I was in Washington state earlier this month, where I met with two senators in Olympia, the state capitol, to plan a strategy to repeal the death penalty in Washington. It’s been years since there was an execution here and only a handful of people are on death row. As I talk in various universities I’m learning that a number of Washingtonians don’t even know there is a death penalty in the state.
Like many other states WA faces a severe budget crunch this year, so the bill will focus on taking the extravagant amount of money used to maintain a death machine and devote it instead to real help for murder victims’ families, solving cold cases, and doing catch up on the huge backlog of prisoners awaiting DNA tests.
A key part of the organizing strategy will be to involve college students in the three-year campaign of repeal.
Whenever we talk budget I always emphasize that financial resources are not simply a “practical” issue, but rather a deeply moral issue. Martin Luther King, Jr. used to say a budget is a moral document.
Hello,
I heard your presentation last night at USD (Univ. of San Diego) and was deeply moved (who wouldn’t be) by your work towards reform and justice in our courts and legal system. I have long been against capital punishment, not only for its monetary cost but also because of its cruel and unusual punishment. I wish you well, not only in the courts/legal system but also helping people within the Catholic church (and all churches) to move towards compassion vs. revenge. Your quote of the statistic that ‘only’ 42% of Catholics under the age of 30 believe in capital punishment is NOT something to be proud of (but at least these numbers are declining).
Dear HP;
I listened to you speak tonight (Jan 27) NNU in Nampa. This is an old thread but thought I’d post a post I’ve written tonite about that event…
http://realemotionalfreedom.blogspot.com/