• The death penalty is in decline in states with large # of Catholics. NJ, which recently abolished the DP, has 3rd highest # of Catholics. #
• States in Bible Belt with fewest # of Catholics, under influence of Southern Baptist Convention have largest death rows, most executions. #
• It seems like a good time to be galvanizing Catholics to end the death penalty. #
• Presently there are five Catholics on the U.S. Supreme Court: Roberts, Kennedy, Scalia, Thomas, Alito. #
• If the Catholic community in dialogue with these justices could persuade one of them… #
• … to allow his ethical lens to open wider his interpretation of the Constitution’s mandate of "equal justice under law"… #
• …we would have the 5-4 vote needed to declare the death penalty unconstitutional. #

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• Tim Robbins’ play of Dead Man Walking, which he gave over to US schools and colleges, has now been performed in well over 100 schools. #
• I saw a production by grades 6-12 at Buffalo Academy for Visual & Performing Arts last week. Minimal set, extraordinary acting - fantastic. #
• We also did a 3-day non-violence workshop. So wonderful to see alternatives to violence being taught in schools. #
• @yostsa What is the link to your blog about the peace camp? #

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• Truly hopeful: In Virginia last week, I met Tyson Daniel, a capital defense lawyer. 12 capital cases went to trial, 0 death penalties. #
• To date, Virginia has been one of the killingest states, 2nd to Texas. Now, VA hasn’t had an execution in 4 years, with 30 on death row. #
• They’re shutting executions down using the Colorado method: work with the juries all the way from the voir dire. #
• @ericagee It’s also to help jury recognize the bent of the constitution is towards life; must have an extraordinary reason to choose death. #
• This approach helps counterbalance the terrible bias caused by the automatic exclusion of any juror who says they oppose the death penalty. #
• All juries on death penalty cases must be "death approved". Doesn’t that seem unfair? That juries are loaded with DP supporters? #

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• I’m spending the day at Angola prison in Louisiana, visiting Manuel Ortiz who not only should not be on death row, he should not be in jail. #

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• I’m very excited about using Twitter to connect with people. I’ve written in my blog about it. http://www.sisterhelen.org/?p=31 #

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• Been reading Constantine’s War by James Carroll. In 326AD for the first time the cross of Jesus was held up as a symbol of victory in war. #
• It ties in with my meeting with Episcopalians in Asheville, NC, last week. Making the connections between religion & violence. #

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• Supreme Court okays lethal injection. Texas has 40 people in execution pipeline. #
• @pearlbear I like you, Pearl. I like what you stand for. #

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• I’m home in New Orleans after fantastic days on the road. I visited 5 states in a week. I love meeting people, getting charged up. #
• After my talk with 1000 Jesuit high school boys, they said "This isn’t like being in religion class." Thank God! #
• The boys said "This is real stuff. Makes me want to do something." Great! I love to share my lived experience, to spotlight the hidden. #
• When I’m on the road like this, I think of Jesus. He was the barefoot doctor of religion. He went out to the people. #

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I’ve been neglecting my blog. It’s not that I don’t want to blog, it’s simply a matter of time. I’m on the road almost constantly. This past week, I visited five states, talking to all kinds of people, Methodists, Episcopalians, Catholics, students, activists, lawyers, community groups. I love doing this. Together with writing and connecting with people who are hurting, it is my passion.

But I want to connect with you, too; you who cannot make it to my talks; and you who enjoy connecting online. So I’m sorry I haven’t had time for my blog.

Now, though, I think I’ve found a way to stay in contact with you while I’m on the road, when I can’t find time to write a full blog post. It’s a little thing called Twitter. Twitter is blogging for the hard pressed. It restricts you to 140 characters - characters, not words! - for each post, and let me tell you, that’s quite a restriction for a talker like me.

The great thing about Twitter is that I can do it quickly, even when I’m on the road or about to board a plane or in a hotel. If I don’t have my computer with me, I call up my friend, Rose, and she types in my tweets - that’s what they call it when you use Twitter - she types in my tweets for me and lets me know if anyone responds.

Rose is the one who introduced me to Twitter. She’s a good friend and colleague who manages the online side of my life and all the technology we use at the Death Penalty Discourse Network. She has her own blog, too, where she talks in terms even I can understand about how to use computers. Rose and I talk most days, and so turning those talks into tweets is a natural extension of what we do.

In fact, I’ve found that tweeting helps me organize my thoughts and take note of events and ideas as they happen during the day, and because I can put my tweets online it’s a way for me to share those things with you.

So from now on, each day I’ll put a list of all my tweets for that day into a post called “What I’ve been thinking and doing” here on my blog. You’ll also be able to see my very latest tweets in the Currently list on the left. Or, if you prefer, you can follow me directly on Twitter. That way you’ll get my tweets as I utter them and I’ll be able to follow you, too.

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• I’ve been reading the Mother Jones article Am I a Torturer? Becomes more important to read with each passing day. http://tinyurl.com/2oucjw #
• Two-thirds of the US public support the idea of torturing suspected terrorists. #
• Does anyone see a connection between the death penalty and this attitude towards torture? #
• @sisterj Yes, it’s all about dehumanizing. Defining someone as “other” or not “fully human” so we can redefine “moral behavior” in relation. #
• I think about those on death row, sitting in a cell for 15-20 years waiting to be killed. The anticipation. Is this not torture? #
• Is the death penalty torture? And, if so, does our support for it provide a climate for the acceptance of torture of anyone? #
• @rachelannyes I believe he talks about the same dehumanization, doesn’t he? That seems to be a key factor in abandoning our own morality. #
• @barrioflores It was a great weekend. Gave me hope. #
• Just talked to 1000 Jesuit high school boys in Sacramento. Great audience. They were on their feet at the end. Now heading home to NOLA. #

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