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On this page we'll provide information on opportunities for public witness, education, important court decisions and general news items relevant to abolishing the death penalty
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| October 10, 2008 |
2008 Newark Community Day Straw Poll results:
1. Are you in favor of abolishing the death penalty in Delaware?
306 votes cast
Yes: 167 (55%)
No: 132 (43%)
Undecided: 7 (2%)
2. Should jury duty in death penalty cases include witnessing the execution?
291 votes cast
Yes: 73 (25%)
No: 213 (73%)
Undecided: 3 (1%)
“optional”: 2 (.6%)
3. Do the people of Delaware devalue human life by having the death penalty?
290 votes cast
Yes: 123 (42%)
No: 162 (56%)
Undecided: 5 (2%)
4. Would you be in favor of abolishing the death penalty in order to save the state money?
277 votes cast
Yes: 160 (58%)
No: 116 (42%)
Undecided: 1 (<1%)
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| October 8, 2008 |
Delaware Citizens Opposed to the Death Penalty Minutes -- 10/8/08
Present were: Sally Milbury-Steen, Mary Starkweather-White, Kevin O’Connell, Kristin Froehlich, Rosemary Haines, John Beer, and Tom Eleuterio.
Regrets: Connie Kreshtool, Sandy Jones.
Checking In with Families of Death Row Inmates/ BLAC Update: There was no report.
Minutes of 9/10/08 Meeting: The minutes were approved.
Treasurer’s Report: On 9/10/08 we had a beginning balance of $2,761.27. We had the following income: Newark Community Day sales--$52.77 (DCODP); contributions--$105.00 (DCODP—in response to the newsletter!); for a total income of $157.77. We had a $100 expense (DCODP) for bulk mailing. Our ending balance on 10/8/08 was $2,819.04 (BLAC--$1,108.14; DCODP--$1,474.47; MERCY2--$236.43).
Educational events:
Newark Community Day: Many people signed the petition.
The weather was uncomfortably hot, but it was nice for the Pacem and DCODP tables to be next to each other. We may ask for the same arrangement next year. One possible question for next year could be based on a comparison of the length of death row inmates and lifers’ life span in prison and the resulting economics of each. Some considerations for Newark Community Day next year: We know that people like to sign petitions, so we could have petitions available. We could have pictures of the people who have been put to death with their dates. (This information is available on the DOC website.) We could pass out a list of who is on death row. We could pass out handouts about the facts of life on Delaware’s death row. (Kevin can cull this information from a transcript of the testimony taken in the Cook trial.) We could pass out a handout about a case similar to the Troy Davis case, where people can sign a petition or take immediate action to try to save an innocent person on death row. Any concrete action people can take when confronted with the issue of the death penalty is welcome. We could have a chart of the decrease over time of the number of executions.
Synergy with Amnesty International: We could try to find synergy with Amnesty International. The UD chapter is starting up again and they could perhaps work with us on Community Day. Tom is connected to it and will keep us posted.
At the Death House Door: Kevin has contacted Drew Fennell of the ACLU and is waiting to hear back from her. There is a website dealing with the movie itself. We can find out its availability from that. Janet Leban of the Delaware Center for Justice said that they would like to co-sponsor the event with contributions of money and a mailing list. Amnesty International could contribute as well. We could have a speaker as well as the film at the UD’s Trabant Center in 2009.
Annual Meeting (11/19/08): Sally will check with the NCADP about a speaker this year. Perhaps we could pay for the train to bring the director. Tom will look into a speaker from Amnesty International as a Plan B. As a plan C we could show a film. A subcommittee to plan this event will meet at the Pacem office on Friday, 10/17/08, at 5:30 p.m.
Cornell study: The study was presented at an academic conference on 9/12-13/08.
Update on the Death Penalty in Delaware: There was oral argument on the Lamont Norman case on 9/8/08. In District Court Judge Robinson is not expected to lift the stay before the end of the year.
Newsletter: The newsletter was available at Newark Community Day. Kristin plans to keep a list of ideas for the next edition after the holidays. One possible idea is a profile of a family member of a death row inmate.
New business: We might form a delegation to meet with the new bishop, Bishop Malooly. We could invite the participation of Bishop Salterelli.
Correspondence with death row inmate: Kristin has been corresponding with Robert Simon, Jr., a Mississippi death row inmate who says he has exhausted his appeals and is working to end the death penalty. We might put him in touch with Warden Cabana, who wrote Death at Midnight.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Starkweather-White
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