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Spring 2001
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The moratorium movement had its first legislative win in 2001 when the Maryland House of Delegates passed a moratorium bill, 82-54, on March 24.
Had democracy run its full course, the Maryland bill likely would have passed the Senate, too. In the last days of the 90-day 2001 legislative session, a minority of opponents to Senate Bill (S.B.) 316 filibustered, thwarting the Senate's expected majority vote.
Such delay tactics defined the opposition's strategy against S.B. 316. When Majority Leader Clarence Blount introduced the bill in January, Judicial Proceedings Committee Chair Walter Baker indicated he would exercise his power as chair to refuse a committee vote. He only conceded after the House adopted the bill and the media scrutinized his practice of denying votes on bills he opposes. Even after the Senate chair agreed to call the committee vote, he stalled until the last five days of the session. When the bill hit the Senate floor, Baker led the filibuster that ultimately prevented a democratic vote.
The debate dominated the last days of the session. Less than an hour before the midnight deadline, opponents failed to table the bill indefinitely. The Senate President, also an opponent, called a last-minute vote and then demanded an early adjournment, announcing that the voting machines had malfunctioned. The final vote was never tallied.
Extensive coverage on local TV and in The Sun in Baltimore, The Washington Post, and the Journal Newspapers spotlighted the reasons to halt to executions. Much attention was given to the need to wait until the 2002 completion of the Governor's study of fairness in death sentencing, currently underway at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP).
The UMCP study is the first comprehensive look at racial and socioeconomic bias in the state's use of the death penalty. Nationwide, Maryland has the highest percentage of African Americans on its death row. While 84% of the pending death sentences resulted from cases involving white victims, blacks are the victims the majority of Maryland murders.
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With the Maryland General Assembly adjourning on April 9 without a Senate vote, it looked likely that four men would face execution by summer's end.
Then on Good Friday, the state Court of Appeals issued a ruling in the case of Steven Oken, effectively suspending all executions until September. In its ruling, Maryland's highest court refused to expedite the appeal of death row prisoner Steven Oken, whose execution had been expected in May. Oken is challenging the constitutionality of his original indictment.
Maryland Movement Advances
Delegate Salima Siler Marriott introduced the first moratorium bill in the country, just weeks after the American Bar Association issued its call to halt executions in 1997. Back then, her colleagues in the General Assembly told her she was crazy to think the bill would go anywhere. But she determinedly introduced her bill ever year thereafter.
2001 brought powerful new political leadership. Majority Leader Blount agree to sponsor the Senate bill, and the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus adopted it as a legislative priority.
Equal Justice USA played a key role, coordinating a strong grassroots coalition, including the Maryland Catholic Conference, Amnesty International, Maryland Coalition Against State Executions, the ACLU, the Maryland Public Defenders Office, and the Campaign to End the Death Penalty.
Tens of thousands of Marylanders were mobilized. Equal Justice USA sponsored a March ad in The Sun signed by over 400 Marylanders, including filmmaker John Waters, current and former Members of Congress, the past and current mayors of Baltimore, a county executive, a state judge, and county and city representatives. We mailed action packets to 25,000 people across the state.
Focus Shifts to MD Governor
The political climate in Maryland remains ripe for a moratorium. The strong support in the General Assembly sends a clear message to Governor Parris Glendening that Marylanders want a suspension of executions. Equal Justice USA will continue to coordinate with its Maryland partners to mount pressure on the state's chief executive. To stay posted, call 301-699-0042 or send us an email.
There has been an explosion of state moratorium legislation across the country. Already this year, 16 state legislatures have considered halting executions. In Maryland, a bill successfully passed the House of Delegates in March. (See above.)
A Nevada abolition bill was amended to a two-year moratorium and passed the Senate 13-8 on April 18. The bill has moved on to the Nevada Assembly for a vote. Another victory came in Texas, where two bills passed both Senate and House of Representatives committees in April.
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If you live in one of the states where legislation is still pending (see the legislative update below), be sure to:
To find out more about what you can do, contact Equal Justice USA at 301-699-0042 or email ejusa@quixote.org. Find state contacts below.
From April 6-18, the Florida Moratorium Tour, a band of activists spreading the moratorium message, made its way through cities throughout the state. Sponsored by Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP), Amnesty International's Special Initiatives Fund, Equal Justice USA, and others, the tour kicked off in Pensacola. Stops were made in Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Orlando, Melbourne, Miami, Palm Beach County, and finally, Ft. Lauderdale.
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For more information about organizing efforts in Florida, contact FADP at fadp@fadp.org or 800-973-6548. Visit www.fadp.org to find the chapter nearest to you.
Virginia has seen a whirlwind of a winter, as the death penalty became a statewide issue, front and center. Debate heated up when the Virginia Supreme Court asked for public comment on its proposal to repeal the 21-day rule, a law that prohibits the introduction of new evidence of innocence 21 days after conviction.
In November, the Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission, the investigative arm of the General Assembly, announced a study of the death penalty. Shortly thereafter, conservative Republican Delegate Frank Hargrove introduced an abolition bill.
In February, Earl Washington Jr. was released after DNA evidence exonerated him of a 1982 rape and murder. After spending more than 17 years in prison, nine and a half on death row, Washington became the first Virginia death row prisoner exonerated since 1973.
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Outside of the legislature, activists have been working to pass moratorium resolutions, adding the Harrisonburg/Rockingham County Bar Association, the Lexington City Council, The Fredericksburg Free Lance Star, the Virginia Council of Churches, as well as several interfaith congregations and religious leaders to their ever-growing list.
Local chapters of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (VADP) are forming across the state. Lynchburg held a Death Penalty Awareness Week February 18 to 25.
Virginia joins other states around the country in encouraging congregations to toll their bells and citizens to wear black armbands on the day of an execution.
To get involved in Virginia, see the list of organizing contacts below or visit www.vadp.org.
New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty (NYADP) held a press conference on March 21 at City Hall in New York City to publicly encourage Council Speaker Peter Vallone to schedule a vote on a moratorium resolution. Hearings on the resolution were held in February, but Speaker Vallone has so far refused to call the resolution to a vote.
Despite biting cold and rain, more than 50 supporters came out to urge Vallone to call the vote. NYADP presented 1,800 petition signatures to the speaker. The media heard from Nancy Hammond of NYADP and Equal Justice USA Field Organizer Celeste Fitzgerald, who spoke of the growing, national list of municipalities urging a moratorium. Clearly New York is a high profile city and its actions have national impact.
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This winter, Oklahomans saw nine people executed, including Wanda Jean Allen. A lesbian with mental retardation who murdered her partner, Allen was the first African American woman put to death since Oklahoma became a state.
"Momentum towards a statewide moratorium in Oklahoma is increasing as rapidly as the pace of executions," said Karin Lau of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty based in Oklahoma City. "Oklahomans are fed up with the killing and are speaking out in record numbers in a variety of creative ways."
Religious leaders from a dozen different denominations and faiths have spoken out in support of a moratorium. A moratorium bill was introduced in the House, and activists worked for its passage with action alerts, lobby days, press conferences, and more.
Each execution evoked vigils and civil disobedience. Many people were arrested for non-violent protests at the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center, the Attorney General's office, and other key locations.New Jerseyans for a Death Penalty Moratorium (NJDPM) has grown to include more than 8,000 individuals and hundreds of organizations. NJDPM has developed a website, engaged the religious community and the public through numerous events, launched a moratorium resolution campaign, initiated a public relations effort, formed a speakers network, and educated members of the legislature.
NJDPM efforts - including government resolutions adopted by Camden, Highland Park, and Chesilhurst - have been covered by TV and radio, the Associated Press, USA Today, and more than 30 NJ, NY, and PA newspapers.
NJDPM is gearing up for "Moratorium Week in New Jersey: Time Out for Justice," May 14-20. Planned activities include a rally and news conference in Trenton, public education forums, Legislative Outreach Day, and a large event in northern New Jersey. Other groups are also encouraged to host events during the week.
For more information, call Lorry at 800-257-6204.
Equal Justice USA added a Northeastern Field Organizer to its Moratorium Now! campaign in March 2001. Based in Chatham, New Jersey, Celeste Fitzgerald is assisting grassroots groups working toward a moratorium in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
A longtime activist, Celeste has been an integral part New Jerseyans for a Death Penalty Moratorium. In her new role as Field Organizer, she help state groups build strong moratorium networks, share strategies across states, raise pubic and media awareness about the issue, and give other front line of support in Northeastern states.
Contact Celeste at 973-635-6396 or celestef@quixote.org.
On December 19, 2000, Sister Helen Prejean and others presented 3.2 million signatures in support of a moratorium to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Moratorium 2000 collected 300,000 signatures in the United States. The Sant' Egidio Community and Amnesty International collected signatures in Europe and beyond. All were on hand to deliver the petitions.
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Moratorium 2000 continues to collect signatures, and they are working to pass on signatures, which they are making available to state groups. For more information about Moratorium 2000, call 504-864-1071 or visit www.moratorium2000.org.
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48 Local Governments
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As of April 2001, 48 cities, towns, and counties nationwide have passed resolutions calling for a temporary halt to executions. The list is growing daily. These jurisdictions vary in population from the very small Hays, TX (315) to large metropolitan cities such as Philadelphia, PA (1,436,287). Thus far, most of the municipal resolutions have come from states in the Eastern region of the U.S. North Carolina and Pennsylvania are leading the way.
People of Faith Against the Death Penalty have been the driving force in North Carolina and is responsible for four of the 10 resolutions that have passed nationwide in 2001. All total, 13 North Carolina governments have urged a halt to executions. On January 8, Cofield, a small rural town in traditionally conservative Northeastern North Carolina, became the first municipality to pass a resolution in the New Year. Representing 395 people, the council's vote was unanimous. The very next night, the western City of Asheville passed another resolution (4-3) while more than 100 supporters bore witness. The city councils of Cary and Thomasville took similar action.
The vote was close in some North Carolina cities, but not because council members are opposed a moratorium. Rather, `no' voters questioned whether it was appropriate for municipalities to weigh in on this perceived state issue. We must remind our local representatives that crime a very local issue and that local budgets bare the burden of costly capital prosecutions.
As important, local governing bodies are most representative of local will. A non-binding municipal resolution is a legitimate and powerful way for local citizens to communicate with state and national leaders on key public policy issues that have local, state, and national impact.
In Pennsylvania, six cities and towns have urged a moratorium, most recently Harrisburg.
In Virginia, Lexington became the state's second city to pass a moratorium resolution the evening of February 16, 2001
New Jerseyans for a Death Penalty Moratorium has just begun a city council drive. In Chesilhurst, a small borough of approximately 1,500 people, councilman Ed Geiger initiated a resolution that passed unanimously on March 9. Nearly 50 residents attended the council meeting to discuss issues of racial and economic disparity within the death penalty system. Highland Park and Camden followed quickly. More local government endorsements are expected in coming months.
Think your city, town, or county might pass a resolution? It's easier to do than you think! Nationwide, we anticipate many more municipal resolutions in the months to come - including some large cities like New York and Los Angeles. Equal Justice USA has resources that can assist citizens taking resolutions to their local government. Contact Sara Klemm at 301-699-0042 or sarak@quixote.org.
Timothy McVeigh, having dropped his appeals, faces execution by the federal government on June 11. The following is excepted from a PBS's NewsHour interview with Bonnie Bucqueroux, a member of Victims for a Just Society and coordinator of the Victims and the Media Program at Michigan State (April 12, 2001).
My concern . . . is there is this assumption that victims are monolithically in support of what is happening to Tim McVeigh. I would point out that in the crime victims group that I work with, one of our board members is Bud Welch whose daughter was a victim of the blast. And, yet, he is an active opponent of the death penalty. And I'm sure that will be a very troubling day for him. . .
. . . one of the concerns we ought to have is that victims and victim families are being manipulated by politicians who are really trying to use them for their own purposes. . .
. . . what we are seeing is a return to sort of ginning up support for blood lust. Because the reality is I'm very concerned about the way in which the death penalty is really sort of being marketed with Timothy McVeigh as this poster child. . .
. . . I'm interested in the choice of McVeigh as the first federal prisoner to be executed. Remember, it was supposed to be Juan Raul Garza, and it was supposed to happen under Clinton's watch, but there was this uneasiness about a growing concern about the death penalty. . . President Clinton announced a moratorium. I'm concerned that all of a sudden McVeigh goes to the head of the line now that we are seeing many people calling for a moratorium on the death penalty. It seems too calculated to me. . .
. . . I'm concerned victims are being used in the process. And I'm not so sure that those victims who will be allowed to witness the execution will not be further traumatized. I think they are being sold, some of them, a bill of goods that is going to lead to a kind of closure that they are not going to achieve because this really isn't retribution, this is vengeance.
Moratorium Organizing Contacts
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Contact the organizers below to get involved. Call us to get involved in a state not listed. Alabama Nathan Morgan Arizona
Andy Silverman Arkansas
David Rickard Colorado
Dan Bounds Connecticut
Steve Kobasa Florida
Abe Bonowitz Georgia
Brian McAdams Illinois Aviva Futorian/Jeff Epton Maryland Cathy Kneppar, Ph.D. Missouri Kathleen Kennedy |
New Jersey
Lorry Post New York
Nancy Hammond
Steve DearNew Yorkers Against the Death Penalty 914-946-4456; 888-224-9579 nyadp@bestweb.net www.nyadp.org North Carolina People of Faith Against the Death Penalty 919-933-7567 sjdear1@aol.com www.netpath.net/~ucch/pfadp Oklahoma
Joann Bell Karin Lau Pennsylvania
Joan Anderson Tennessee Hedy Weinberg Texas Dave Atwood Virginia Henry Heller
Kathleen Kenney Washington Sara Fleming Merten |
See also, the Moratorium Now! Legislative Update page, updated weekly!
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Alabama (SB14) Connecticut (SB413) Indiana (HB1848) Kentucky (SB38) Maryland (SB316, HB563) Missouri (SB55, HB68) Nevada (SB254) New Jersey (A1853) North Carolina (SB172) |
Ohio (HBxx) Oklahoma (HB1013) Pennsylvania (SB25) Tennessee (HB1566, SB1805) Texas (SJR25, HB720) Virginia (SB1135, HB2764, HB2664, HB2799) Washington (HB1647) |
"Those of us who've spent some time in the agricultural sector...understand how unfair the death penalty is--the death tax is--and we need to get rid of it. I don't want to get rid of the death penalty. Just the death tax."
STARVIN' FOR JUSTICE 2001