I see a lot of parallels between the #GoodFriday Passion narrative and the lives of people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Oscar Romero. Jesus knew what might happen if he went into Jerusalem for the Passover feast. Death was part of what was waiting for him.
Dr. King went back to Memphis even though he knew there were serious threats against his life. He wanted to make sure that non-violent direct action was done the right way. Just like Jesus, Dr. King didn't want his death avenged with violence.
Oscar Romero put his life on the line when he urged the military in El Salvador to stop killing their fellow citizens. He knew what might happen as a result of his speaking out. Archbishop Romero acted in solidarity with the poor, urging the people not to return evil with evil.
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The State of Texas killed Ivan Cantu last night. I was there with him, standing near his face, holding his hand, and praying into his ear until the chemicals killed him. God's grace was with him and with me.
He was one of the most faith-filled, self-directed people I have ever encountered. His strength helped me. His last words were directed calmly and clearly to the victims' families watching him die from the witness chambers.
"I did not kill James Mosqueda and Amy Kitchen. If I had known who killed them I would have gotten the information to you in any way I could. But I did not kill them and if your hope in coming here is because you seek closure or peace, I'm afraid you’re going to be disappointed."
Yesterday, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a brief in support on one of Richard Glossip's pending appeals at the U.S. Supreme Court. AG Drummond agrees that Richard is entitled to a new trial due to prosecutorial misconduct.
AG Drummond presents the question before the Supreme Court in the case:
AG Drummond's brief begins: "The State of Oklahoma, acting through its chief law enforcement officer, recently made the difficult decision to confess error and support vacating the conviction of petitioner Richard Eugene Glossip."
Unless a court intervenes, Missouri will execute Michael Tisius tomorrow, June 6th. When Michael was 19 years old, he made a terrible mistake and killed two jailers while attempting to free a former cellmate. But Michael is not the worst of the worst and does not deserve to die.
Michael's difficulties began before he was born. His mother, Patty, was abandoned by her own mother at a young age. Patty's father died suddenly when she was 13 years old.
Patty's life took a bad turn when she was returned to the custody of her mother, who took 13-year-old Patty out drinking at local bars until late at night almost every day. Patty became pregnant with her first son, Joey, at just 17 years old.
Today is the 20th World Day Against the Death Penalty, with a focus this year on the relationship between capital punishment and torture. The entire death penalty process is torturous for every person involved.
Those on death row spend decades awaiting the eventual day when the government will take them into a room, render them defenseless, and kill them through one of several torturous methods of execution. This is mental torture.
In some cases, the execution eventually happens. In many other cases, the execution is never carried out. People on death row live out every day not knowing if or when the government will legally kill them. This is another form of mental torture.
Alabama tried and failed to execute Alan Miller by lethal injection on September 22nd. Prison workers stabbed him with needles over and over again for 90 minutes. Now Alabama wants another chance to kill Alan "as soon as possible." theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
The Alabama Department of Corrections was well aware that medical professionals have struggled to access Alan Miller's veins for his entire adult life. Alan weighs 351 pounds. It is extremely difficult for qualified anesthesiologists to access veins on a person of that size.
Alabama's execution IV team is the opposite of qualified. Over the past four years, Alabama's incompetent execution team has botched at least three different lethal injections, including multiple attempted surgical cutdown procedures without any anesthesia.
Today is #IndigenousPeoplesDay. Did you know that the incarceration rate for Native Americans is 38% higher than the national average? Racism and profiling lead to more arrests, harsher sentencing, and more abuse in the prison system for Native Americans.
Native Americans are arrested two times more often than non-indigenous people for property and violent crimes. Statistics also show that Native Americans receive longer sentences from judges and spend more time in prison before parole.
Native Americans have a higher rate of suicide in prison and are often subject to abuse when attempting to identify with their cultures through clothing, language, music, and culturally-related educational material.