Sister Helen on Social Media
And yet, I look forward with hope: President-elect Biden is on the record as an opponent of the death penalty; Rep. Ayanna Pressley will push forward with her bill to abolish the Federal death penalty; and today AOC tweeted to her huge following "Abolish the death penalty."
This core human rights issue which has, for far too long, been relegated to a minor role in our public discourse, is now gaining new prominence and impetus.
I believe that, together, we will move inexorably towards the elimination of this barbaric stain on our nation.
https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1350486217218023429
Lisa's life was a tragedy from before she left her mother's womb until the lethal poison was injected into her arm in Terra Haute. Her intense suffering resulted in more intense suffering - as abuse so often begets abuse - when she killed Bobbie Jo Stinnett and stole her baby. Please hold all who have been touched by this tragedy in your hearts.
Meanwhile, a growing and diverse chorus is calling on Acting AG Rosen to stop all three of the Federal executions lined up in the waning day's of Trump's administration. Both the American Medical Association and a group of high-level former corrections officials in Indiana have release letters in which they deplore holding executions during a pandemic, further endangering many lives.
You can read the letter from the AMA here: https://www.aclu.org/letter/letter-acting-attorney-general-rosen-american-medical-association. And the letter from the Indiana corrections officials here: https://www.aclu.org/letter/former-corrections-officials-acting-ag-rosen-do-not-hold-these-executions-now.
Tune in now!
@RepPressley and Sister @HelenPrejean on why @JoeBiden can and should end the federal death penalty. https://twitter.com/theappeal/status/1352279788459749377
Today on #Appeal Live:
At 12:00 ET/9:00 PT: Jerry Iannelli and Joshua Vaughn discuss how cities are keeping people safe without police.
At 1:00 ET/10:00 PT: Ayanna Pressley and Sister Helen Prejean talk about what President Biden can do to end the death penalty.
HOW BIDEN CAN END THE FEDERAL DEATH PENALTY: @RepPressley and Sister @helenprejean join #AppealLive to talk about what President Biden can do to end executions. https://www.pscp.tv/w/cthpfzFvUEVMeFdyV1dKRWR8MW5BSkVMYmFEbG9HTKKPOqkQ4FXvokupmAS4JMNM7-bYjjtzlU-IR64T1Xa_
We are very grateful to Sister @helenprejean for her words and wisdom during our Days for All People Closing Plenary. We are fired up in our fight to end the death penalty in Virginia. #nodeathpenaltyVA
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are committed to abolishing the death penalty, as they write: https://joebiden.com/justice/. JOIN US on first full day of the new presidency to discuss abolition of federal death penalty w/ @RepEspaillat and.. | http://blogs.law.columbia.edu/abolition1313/8-13-death-penalty-abolition/
Rachel Sutphin, whose father Corporal Eric Sutphin, was murdered by the last man executed in Virginia, William Morva, testifies on @ssurovell bill to repeal the death penalty: “The state would better spend their time and resources helping my family than killing another person.”
It is problematic to celebrate Dr. King’s words but to forget his policies. One of the things Dr. King wanted to see was an end to the death penalty, which he called, “Society’s final assertion that it will not forgive.” #MLKDay
3Whistleblowers report that the New Mexico Corrections Department has falsified mental health evaluations and solitary confinement reports: https://www.abqjournal.com/1536935/inmates-in-isolation-ex-former-employees-say-corrections-department-falsifies-solitary-confinement-reports.html
A lot of people have become involved in the anti-death penalty movement over the past year. Don’t let the Trump administration’s killing spree dim the fire within you. We are closer than ever before to abolishing the federal death penalty. Many states will follow suit.
The death penalty is fundamentally a poor person’s issue. Over nearly 40 years of visiting death row facilities across the United States, I have never met a single person with money or resources. Capital punishment means “those without the capital get the punishment.”
Knowing that his successor opposes the death penalty, Donald Trump has rushed to execute as many people as possible before the transition. He has executed more individuals in weeks than had been federally executed in more than 60 years. Absolutely shameful. End the death penalty.
Executing Dustin Higgs is not justice — it’s murder at the hands of the federal government.
We must abolish the death penalty.
& ask your elected representatives to support my & @SenatorDurbin Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act of 2021 Bill which prohibits the death penalty on the federal level & requires re-sentencing of those currently on death row.
Justice Breyer also penned a dissent in U.S. v. Dustin Higgs, continuing his long line of opinions calling on the Supreme Court to reconsider whether the death penalty is constitutional in the first place.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent tonight in U.S. v. Dustin Higgs will be remembered long into the future as one of the most thorough, resounding indictments of this administration’s reckless, immoral, illegal effort to execute as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.
I’ll be on #Appeal Live with Rep. @ayannapressley this afternoon to talk about how @potus can quickly and permanently end the federal death penalty. 1 pm ET, streaming live on Twitter and Facebook — hope you’ll join us!
We have lost one of the anchors of the movement to abolish the death penalty. Bill Pelke passed away yesterday after suffering a heart attack while shoveling snow at his home in Anchorage, Alaska. I will have more to say soon about Bill’s incredible legacy of anti-death penalty activism and advocacy for murder victims’ families, but for now my thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and fellow activists. This is a profound loss for our movement.
Robert Fisher was wounded in Vietnam and received a Purple Heart medal from President Lyndon Johnson. Today, Robert is in his seventies, suffering with PTSD and other mental health conditions, and preparing for his third re-trial after years on Pennsylvania’s death row. #veteransday
#veteransday
Fair Wayne Bryant was sentenced to life in prison for stealing hedge clippers. This type of unjust, harsh punishment dates all the way back to racist laws enacted during Reconstruction. Fair had a parole hearing yesterday where he was represented by the great Louisiana @paroleproject. After the parole board considered everything, Fair was granted parole and released from prison yesterday afternoon!
Today marks the 20th Anniversary of the opening of Dead Man Walking at the San Francisco Opera, with libretto by the late, great Terrence McNally and music by my friend Jake Heggie.
I’m deeply saddened to hear that Justice Ginsburg has passed away. She was a trailblazer in the truest sense. I will always treasure the time I spent with her when the Kennedy Center performed the opera of Dead Man Walking a few years ago. Our nation is the poorer for her loss.
I have 10 hardcover copies of Kendi’s deeply rewarding “How to be an Antiracist”. If you would like a copy, donate at least $50 to a bail fund of your choice and send your receipt plus mailing address to rachael@sisterhelen.org. We’ll send a copy to the first 10 people to do.
Want to meet me on a Zoom call AND support a great cause? You can even bring along 3 of your friends! Bid now on @Charitybuzz and help @ACLU_SoCal defend and preserve the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and US laws. Search “Sister Helen Prejean” on Charitybuzz.com. Thanks for your support of this incredible organization!
This Thursday, I'll be in conversation with Tessie Castillo and Lyle May on Crimson Letters: Voices from Death Row. The topic is "Why is it so hard to hold criminal justice actors - law enforcement, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges - accountable?" There are three following events. Please join us! Link is in my bio.
A Message from Sister Helen’s Staff:
Here’s some Zoom humor for your enjoyment!
As Jake says: "It was a transformative moment for so many people - for the field of American Opera - and certainly for me, personally and professionally. Since then, the opera has received 70 productions (more than 350 performances) all over the world to become the most-performed new American opera."
The first photo shows me with Jake at the premiere. The second, also taken at the premiere, is of the "four nuns": me, Susan Sarandon (who played me in the film), Susan Graham (who sang my part in the opera), and that other famous 'nun', Julie Andrews!
Today is Sr. Helen’s birthday! This past year has been full of surprises and moments of grace. It’s good people like you who share Sr. Helen’s hope to see a world without executions that keep her going. Please share any birthday wishes in the comments and we’ll make sure they get to her.
