No better place than Oregon

Last week, Oregon’s governor, John Kitzhaber, took a stance for life. He refused to sign the death warrant for Gary Haugin and then he went further. He said no to any more executions on his watch. He’d allowed two executions to proceed in his earlier terms...

The rush to kill

Today, the State of Georgia plans to kill Andrew DeYoung using its experimental triple-drug cocktail, substituting Nembutal (pentobarbitol) for the no-longer-available sodium thiopental. Georgia has already used the new drug to execute Roy Blankenship in June, with...

Holding execution drug suppliers accountable

I recently wrote to Cardinal Health, a drug company that has supplied the Georgia Department of Corrections with Nembutal to be used in executions. I wanted to share my letter with you. It begins: Dear Mr. Barrett: I write on behalf of Andrew Grant De Young, a Georgia...

Encounter with the Dalai Lama and Vincent Harding

On May 11, I spoke on a panel at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, with Professor Vincent Harding and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Sidney Burris, moderator of the panel, began by asking the three of us to share what led us onto the path of nonviolence, and he...

A special fundraiser in Portola Valley, California

On Tuesday March 15, I’ll be joining my friend, Mike Farrell, for a fundraiser for Death Penalty Focus. This group has been working to end the death penalty in California and across the nation for nearly a quarter of a century. You may know Mike from M*A*S*H or...

California Catholic Lawyers Against the Death Penalty

Santa Clara University, which is run by the Jesuits, has launched a website to educate Catholics about the death penalty.  The website, sponsored by the University together with California Catholic Lawyers Against the Death Penalty, actively promotes the repeal of...

Being held accountable

A victory today for all of us who seek to hold our governments accountable for human rights abuses. Former President George W. Bush has had to cancel his trip to Switzerland this week because he faces the threat of arrest if he enters the country. A group of...

Dead Man Walking opera in Houston

The opera of Dead Man Walking, with Jake Heggie’s inspiring music and Terrance McNally’s thoughtful, powerful libretto, is currently being performed at the Houston Grand Opera. It’s getting rave reviews, such as the one by Everett Evans, The Houston...

Doing an interview about the Arizona shootings

I’m going to be interviewed tomorrow on Freedom Watch, a program on FOX Business News, about the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords and the other folk shot while attending (or passing by) her meeting in Arizona. It will be the last segment, with Judge Andrew...

Join me for an afternoon encounter with capital punishment

The Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project, which used to be housed in our New Orleans’ office, is now headquartered in Boston, where our wonderful young coordinator, Steven Crimaldi, lives. Steven’s been working closely with local universities, schools...