I want to share with you an email I received this week:
Dear Sister Helen,
My name is Ron Keine. I don’t know if you remember me but I
was exonerated from death row in New Mexico. We met at the Witness to Innocence
seminar in Atlanta in 2005. I was the only one who stood up when you addressed me as we
all sat in a circle. You recognized my Catholic school "upbringing"
and commented on it.I am writing this letter to relate to you the unsung hero that
is Kurt Rosenberg.Kurt is undoubtedly one of the hardest working people in our
abolitionist crusade. I have been on several speaking tours with Kurt and can’t
help but to notice that even after we have all retired for the night, he stays
up till the wee hours of the morning working. He is relentless in his pursuit
of the cause. He has been key to getting our exonerees together and creating a
brotherhood and harbor light for us.Kurt has built Witness to Innocence to be a formidable force
in the war against the Death Penalty. Kurt is far too humble to claim the honor,
but Witness to Innocence has been solely responsible for the phenomena in
Wisconsin of the educating the masses and changing enough minds of the populace
to see a drastic change in the polls. This can only be attributable to Kurt. He
planned our recent W.T.I. Seminar there to double as a base camp where he
dispatched our speakers to key speaking events at colleges, fundraisers, talk
shows, news conferences and media interviews. I don’t know the exact number of
events we did but I did about 10 myself.The powers that be in Wisconsin had all but conceded the
battle as recent polls showed that the people were greatly in favor of the
death penalty. W.T.I went there and "rocked their socks". W.T.I. has gained the respect of the world of abolition.
Thanks for the "on the field report from Wisconsin" about our hero Kurt, Ron. I
could not agree more that he does massive work, real work, work that counts -
just look at what is happening in Wisconsin.
I have known Kurt since 1985 when we served together on the board of the National Coalition to Abolish
the Death Penalty. I love working with
him because of his zany sense of humor, wonderfully expressive eyebrows
(clearly an abolishionist’s eyebrows), generosity beyond the call of
duty, and his steady, passionate, year-in, year-out work to end the death
penalty. Not to mention the real, down-to-earth way he respects every person he
works with. And he makes it all
fun. I love this guy. What’s not to love?
If you are not familiar with the work of Witness to Innocence, take a look at its Web site. The Project, of which Kurt Rosenberg is the coordinator, provides a truly powerful voice against the death penalty. Here we have a group of former death row prisoners, who spent countless years locked up in death rows around our country, and who were finally exonerated of their crimes and released. Having survived that, these brave souls now speak up to end the
death penalty. These are voices we can’t ignore: through their own stories, they illuminate the unfairness, the capriciousness, of capital punishment and bear witness to how fatally flawed the system is.
Thanks for highlighting the guy behind the scenes, Ron. I was very impressed with all of the exonerees’ confidence and bravery when they came and spoke here in Wisconsin. It was also great to meet Kurt and to have a better understanding of the work he puts in to help make the Witness to Innocence movement happen.
As for the shift in public opinion in Wisconsin, you’re right. I’ve included some links to one of the polls that show the actual change in support for the death penalty (from 61% to 50% – the undecideds have the ability to swing the referenda question tomorrow). The poll is unique in that it calls the same participants back rather than another random group. Having the Witness to Innocence tour in Wisconsin made a measurable difference.
April:
http://www.wpr.org/announce/survey0604/DeathPenalty.htm
October:
http://www.wpr.org/announce/survey0610/state-issues.htm
Thanks – keep up the good work!
Stacy Harbaugh
ACLU of Wisconsin
Madison Community Advocate
How wonderful to hear of Kurt! I’ve missed touching base with many of the Grace-FULL people with whom I marched and spoke during the 90′s. KURT is surely one of those people.
THANK YOU, Kurt, for your continued witness and your work. Namaste!
On behalf of the Wisconsin campaign, we want to add our appreciation and respect for Kurt Rosenberg and all of the exonorees and family members affiliated with Witness to Innocence. Your work is inspiring, and most important — persuasive. We are changing hearts and minds. Thanks for all you do.
-Sachin Chheda, Campaign Director, No Death Penalty Wisconsin
I really must add that Sachin Chedda, Josh Noble and Stacy Harbaugh are doing a wonderful job in Wisconsin.
GREAT NEWS FROM WISCONSIN
Death Penalty Not Foreseen Soon Here
Despite Referendum Passing Tuesday
The Capital Times :: METRO :: C1
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
By Anita Weier The Capital Times
Though 56 percent of Wisconsin voters approved an advisory referendum asking for establishment of the death penalty, there is no chance that capital punishment will become law anytime soon.
“I am a realist. There is no prospect,” said state Sen. Alan Lasee, R-DePere, . . .
http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=/tct/2006/11/08/0611080451.php
A few more people like Kurt and the end of the death penalty would be much closer. Keep us going Kurt.
Witness to Innocence
Sr. Helen Prejean has a post on her blog about the powerful Witness to Innocence program. If you are not familiar with the work of Witness to Innocence, take a look at its Web site. The Project, of which Kurt
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