.

A field trip to an old man's death. Makes you proud to be an American, huh? Why don't we just go back to public lynchings on the courthouse lawn while we're at it?

If you too feel that Powell, now a reformed and aging convict convicted of a crime which occured over 3 long decades ago (before most of those cops were even BORN), does not deserve to die, you can contact Governor Rick Perry urging him to grant a 30 day stay of execution on the following number:

(512) 463-1782

Or you can email him via the email form on his website: http://governor.state.tx.us/contact/

Appart from the killing of Ablanedo, undoubtedly a terrible but ancient crime, Powell does not have a history of violence. In his 32 years on death row, he has shown deep remorse for the crime, even apologizing to the family of the victim. He has managed to make something of his life since his incarceration, by helping so many others on death row, teaching and mentoring scores of people. You can find out more about the man at letdavidlive.org/

He does not the deserve the death penalty, and he certainly does not deserve the public spectacle that they are making of him.

But I'm perfectly happy to admit that I think Rick Perry is an immoral and undoubtedly stupid man. Whether he will see sense and have just a smidge of mercy, just this once, is highly debatable.

For now, all we can do is pray.

Ready, aim... Fire?

Let’s pretend, just for a moment, that I believe in the death penalty (ha, ha). If I had to choose the best way to kill a person, I’d say a bullet to the brain – the method adopted by China until they recently converted to lethal injection because it’s so much more civilized. A bullet to the brain does what it says on the tin – it’s fast, cheap, and guaranteed to work, unlike the electric chair which can short out and cause heads to catch fire, the lethal injection which can take hours to be carried out, hanging which can cause a slow death by suffocation or a beheading… You get the point.

But a bullet to the brain would not be very pleasant to the witnesses or, indeed, the executioners. Loud and certainly very gory. Not like the lethal injection, where the condemned is drugged to a state of complete paralysis and so can’t even flutter an eyelid to indicate the agony they’re almost certainly in while the potassium chloride kills them. We’re not taking into account what’s pleasant for the inmate, of course, because although the constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment, the real reasoning behind changing execution methods is to convince the public that execution is acceptable. The gallows replaced the guillotine; the electric chair replaced the gallows; and lethal injection replaced the electric chair. The process became all the more clinical and all the more palatable, while the actual suffering of the inmate in question probably got worse along the way.

Did you know that the man who invented the current lethal injection cocktail, Fred Leuchter, stated he would rather be electrocuted than to die by his own method? That says rather a lot about the so-called ‘humane’ lethal injection.

In my opinion, lethal injection is a truly awful way to die. Watch the movie Dead Man Walking with Susan Sarandon if you want to see an accurate reconstruction of an execution by lethal injection. In front of god knows how many witnesses, the condemned is strapped to a gurney with their arms outstretched as though being crucified, paralyzed to a state of frozen helplessness, and killed in what is most likely an agonizing manner. It is a most humiliating way to kill another human being.

Perhaps that is why Ronnie Lee Gardner seems determined that his execution be carried out by firing squad.

I’m not saying firing squad is a particularly nice way to die, either. You are strapped to a chair with a blindfold and a target over your heart. Death is caused by massive damage to the heart, central nervous system and other vital organs, or a combination, as well as hemorrhaging. Unlike my bullet-to-the-brain scenario, it mightn’t be instant. The executioners stand at a distance, and they aren’t guaranteed to hit the target. You might die slowly and, most probably, in terrible pain.

Utah is one of only two states which have death by firing squad on the books, and only for inmates sentenced before 2004. When asked which method he would like to die by, Gardner replied “I would like death by firing squad, please.” Although his execution is penciled in for June 18th, by firing squad, Utah is mighty reluctant to grant his wish.

You can appreciate their hesitance. Let’s face it – there’s going to be blood. Lots of it. There’s a distinct possibility that Gardner will slowly bleed to death in front of thirty or so witnesses. That’s going to embarrass the state a lot. It may even open a few eyes, cause a public outcry, and perhaps even catalyze a moratorium. Who knows how much damage could be caused when those bullets start flying, and not just to Ronnie Lee.

I don’t know whether Gardner was plotting when he chose the firing squad, or whether he really does think death by firing squad is preferable to lethal injection (I’m honestly not sure which way I’d prefer), but he’s really got Utah in a pickle. He might well be thinking they’ll commute his sentence to life imprisonment to avoid public embarrassment (and they honestly might, in my opinion). Or, he might want his execution to bring about the scenarios I mentioned – eye-opening, et cetera. Maybe he wants people to see grown men pump him full of bullets in an apparently civilized country on June 18th. Maybe he just wants to be remembered.

Either way, June 18th is drawing closer and closer. Utah better make up its mind. The rifles are loaded, the stage is set. But will the United States allow this bloody and brutal execution? Right now, it’s anybody’s bet.