News - From Death Row - Law - http://maxpages.com/prisonministry/News

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Igen viser en DNA at en uskyldig er blevet dømt, denne gang Earl Washington Jr. i Va.
Guvernøren vil ikke frigive resultatet af den DNA test der beviser dette, men amerikanske nyheder har opsnappet denne nyhed.
Og nu er det på tide at oversvømme guvernørens kontor med breve og email, at Earl kommer hjem til sin familie hvor han hører til.
Staten indrømmer ingen fejl, derfor beordrer guvernøren nye prøver som skal bevise Earls skyld..
Heri viser den amerikanske lovgivning sin menneskeforagt, at mennesker trod bevis for deres uskyld beholdes i fængsel og henrettes i et beskidt spil om politik.
Lad os reagere, og reagere nu.
Du kan få flere informationer hos
Miranda Barker
RKColemaninfo@worldnet.att.net

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USA:

For every seven executions conducted in the last 25 years,
one innocent person has been wrongly convicted and
sentenced to death. Regardless of whether or not you
support the death penalty, we can all agree that the
execution of an innocent person would be "the ultimate
nightmare."

That's why I wanted to let you know about The Justice
Project, an organization that is fighting to prevent the
execution of innocent persons by enacting real reforms
around the administration of capital punishment in our
criminal justice system.

By taking just a few minutes to visit The Justice Project
web site [ http://www.thejusticeproject.org ], you can
join the ranks of thousands of Americans - including people
who are in favor of and opposed to the death penalty -
working together to ensure that everyone has access to
competent legal counsel and that no one is denied the
opportunity to present facts that could prove their
innocence.

You can also help by forwarding this message on to others
who believe it's time for common sense reforms to our death
penalty system.

Thank you - your time and support can help ensure that not
one more innocent person is forced to spend his or her life
waiting to die because the criminal justice system is
broken. Visit www.TheJusticeProject.org today.

Yours In The Struggle,
Ken McGill
Mississippians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

*************************************************************************
-27-00

CALIFORNIA:

Death Penalty: Sign of 'Barbaric Society'

Ah, me--another district attorney who has never seen a death penalty with
which he couldn't fall in love (Commentary, Sept. 24). The death penalty
is a necessary tool that reaffirms the sanctity of human life--jeez! Does
that ever sound like Vietnam! Kill 'em all and let God sort it out.

Michael Bradbury surely knows that those innocent persons exonerated were
nearly all proven innocent due to the diligence of students and other
outsiders. Is it any wonder that cops, district attorneys and, yes, even
judges are reluctant to change their minds and reopen cases that are over
and done with in a pressure-filled system with conflicting motives?

All the reviews by state and federal courts count for naught if evidence
denying a fair trial is withheld from the court. A small fraction of
rogue police officers across the nation has been shown to have caused
undiscovered legal errors by lying and withholding crucial evidence. And
let's not forget that the entire Rampart scandal is unfolding because a
rotten cop sought a deal from the system on a separate felony charge, not
from the conscientious investigation by the LAPD from within.

Bradbury boasts that DNA evidence can be used to prove guilt or
innocence. However, lacking DNA evidence, there are few tools that can be
used to free those wrongly convicted by dishonesty in the system. We can
disagree about whether there should or should not be a death penalty. But
any arguments should be based on evidence and reality, not wishful
dreams.

RICHARD A. HEIN--Fullerton

* * *

Bradbury's article is a fantastic piece of doublespeak. If his thesis is
correct, then Nazi Germany, Khomeini's Iran and present-day China must be
Edens. The death penalty should be abolished not because of its
immorality, or because it is not imposed impartially, or because of the
possibility of sending innocent people to death. The death penalty should
be abolished because it is the hallmark of a barbaric society.

Executions do not bring closure. Rather, their application feeds the need
of some for revenge and creates a template for dispute resolution. If
society is to rise above its baser instincts, the cycle of violence needs
to be broken by abolishing the death penalty.

JOE GIUS -- Los Angeles

(source: Letters to the Editor, Los Angeles Times)

***************************************************************************************

This news came to day;
Vi fik disse nyheder i dag:

This newspaper article was passed on to me about Carswell the prison
hospital for women.

Women's Prison lowers cruelty bar

This is a story about the Federal Medical Center Carswell, a women'sprison
hospital on the outskirts of Froth Worth. It should not be read with
breakfast.

Kathleen Rumpf of Syracuse, NY is part of the Catholic Workers movement,
probably the most formidable people of conscience in this country. She has
been arrested more than 100 times during a lifetime of activism for peace
and justice.

Rumpf also ran a prison ministry in Syracuse, where she exposed a hideous
local practice: "the Jesus Christ" - stretching out naked prisoners and
shackling them to the bars, a la Christ on the cross. "60 Minutes" did a
piece about it, and a lawsuit ended the practice. Suffice it to say the
Rumpf knows about prisons.

"I am used to abuse," she said last week. "I am used to roaches and rats;
I've seen guards who are buffoons and guards who are man. I have never seen
anything like the corruption and cruelty at Carswell Women's Prison
Hospital.

"I couldn't believe it as I lived it. The mind control is amazing - they
keep repeating, 'You're getting the best medical care available in any
community.'"

Rumpf wound up in Carswell after receiving a two-year sentence protesting
the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Ga. The school has been a
target for pacifists (and everyone with a vestige of conscience) for years.

Rumpf, in her good Catholic Worker way, fasted, prayed and rallied against
the school. In 1997, she went with a terribly dangerous group - a
71-year-old priest, a nun and a potter - to protest the school.

They planted crosses outside Fort Benning and carried banners and pictures
of murdered Jesuit priests. On the sign reading "Welcome to Fort Benning"
the painted : "School of the Americas [equal] Torture" and "School of
Shame."

Pretty rough stuff, and you know how terrified our government is of
pacifists. Rumpf got two years, and after four months of being moved around
the system, she was transferred to Carswell because of bad knees.

"At first I bought right into it," she said. "I thought I had never seen
such a nice prison, like a movie set - the floors were all shiny and they
had six computers in the library. I found later the computers were never
hooked up."

Female federal prisoners all over the country are sent to Carswell; it is
the only medical facility for them. Of the 1,195 women at Carswell, only
642 are there for medical and psychiatric reasons, according to the Bureau
of Prisons, though Rumpf believe that the number is much higher.

She details case after case in which the phase "not medically necessary" is
the response to requests for medical help.

In one noted case, Valerie Virgil, an unarmed bank robber doing six years,
cane in after a car crash that left her with burns over half her body and
one leg amputated.

The special hygienic soap, detergent, lotion and dye-free clothing that
she
needed to keep her fragile skin grafts from becoming infected were all
deemed "not medically necessary."

The federal judge who had sentenced her finally wrote Janet Reno the
Virgil's treatment was "cruel and unusual punishment."

Rumpf believes that part of the consistent pattern of denial of treatment at
Carswell is the assumption by some prison staff that women are
"hysterical."

Rumpf reports that a 32-year-old mother of two named Shirley begged a
counselor for help in a hallway in the hearing of several prisoners.

The counselor said: "You better not be faking it. If you're faking it,
your going to the hole." Shirley died the nest day. There was an eerie
scene at her memorial service, when one of Shirley's friends raised her face
to heaven and screamed, "Are you faking it now, Shirley?!"

(Source: Molly Ivins - Columnist for The Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

*********************************************************************************
Oct. 5

From RBSBecky@aol.com

Doctors are expected to increase the pressure on governments to end the
death penalty by passing a resolution today condemning any of their
colleagues who help in executions.

The World Medical Association is expected to rule that doctors should
take no part in administering a death sentence and should even refuse
to certify the victim's death.

The organization's resolution will not be legally binding, but delegates
hope it will help persuade individual doctors not to take part in
executions and increase calls for governments and, in the case of the
United States, state legislatures to outlaw the practice.

Delegates at the association's annual assembly in Edinburgh are expected
to pass the proposed resolution from the Norwegian medical association,
headed by Dr Harry Svabo.

He said: "This is a contribution to the ethical guidance for doctors.
Executions have nothing to do with the work of doctors."

News of the proposed resolution was welcomed by campaigners for an
end to the death penalty, who predicted a withdrawal of assistance by
doctors would make it difficult for some countries to continue
sentencing people to death.

Jim Welsh, Amnesty International's medical co-ordinator, said the
resolution would add to the pressure on governments to end capital
punishment.

He said: "It is not the physician's role to assist the state in killing
and we would welcome any step to increase the pressure on governments to
end this practice. Even if it is not legally binding, such guidance can
set a benchmark and represent a moral consensus.

"The reasons for participation in capital punishment are either a
lack of awareness, a lack of thinking things through or pressure from
governments. The World Medical Association's clarification of the
position will help inform the debate and make the situation clear to
health professionals all over the world."

The resolution states that "it is unethical for physicians to participate
in capital punishment in any way or during any step of the execution
process. This includes the evaluation of competency, advice concerning
execution methods, attendance during executions and the certification of
death."

Yesterday delegates debated changes to guidelines designed to control
experimentation on human embryos and are expected to approve them today.
The revised guidelines state that any research on "human material" must
take into account the privacy and dignity of the individuals they came
from.

Delegates will also consider a resolution condemning the practice of
aborting female fetuses in some countries where male sons are more
highly valued and called for doctors to help educate the public to value
children equally.

The World Medical Association was founded in 1947 in response to concern
at the atrocities carried out by doctors during the Second World War. It
now has 80 member organizations and more than 8 million physicians
worldwide.

At the general assembly of the organization this week members will vote
to revise the Declaration of Helsinki, which protects the rights of
patients participating in clinical trials and call on governments and
prison authorities to address conditions and the spread of tuberculosis
and other diseases.

(source: The Scotsman)

*********************************************************************
James R. Johnson, Vietnam Veteran is being denied DUE PROCESS by Missouri's
Federal Court. They have refused to review points that Mr. Johnson's
attorney's have filed. Because of their blatant disregard, Mr. Johnson is
being denied full access to the courts. In an effort to STOP this, Mr.
Johnson's attorney's are petitioning the Honorable Supreme Court Justice,
Clarence Thomas for a Certificate of Appealability. If this certificate is
issued by Justice Thomas, the Missouri Federal Court will be REQUIRED to
review his case and he will be given full access to the judicial process.

FACT* - 3 of the top PTSD Specialists in the United States testified that
Mr.
Johnson was in "flashback" to Vietnam the night of the murders

FACT* Dr. Shad Meshad, President and Psychiatrist of the National Veteran's
Foundation is one such doctor.

FACT* Dr. John Wilson who wrote the definition of PTSD for the DSMV-5,
which
is a diagnostic manual used by psychiatrists and other medical doctors for
use in diagnosing their patients, was another such doctor.

FACT* Dr. Harry Kormos, former Assistant Chief of psychiatry for the
Veteran's Hospitals, Professor of Psychiatry at University of Berkley,
Berkley CA, private practitioner is another such doctor.

Mr. Johnson's PTSD defense is more than legal strategy! It is a MEDICAL
FACT
and if Missouri executes him they will be killing a very ill man!

PLEASE get involved and write to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and
ask him to issue the CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY this man so desperately
needs.

The Honorable Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas
1 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20543

If you have any questions, or would like to speak with any of the above Dr's
contact me via EMAIL or by phone at 630-499-5568 for their direct phone
numbers.

I thank you for your diligence in this matter!

Sincerely

Rebecca Bardwell Smith
Chicago, IL 60504

James R. Johnson, Vietnam Veteran is being denied DUE PROCESS by Missouri's
Federal Court. They have refused to review points that Mr. Johnson's
attorney's have filed. Because of their blatant disregard, Mr. Johnson is
being denied full access to the courts. In an effort to STOP this, Mr.
Johnson's attorney's are petitioning the Honorable Supreme Court Justice,
Clarence Thomas for a Certificate of Appealability. If this certificate is
issued by Justice Thomas, the Missouri Federal Court will be REQUIRED to
review his case and he will be given full access to the judicial process.

FACT* - 3 of the top PTSD Specialists in the United States testified that
Mr.
Johnson was in "flashback" to Vietnam the night of the murders

FACT* Dr. Shad Meshad, President and Psychiatrist of the National Veteran's
Foundation is one such doctor.

FACT* Dr. John Wilson who wrote the definition of PTSD for the DSMV-5,
which
is a diagnostic manual used by psychiatrists and other medical doctors for
use in diagnosing their patients, was another such doctor.

FACT* Dr. Harry Kormos, former Assistant Chief of psychiatry for the
Veteran's Hospitals, Professor of Psychiatry at University of Berkley,
Berkley CA, private practitioner is another such doctor.

Mr. Johnson's PTSD defense is more than legal strategy! It is a MEDICAL
FACT
and if Missouri executes him they will be killing a very ill man!

PLEASE get involved and write to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and
ask him to issue the CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY this man so desperately
needs.

The Honorable Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas
1 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20543

If you have any questions, or would like to speak with any of the above Dr's
contact me via EMAIL or by phone at 630-499-5568 for their direct phone
numbers.

I thank you for your diligence in this matter!

Sincerely
Rebecca Bardwell Smith
Chicago, IL 60504

************************************************************************

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