Wow! Conservative Pittsburgh talk radio host, KDKA's Robert Pratte just said
live on air that if a legislator is brave enough to introduce a bill to
abolish the death penalty in Pennsylvania, that he would support him. He
said it several times. I think he means it and I couldn't agree more.
Rob's reasoning goes something like this: it's a waste of money and we shouldn't be wasting money on it at a time when important things, like education, are being cut from PA's budget. He says we can't shorten the appeals process and that he doesn't want to see an innocent person executed.
With the abolition of the death penalty in Connecticut, there are five states in five years that have abolished it. We're now at a total of 17 states without capital punishment. And there's more coming. I want to make sure that PA is one of the next to end this barbaric practice.
We can do this. We must.
Showing posts with label exoneration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exoneration. Show all posts
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
How Many Exonerations Will it Take?
How many innocent people must we put on death row before we
realize our system is flawed? How long should we run the risk of executing an
innocent person before we abolish a system that has lost a considerable amount
of support over the years?
The recent exoneration of Joe D’Ambrosio on January 23, 2012
marked the 140th exoneration since 1973. Of the 140, six have come
from Pennsylvania, but 219 people still remain on death row in the state.
In 2011, Gussie Vann of Tennessee was the 139th
exoneree when Senior Judge Donald P. Harris overturned Vann’s 1994 conviction. This
was yet another example of ineffective assistance of council. In
Vann’s case, the Judge ruled, in part, that the defense attorney’s inadequate
preparation allowed Vann to be convicted based on ““inaccurate,
exaggerated and speculative medical testimony."
If we have exonerated 140 people since 1973, how many of the
3,222 people currently on death row are innocent? And more importantly, how
many of the 1,279 people were, in fact, not guilty of the crimes for which
they were sentenced to die?
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Beccaria Kickstarter: A Note from Aja Beech
Hello Friends,
I am so excited to say that Beccaria was accepted for a Kickstarter Fundraising opportunity- now to raise the funds! Below is a link to the project where donations can be made and some more information about Beccaria, a chapbook of art and poetry on the death penalty. Donations can start at $1- and every little bit helps. We need to raise $750. Please consider making a small donation and make sure to pass this on.
Beccaria is a chapbook of poetry which brings awareness to the death penalty in Pennsylvania. The chapbook is a compilation of the art and poetry of murder victims' family members, current death row inmates and exonerated death row prisoners. The first printing of the chapbook was funded through a Leeway Art and Change Grant. This project is to fund the second printing. The chapbook in its entirety can be viewed here.
The Leeway Foundation site states the intention of the chapbook "is to make a powerful artistic statement that could potentially encourage those that read it to consider whether the death penalty truly serves the needs of victims or the community at large."
Read a review of Beccaria here
Beccaria contributers:
Delbert Tibbs, David Keaton, Mary DeWitt, Reginald Lewis, Jan Williams, Devon Williams, Elizabeth Johnson, Hasan Shakur, Aja Beech
Sincerely,
Aja Beech
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