Dear Friends,
Today we awoke to the heartbreaking news of the execution last night of Kelly Gissendaner by the State of Georgia. Despite petitions signed by more than 90,000 people of good will, and appeals by Pope Francis and hundreds of Georgian faith leaders, the Georgia governor and its board of parole and pardons both refused to give clemency to Kelly.
 As we mourn Kelly's death, we honor the tireless efforts of members of the Atlanta FOR chapter and other justice-makers who proclaimed a restorative justice framework, telling Kelly's compelling life story, including her obtaining a degree in theological studies while incarcerated and her work as a teacher & minister within the prison system. (See personal reflections about last night's vigil at bottom.)
This afternoon, yet another travesty of retributive justice will take place in Oklahoma, where Richard Glossip -- whose case has raised a long list of questions regarding his potential innocence -- faces execution at 3:00 p.m. CST TODAY. Please immediately contact Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, who still has the power to halt the execution. Call her at (405) 521-2342 or (405) 522-8857, or tweet her at @GovMaryFallin.
And tomorrow, yet another human being faces the death penalty -- Alfredo Prieto is scheduled for execution in Virginia, despite extensive evidence he has an intellectual disability that would Constitutionally prohibit his execution.
In the face of this continuing choice of death over life, FOR members in Ohio and allies will embark this Sunday morning on a 85-mile march from Lucasville, where Ohio conducts executions, to the statehouse in Columbus -- appealing and organizing for an end to capital punishment.
Organized by the Scioto Peace & Justice FOR chapter, more than a dozen participants are registered to walk the entire route of the week-long Walk to Stop Executions, and hundreds of supporters from across Ohio are expected for the final leg to the Statehouse on Saturday, October 10, which is observed internationally as World Day Against the Death Penalty.
Programs in Portsmouth, Chillicothe, Circleville, and Columbus will connect local residents with the walkers and special guests with unique “voices of experience.” These guests include:
- Derrick Jamison, who was exonerated in 2005 after serving 20 years on Ohio’s death row for a crime he did not commit.
- Terry Collins, who retired as director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections after participating in 33 executions.
- Sam Reese Sheppard, whose father, Dr. Sam Sheppard, was wrongly convicted in the murder of Sam’s mother in the infamous and as-yet unsolved 1954 Cleveland case which has inspired numerous books, television programs, and movies.
- Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood, a member of FOR's National Council and a Southern Baptist minister who has engaged with death row prisoners in Texas. He is the author of seven books, including Jesus on Death Row and Last Words from Texas: Meditations from the Execution Chamber.
To participate in the 85-mile walk or learn more, contact Lorry Swain at sciotopeaceandjustice@yahoo.com or 606-932-2383.
Pope Francis described the death penalty as "an offence against the inviolability of life and the dignity of the human person, which contradicts God's plan for man and society, and his merciful justice, and impedes the penalty from fulfilling any just objective. It does not render justice to the victims, but rather fosters vengeance." He reaffirmed his opposition to capital punishment last week during his speech to the U.S. Congress and in other U.S. engagements.
Let us join the Pope by working together at this critically-important time to stop these executions, and to ultimately develop a restorative justice model by abolishing the death penalty.
Faithfully,
 Ethan Vesely-Flad
Director of National Organizing
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Reflections on last night's execution of Kelly Gissendaner:
- The Rev. Kimberly Jackson, chaplain at the Atlanta University Center and supporter of the Atlanta FOR chapter: "We grieve over the premeditated murder of Kelly Gissendaner tonight by the State of Georgia. Despite the pleas of more than 90,000 citizens, including more than 500 Georgia faith leaders, the people vested with the power to prevent Kelly's death -- the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole, the US Supreme Court, and Governor Deal -- refused to do so. Tonight our state said no to mercy and redemption, and yes to vengeance. Vengeance does not heal or restore; it only destroys. Our faiths call for healing, not destruction."
- The Rev. Alison Liles, executive director of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship: "Surrounded by prayers and pleas, Kelly Gissendaner was executed last night in Georgia"
|
