Sister of Murdered Correctional Officer Opposes the …mvfhr/MVFHR_3-06.pdf“But of course I love my brother very much. We were very close in age, and for me his death was a very

"Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person."- Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948

ARTICLE 3Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights Newsletter 2 • Spring/Summer 2006

ARTICLE 3

Sister of Murdered Correctional Officer Opposes the Death Penalty

U.S. Senate Examines the Death Penalty..............3

Abolition Work in Taiwan and Japan...................4

Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break.........6

Foreign Press Briefing...........................................6

The Death Penalty and Mental Illness..................7

Inside This Issue

“No Silence, No Shame” ....................................8

Victims’ Family Member Lawmakers..................10

The Journey of Hope in Texas and Virginia ........11

Victims’ Voices: News from Around the U.S.......12

At a rally at the state capitol inAustin, Texas in December 1999,Correctional Officer Daniel Nagle,who had long been advocating forimprovements in Texas prisons,said, “Someone will have to bekilled before the Texas Departmentof Criminal Justice does anythingabout the shortage of staff in Texasprisons.” Just two weeks later,Officer Nagle was stabbed to deathby a prisoner after the two arguedabout a rule forbidding prisoners totake food into the recreation yard.The 20-year-old prisoner, RobertLynn Pruett, was already serving alife sentence for another murderconviction.

When opponents of the deathpenalty argue that life withoutparole is a sufficient sentence formurder, supporters of the deathpenalty often cite the potential for

just this kind of tragedy, arguingthat a sentence of life in prisondoes not guarantee that the indi-vidual will not commit another vio-lent crime. For Robert Nagle’s sisterDella, this is not a theoretical argu-ment; these were exactly the cir-cumstances of her brother’s murder.

“If you had asked me beforethis happened what I thoughtabout the death penalty,” Dellasays, “I would’ve said I was in favorof it.” Della explains that she onlybegan to think seriously about theissue after Robert Pruett had beenconvicted of her brother’s murderand the prosecutor was preparingDaniel Nagle’s family for the sen-tencing phase of the trial.

“The prosecutor asked us whatour views were on the death penal-ty,” Della remembers, “and I real-ized I had to ask myself, how do I

really feel about this? If I’m goingto go on record about it, I’d betterfigure it out. I thought about mykids. Children may not listen towhat you say, but they always lookat what you do. I’m thinking, whatmessage do I want to send to mykids? What kind of world do Iwant them to live in? I decidedthat the death penalty wasn’t themessage I wanted to send.”

When the prosecutor learnedthat Della opposed the death penal-ty, he refused to allow her to deliv-er a victim impact statement duringthe sentencing phase of the trial.Della’s sister, who supported thedeath penalty, was allowed to deliv-er a statement, and the conflictwithin the family was more painfulto Della than the prosecutor’srefusal to grant both sisters anequal right to speak. “According to

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Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights

Board of Directors

Bud Welch, President Brian Roberts, ChairTamara Chikunova, Vice-ChairVicki Schieber, TreasurerBill BabbittJennifer Bishop-JenkinsReverend Walter EverettBill JenkinsToshi KazamaRobert MeeropolBill PelkeSister Helen PrejeanBonnita Spikes

StaffRenny Cushing, Executive DirectorKate LowensteinSusannah Sheffer

Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights is a mem-ber of the World Coalition to Abolish the DeathPenalty, the National Coalition to Abolish the DeathPenalty, and the National Organization for VictimAssistance

Article 3Angela Mark & Red Sun PressDesign and Production

Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights2161 Massachusetts AvenueCambridge MA 02140 USA617-491-9600

[email protected]

Federal tax identification number: 11-3725424


Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights is an inter-national, non-governmental organization of familymembers of victims of criminal murder, terroristkillings, state executions, extrajudicial assassinations,and “disappearances” working to oppose the deathpenalty from a human rights perspective.

Membership is open to all victims’ family memberswho oppose the death penalty in all cases. “Friendof MVFHR” membership is open to all those interest-ed in joining our efforts.

my sister, if I didn’t want this man dead, I didn’t love my broth-er,” Della remembers. “But of course I love my brother very much.We were very close in age, and for me his death was a very bigdeal.”

Robert Pruett did receive a death sentence and is now ondeath row in Texas. “If I could stop them from killing him, Iwould,” Della says firmly. “He’s a human being, and to me that’sthe bottom line. How can I call myself a Catholic and supportthe death penalty when one of the main tenets of Christianity is‘Thou shalt not kill’? It was easier to support the death penaltywhen it was abstract, but when it hit me directly, it was very dif-ferent.”

Della joined Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights aftermeeting members who were speaking at her church in SanAntonio during the Journey of Hope speaking tour last October.She also belongs to the national organization Concerns of PoliceSurvivors (COPS), and she attends their annual retreat for siblingsof fallen officers. She says she values the support that the organi-zation provides but recognizes that her opposition to the deathpenalty differs from the group’s official position. “I’m veryunpopular when the issue comes up,” she acknowledges. “Theydon’t like it, but that doesn’t stop me.”

Della acknowledges, as well, that the possibility of a prisonercommitting a murder is one of the chief arguments against thesuitability of the life without parole sentence. “Yes, an inmatecan kill,” she says, “but another killing would then make it right?How can I say that?”

Della says she believes her brother recognized the risk of vio-lence that came with the job. At the same time, as head of thelocal correctional officers’ union, he was a staunch advocate forchanges that might have lowered that risk, not only for himselfbut for others. Like other MVFHR members, Della now assertsthat resources should go toward violence prevention, rather thantoward the death penalty.

Sister of Murdered Correctional Officer Opposes theDeath Penalty continued from page 1

Visit www.murdervictimsfamilies.org to view MVFHR's2005 annual report and to see other

news and updates.

We are now registered with Network for Good andable to receive donations online. Thank you for your

support of MVFHR's work!

Spring/Summer 2006

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MVFHR board member VickiSchieber spoke to United StatesSenators about the perspective ofvictims’ family members whooppose the death penalty at aFebruary hearing, “Examination ofthe Death Penalty in the UnitedStates.” The hearing was initiatedby Senator Sam Brownback, aRepublican from Kansas and Chairof the Senate Subcommittee on theConstitution, Civil Rights, andProperty Rights, and SenatorRussell Feingold, a Democrat fromWisconsin and ranking member ofthat subcommittee. Both Senatorshad expressed concerns about thedeath penalty and a desire to heartestimony from victims’ familymembers and from experts ondeterrence, as well as from speak-ers who could give an overview ofthe issue. The hearing was wellattended both by lawmakers andby members of the press.

Vicki’s testimony described herreasons for opposing the deathpenalty following the murder ofher 23-year-old daughter Shannon,discussed victim opposition to thedeath penalty in general, andoffered several recommendations.She said, in part:

“Linking closure for victims’families with the execution of theoffender is problematic for tworeasons: first, the death penalty iscurrently applied to only aboutone percent of convicted murder-ers in this country. If impositionof that penalty is really necessaryfor victims’ families, then what of

the 99% who are not offered it?Second, and even more criticalfrom a policy perspective, a vaguefocus on executions as the poten-tial source of closure for familiestoo often shifts the focus awayfrom other steps that could betaken to honor victims and to helpvictims’ families in the aftermathof murder. …

“We must move beyond vaguesentiments about being tough oncrime and seeking justice for vic-tims and look closely at whatactions would truly prevent vio-lence or help victims heal in theaftermath of violence. Among thepolicy changes that MurderVictims’ Families for HumanRights recommends in this arenaare: Remove time limits on vic-tims’ access to resources, such asvictim’s support and victim’s com-pensation. End discriminationagainst victims’ family memberswho have lost loved ones to mur-der and oppose the death penalty.The Victims of Crime Act shouldbe amended to recognize and vali-date the position of survivors ofmurder victims who oppose thedeath penalty. Current federaland state statutes that predicatethe rights and privileges of victimsupon the approval of prosecutingauthorities lead to a two-tiered sys-tem of victims — those who sup-port the death penalty are goodvictims; those who do not are sus-pect.

“Finally, we need to create anew paradigm about crime that

establishes as agoal an aspirationfor healing, forboth individualsand society.When the focus ison healing for thevictims, instead of blind retribu-tion against the perpetrators, wetruly honor the meaning of jus-tice.”

In addition, ConnecticutMVFHR member Toni Bosco wasasked to submit written testimonyfor the hearing. Toni’s testimonysaid, in part, “I’ve heard all thearguments for the death penaltyand I don’t dismiss these lightly.You can’t arrive at opposition tothis form of punishment withblinders on. When it hits you per-sonally, the anger and pain of yourloss makes you want to tear apartthat person who stole your lovedone and your happiness. But doesthis do any good in the long run?And should we be in the businessof killing people? ... I have longreflected on what Supreme CourtJustice Harry A. Blackmun wrote inthe mid-90’s, that nearly ‘twentyyears have passed since this Courtdeclared that the death penaltymust be imposed fairly, and withreasonable consistency, or not atall, and despite the effort of thestates and courts to devise legalformulas and procedural rules tomeet this daunting challenge, thedeath penalty remains fraughtwith arbitrariness, discriminations,caprice and mistake.’”

U.S. Senate Examines the Death Penalty

Vicki Schieber

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For the past several years, MVFHRboard member Toshi Kazama hasbeen working on a photo docu-mentary called “Youth on DeathRow.” The documentary includesphotos of youth (21 and younger)on death row, the prisoners’ familymembers, the victims’ familymembers, the prison, the prisoncemetery, and the crime scene orthe location where the crime tookplace. “Instead of focusing only onany one individual,” Toshiexplains, “the documentaryembraces the experience of all themajor groups affected, even whenthose experiences might seem tobe at odds with one another.” Inhis presentations, Toshi describeshis encounters with the people hehas photographed and invites theaudience to consider multiple per-spectives on violence and thedeath penalty. He has given thepresentation many times in theU.S. and has observed that newscoverage is often particularlystrong in pro-death penalty states.

Last spring, the TaiwanAssociation for Human Rights, theTaiwan Alliance to End the DeathPenalty, the Taiwan BarAssociation, and several otherorganizations invited Toshi to pres-ent the documentary in severalTaiwanese cities. During the ques-tion-and-answer session after oneof the presentations, a member ofthe audience identified himself asthe advisor to Taiwan PresidentChen Shui-bian and invited Toshito return to the country.

In September, Toshi returned toTaiwan and met with PresidentChen Shui-bian, along with mem-bers of the InternationalFederation of Human RightsLeagues (FIDH). During the meet-ing, the president said that he wasproud that the number of execu-tions in Taiwan had declined from32 in 1998 to 17 in 2000 to only 1in 2005. During the question peri-od, Toshi expressed his respect forthe president and added that henevertheless believed that one exe-cution was still one too many.

The following day, the presi-dent released a statement vowingto abolish the death penalty inTaiwan. He said, “Abolishing thedeath penalty has become a world

trend. Almost every year there isone country abolishing the deathpenalty. . . . Since I became presi-dent in 2000, Taiwan launched thecampaign to abolish the deathpenalty by reducing the handingdown and execution of capitalpunishment, and by making itharder for inmates to receiveparole and forcing them to paymore compensation to victims.”

Toshi reports that the presidentand his cabinet are now arrangingfor him to return to deliver anoth-er series of presentations, with thehope that that will influence pub-lic opinion toward opposing thedeath penalty. Toshi has expandedhis documentary project to includeTaiwanese photos. In meeting

Opposing the Death Penalty in Taiwan and Japan

Toshi Kazama delivers his presentation to members of the Japanese Federation of BarAssociations.

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with victims’ family members inTaiwan and also in Japan, Toshihas observed the powerful socialpressure against publicly opposingthe death penalty as a victim’sfamily member. Victims’ familymembers have told Toshi privatelythat they oppose the death penaltybut fear the ostracism they willface if they make that view known.

In Japan, victim’s family memberMasaharu Harada, who is the onlyfamily member of a murder victimto oppose the death penalty pub-licly in that country, joined

MVFHR board member RobertMeeropol and exonerated U.S.death row inmate KirkBloodsworth on a panel that waspart of the InternationalLeadership Conference on HumanRights and the Death Penalty, heldin Tokyo in December. RobertMeeropol reports on the confer-ence: “It was jointly sponsored bythe death penalty moratoriumcommittee of the American BarAssociation, the Japanese BarAssociation, and the Council ofEurope. People came from over 20countries. About half the partici-

pants were Japanese, with peoplefrom the U.S. comprising the sec-ond largest grouping, andEuropeans the third largest. Butthere were also participants from anumber of Asian countries includ-ing Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan,South Korea, Malaysia, andAustralia. The Japanese plannedthis conference primarily to learnfrom the American experience andthey listened very carefully to howwe were involving victims’ familymembers and the families of exe-cuted in the struggle to abolish thedeath penalty.”

Toshi Kazama (2nd from left) with the President of Taiwan (6th from left) and members of human rights organizations.

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In March, MVFHR member AudreyLamm, a student at the Universityof Oregon, participated in the Anti-Death Penalty Alternative SpringBreak organized by Texas StudentsAgainst the Death Penalty. The fivedays of anti-death penalty activismand education included a lobby dayat the state capitol and workshopsoffered by a variety of peopleinvolved with abolition work.

Audrey helped to bring the vic-tims’ perspective to the other stu-dent participants by speaking on apanel with MVFHR ExecutiveDirector Renny Cushing and TinaLawson, whose husband DavidMartinez was executed in Texas andwho founded the group Victims ofTexas. Audrey described her fami-ly’s story: when she was 2 years old,her mother Victoria Zessin andfriend Janet Mesner were murdered

in Nebraska. Years later, Audreyand her father Gus Lamm joinedthe Mesner family in opposing theexecution of Randy Reeves, whohad been sentenced to death forthe murders. The Lamms also filedsuit when the Nebraska PardonBoard forbade them from testifyingat a hearing regarding Reeves’scommutation but allowed a relativewho supported the death penalty topresent testimony. Reeves’s sen-tence was eventually commuted tolife in prison.

Though Audrey was outspokenin her opposition to Randy Reeves’sdeath sentence, until her participa-tion in Alternative Spring Break shehad mostly kept her story to her-self. Yet she believes it’s importantto let people know what she andher family have gone through. “Ifthere is anything I can do to pre-

Last July, MVFHR ExecutiveDirector Renny Cushing was invitedto address members of the foreignpress at a special briefing on thedeath penalty organized by the U.S.State Department. Over 30 printand broadcast journalists fromEuropean, Asian, and LatinAmerican countries toured severalsites (including death row) andheard several speakers on both sidesof the issue. At the briefing held atthe offices of AmnestyInternational, the journalists heardcomments from representativesfrom Amnesty, the Death PenaltyInformation Center, the National

Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break

vent other families from having tofight a similar battle, I will alwaysbe willing to volunteer,” Audreysays now. “I wanted to participatein Alternative Spring Break becauseI feel it is important for young peo-ple to come together and sharetheir experiences and knowledge ofcapital punishment in order to cre-ate a strong, cohesive, and powerfulstatement that can be shared withothers.”

MVFHR co-sponsored this Anti-Death Penalty Alternative SpringBreak to show our support foryouth organizing within the aboli-tion movement. The event wasalso co-sponsored by the TexasCoalition to Abolish the DeathPenalty, Texas MoratoriumNetwork, the Austin Chapter of theCampaign to End the DeathPenalty, and Victims of Texas.

Foreign Press Briefing about Human Rights and the Death Penalty

Coalition to Abolish the DeathPenalty, Equal Justice USA, andMurder Victims’ Families forHuman Rights. Renny Cushingtalked about victims’ family mem-bers’ emergence as an increasinglypowerful voice in the death penaltydebate, challenging the commonassumption that all victims’ familymembers support the death penalty,and the emergence of the deathpenalty as a human rights issue. Healso described the discriminationthat victims’ family members whooppose the death penalty can facewithin the criminal justice system.

After the briefing, Renny gave

several interviews to individual jour-nalists. “They were fascinated by theexistence of victim opposition tothe death penalty in the U.S.,” hesays. “The European journalists, inparticular, asked questions abouthow the U.S. reconciles a belief inthe death penalty with a belief inhuman rights.” The representativefrom the State Department who hadorganized the tour later thankedRenny for bringing the MVFHR per-spective to the briefing and saidthat he knew the United States’ useof the death penalty underminesour human rights record in the eyesof the world.

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On February 1, AmnestyInternational released a report onThe Death Penalty and Mentally IllOffenders that was immediatelypraised by the National Alliance forthe Mentally Ill, who also issuedtheir own press release opposingdeath sentences for people sufferingfrom serious mental illnesses. Thereport marks an important step inthe emerging campaign to enddeath sentences for mentally illoffenders, which was initiated in2004 by Amnesty International, theAmerican Bar Association, theNational Coalition to Abolish theDeath Penalty, and other groups.

At the request of these colleagueorganizations, MVFHR is workingwith the campaign to provide thevoices of victims. We are identify-ing and reaching out to familymembers of victims who were killedby persons identified as mentally illat the time of the crime and familymembers of executed persons whowere similarly identified. The per-spective of both groups is impor-tant as we draw public attention tothe issue.

Nick and Amanda Wilcox, forexample, have spoken out on theissue of mental illness and thedeath penalty in legislative testimo-ny, radio interviews, and speeches.They say, “A severely mentally illgunman murdered our daughterLaura while she was filling in asreceptionist at our local mentalhealth clinic. We have always beenopponents of the death penalty; wehave not wavered in our conviction

because of Laura’s death. Webelieve that responding to violencewith more violence leads societyinto a downward spiral of angerand more killing. Laura, bright andbeautiful at age nineteen, embracedlife and nonviolence fully; a deathsentence for her murderer wouldnot honor her memory.

“Laura’s murderer suffered fromsevere paranoid schizophrenia. Wecame to recognize soon after theshooting that this man was very illwith little or no insight into hiscondition or the consequence of hisactions. In order to protect society,institutionalization of this man isboth necessary and appropriate. Toexecute him for an act he commit-ted while delusional with a severedisease is, to us, simply wrong.

“Our prisons are now filled withthe mentally ill and in manyinstances the only way a personcan receive proper mental healthcare is by committing a crime. Thefinancial resources now spent onimplementing the death penaltywould be better spent if redirectedto treatment of those with seriousmental illness, thereby preventingfuture acts of violence.”

Since Laura’s murder, theWilcoxes have not only workedagainst the death penalty but havealso advocated for improved mentalhealth care in California. “Laura’sLaw” (which allows for court-ordered outpatient treatment forthe severely mentally ill) was enact-ed in 2002.

Our message is doubly strong

when family members of mentallyill offenders who have been execut-ed join murder victims’ familymembers in advocating for treat-ment rather than executions.MVFHR board member Bill Babbitthas testified several times about thefact that his mentally ill brotherManny was sentenced to deathrather than given the help that thepolice had promised Bill his brotherwould receive. Similarly, Ken andLois Robison have spoken out innumerous forums about theirinability to get treatment for theirson Larry, who was diagnosed as aparanoid schizophrenic at the ageof 21. “ We were told that if hebecame violent, he could get thelong-term treatment that everyoneagreed he needed,” Lois says. “Ourson’s first and only act of violencewas to kill five people. Despite hiswell-documented history of mentalillness, he was found sane and sen-tenced to die. The state of Texasexecuted him in 2000. How can amodern, civilized society choose toexterminate its ill citizens ratherthan treat them?”

To read Amnesty Internation-al’sreport on The Death Penalty andMentally Ill Offenders, visithttp://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGAMR510032006

The Death Penalty and Mental Illness

Amanda and Nick Wilcox

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“To get time off from work whenthe execution was taking place, Ihad to lie and say I had a death inthe family,” says Melanie Hebert,who was 22 when her uncle,Spencer Goodman, was executedin Texas. “In fact, I had not yethad that death.”

Melanie’s comment is oneexample of the unique challengesfaced by family members of peoplewho are executed. For the mostpart, families confront these chal-lenges alone and deal with theimpact of the execution on theirfamilies alone. On October 27th,Murder Victims’ Families for

Human Rights held a gathering inAustin, Texas of 18 relatives of peo-ple who had been executed. Theyincluded survivors who had lostparents, children, uncles, hus-bands, and brothers. They camefrom Illinois, Missouri, NorthCarolina, Georgia, Tennessee,Rhode Island, California,Massachusetts, Virginia, Alberta,Canada, and Texas for some, it wastheir first time meeting anotherfamily who had gone through asimilar nightmare.

During this two-hour privategathering, relatives talked abouthow they learned that their loved

one was charged with capital mur-der and sentenced to death, whatit was like to witness or to wait fornews of the execution, how theywere treated by others in theircommunity, and what the ongoingeffects on their family have been.They described various kinds ofshame and isolation: changing thename on a driver’s license, forexample, to avoid the taunts thatcame from holding the same nameas the executed relative.Struggling to answer the questionsof young children in the family.Watching a son try to say goodbyeto his child before being executed.The horror of witnessing the exe-

cution itself. The suffer-ing of the rest of the fam-ily.

After this sharing ofexperiences, the groupheld a public ceremonyand press conferencemarking the officiallaunch of the “NoSilence, No Shame” proj-ect. Three members ofthe group gave publicstatements: RobertMeeropol, whose parentsEthel and JuliusRosenberg were executedby the U.S. governmentin 1953, talked aboutsociety’s failure to consid-er the effect of executionson surviving children,Bill Babbitt, whose men-tally ill brother MannyBabbitt was executed in

“No Silence, No Shame” Brings Families of the Executed Together

“No Silence, No Shame” participants after the public ceremony.

Photo by Abe Bonow

itz

continued on page 9

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California in 1999, challengedsociety to offer treatment, ratherthan death sentences, to mentallyill offenders, and Celia DiazMcWee, whose son Jerry was exe-cuted in South Carolina in 2004,described her experience witness-ing the execution of her son.

Following these statements, allthe participants held a ceremonyin which each placed two roses ina vase: one in memory of their rel-ative who was executed, and onein memory of the victim. Whileholding the roses, participantstook a moment to name the per-son being remembered and to saya few words.

The event received much favor-

able press coverage, including aneditorial in the Austin American-Statesman titled “The Families LeftBehind.” The editorial said, inpart, "We hardly give them a sec-ond thought — if we notice themat all. But the family members ofpeople who have been executedare no longer willing to suffer insilence. Their stories of survivalafter their parents, children or sib-lings were executed should givethe public yet another reason toabolish the death penalty. At thevery least, it should spur debateabout whether executions are cre-ating a class of victims who arebeing traumatized by state killingmachines.”

MVFHR is now working onthe next steps of the project. Inthe coming months, we will bepreparing a document based oninterviews with family members ofpeople who have been executed,and we will be working with stateand local abolition groups toarrange public speaking opportuni-ties for participants in the “NoSilence, No Shame” project.

To read the full text of thestatements given at the public cere-mony in Austin, and to read moreabout the project, visit www.mur-dervictimsfamilies.org. To supportor become involved in the project,contact us at [email protected] or 617-491-9600.

Ida Reid places a rose in the vase in memory of her brother James, who was executed in Virginia.

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Publicly opposing the death penal-ty as a lawmaker can be politicallychallenging, and publicly opposing thedeath penalty as a victim’s familymember can be personally challenging.In recent months, several lawmakerswho are relatives of murder victimshave spoken against the death penaltyduring legislative debates on the issue.We have seen that such statementshave a powerful effect on fellow law-makers, and we want to recognize andthank those who have taken this kindof public stand.

During the debate about the billthat would have reinstated thedeath penalty in Massachusetts lastyear, Representative James Welchdelivered these remarks: “This is anissue that has caused me a greatdeal of uncertainty. Capital punish-ment is something I knew I wouldhave to take a stance on. For meand my family, this is a personalissue. I wish it wasn’t. But it is. In1983, my cousin was murdered byher former boyfriend. It was some-thing I didn’t truly understandthen. We gathered around the tele-vision set to watch in disbelief. Thenext few years I remember the trialthat consumed my family’s life. AsI approached my 10th birthday, theperson convicted of this crime waslet out of jail because of a techni-cality. I thought this person wasgoing to come after me. My fatherbegan to sleep downstairs to pro-tect me. Time went on and therewas a new trial and this person waseventually convicted. I was older

though and wasbetter able tounderstand. But Iwas angry and sad.My aunt, uncle,and cousins didnot deserve thispain. The pain oflosing a daughter and sister, buthaving to go through a trial twice.As I learned that we would be tak-ing up this issue, I was reminded ofthat pain. I knew I could not voteuntil I spoke to my uncle. Wespoke for several minutes and itbecame clear that he lives everyday with pain. It does not go away.He told me that he would supportwhatever decision I made. I wish Icould take away his pain. If I feltbeing in favor of the death penaltywill make the pain go away, then Iwould support it. But it won’t. Mr.Speaker, I ask that you supportaccepting the committee’s report[against the reinstatement bill]because reinstating the deathpenalty will not make the pain goaway.”

Last March, when ConnecticutRepresentatives were debating a billthat would have abolished thedeath penalty in that state,Representative Minnie Gonzalezargued that the death penalty doesnot deter crime, and then conclud-ed by saying, “My stepson wasmurdered twelve years ago. He gotoff from work at 11: 00 p.m., andhe went to pick up his wife. And acar passed by, and they shot him.Twelve years later, my husband

cries and misses his son. We dis-cussed the issue of the death penal-ty, and he told me, if they evercatch those guys, I don’t want thedeath penalty.”

Most recently, when theVirginia Senate was holding a hear-ing on a bill to impose a moratori-um on executions, two Senatorssaid that their opposition to thedeath penalty was rooted in theirexperience of losing a family mem-ber to murder. According to aWashington Post article, SenatorHenry Marsh III, whose brotherwas murdered, briefly questionedhis opposition to the death penal-ty, but the murder and the eventsthat followed convinced him thatinnocent people could be sen-tenced to death. Senator JanetHowell, whose father-in-law wasmurdered, said during the debateon the moratorium bill, “Up untilthen, I was in favor of the deathpenalty. But when my father-in-lawwas murdered, I discovered thatthe possibility of a death sentenceon someone did not unify my fam-ily; it splintered my family. One ofthe reasons that I had always sup-ported the death penalty was sud-denly not there anymore.”

Victims’ Family Member Lawmakers Oppose the Death Penalty

Rep. GonzalezRep. WelchSenator Marsh

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After a successful two-week speak-ing tour through Texas last October,the Journey of Hope … fromViolence to Healing plans to cometo Virginia October 30-November 5,2006. Journey participants addressaudiences at high schools, colleges,churches, civic clubs, and rallies,always speaking in teams thatinclude a murder victim’s familymember, a family member of some-one who is on death row or hasbeen executed or an exonerateddeath row inmate, and a local anti-death penalty activist who can talkabout the political situation in thatstate.

Jack Payden-Travers, director ofVirginians for Alternatives to theDeath Penalty (VADP), believes thatthe time is right for bringing theJourney’s message to Virginia.

“The last time the Journey cameto Virginia was in 1996,” Jackrecalls. “Unfortunately, Virginia hasexecuted over 60 people in the tenyears since then. But we are at apoint now where the situation ischanging rapidly. 2005 was the firstyear since 1983 that Virginia didnot have an execution, and theSenate just passed and sent on tothe governor a bill to abolish thejuvenile death penalty here. Now,obviously the juvenile death penal-ty has already been ruled unconsti-tutional by the U.S. Supreme Court,but for us to update our statute onan issue as controversial as this oneis significant. Historically, Virginiahas been very slow to take that step.When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled

in 1999 that the ageof eligibility for thedeath penalty shouldbe 16, not 15, it tookVirginia ten years topass a law bringingour statute in linewith that ruling.This time, the billpassed overwhelm-ingly, which I believe signals a newclimate.”

The 2005 election of an anti-death penalty governor also signalsa major shift in Virginians’ thinkingon the issue, Jack believes. “TimKane is the first southern politicianto come out against the deathpenalty, and he was elected here.We view this as a new era and awindow of opportunity in which toeducate the public in this state andmove toward moratorium and even-tually abolition. This is why we areexcited about bringing the Journeyof Hope here now. When you bringmurder victims’ family members,families of the executed, andexonerees together on one platform,you change minds and hearts. I sawit on the Texas Journey this pastOctober; these are the stories thatreach people.”

People who participate in theJourney also find themselves deeplyaffected by the experience. LizBrancato, who traveled fromConnecticut to speak at severalevents on the Texas Journey, says, “Icame to have such respect for all thevolunteers in Texas, that they areable to carry on with their abolition

work in the face of the regular exe-cutions and apparent support byTexans for he death penalty. I wasterrifically impressed that theyaren’t overwhelmed by despair.Secondly, I was moved by the fami-ly members of death row prisonersand the family members of the exe-cuted. In spite of my opposition tothe death penalty, I had neverallowed myself to think of the fami-ly members of the man who mur-dered my mother, except in termsof what they had compared to whatI didn’t have – that is, why werethey allowed to have their father/grandfather (he was never in dan-ger of execution), and my childrenand I no longer had my mother. Ilearned, again, that it is impossibleto hate any group of people, whenyou put a real, individual, face onthem. I hadn’t really thoughtabout how victimized the familiesof death row and executed prisonersare, not until I actually met andspoke with some of them.”

For more information or to partici-pate in the Virginia Journey of Hope,contact president and co-founder BillPelke at 877-924-4483 [email protected]

The Journey of Hope in Texas and Virginia

Journey of Hope participants march to the Texas state capitol.

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Members of MVFHR regularlyengage in activism and public educa-tion about victim opposition to thedeath penalty. Here is a sampling ofrecent news from around the UnitedStates.

California: In December, at the request of

the state group Death PenaltyFocus, MVFHR wrote a statementin support of the “CaliforniaMoratorium on Executions Act,”and Walt Everett traveled fromPennsylvania to testify at a hearingon the bill along with Californiamembers Bill Babbitt and DerrelMyers. Also in December, MVFHRjoined with the U.S. Human RightsNetwork in issuing a statementregarding the highly publicizedexecution of Stanley “Tookie”Williams. At the same time,California victims’ family membersparticipated in protest eventsaround the state: Amanda andNick Wilcox (see p. 7), for exam-ple, spoke at a protest outsideSacramento City Hall, and DerrelMyers took part in a protest walkfrom San Francisco to San Quentinand then spoke to the crowd thathad gathered outside the prison.Derrel’s 23-year-old son JoJo wasmurdered in 1996, and he and hiswife Naomi White frequentlyspeak against the death penalty,arguing that it is connected to thelarger societal problems of povertyand racism.

Additionally, Bill Babbittreleased a statement to the media

correcting the assertion thatWilliams was the first African-American executed by Californiasince reinstatement of the deathpenalty; in fact, Bill’s brother,Manny Babbitt, executed inCalifornia in 1999, was the first.“We are outraged by news reportsstating incorrectly that all elevenmen executed before StanleyWilliams were white,” the Babbittfamily’s statement read. “We can-not imagine why reporters wouldbe so irresponsible in failing tocheck this simple factual assertion.We do not know where thesereporters are getting their informa-tion but we are shocked by theseinaccuracies and this apparentattempt to white-wash California’sdeath row.”

Connecticut: Toni Bosco, author of the book

Choosing Mercy: A Mother of Murder

Victims Pleads to End the DeathPenalty, writes that she spoke to theNovember meeting of the U.S.Conference of Catholic Bishops, aspart of their Campaign to End theUse of the Death Penalty. In heraddress, Toni described some of thechallenges she has received: “SomeCatholics have berated me for notwanting death, and for workinghard in prison ministry and seek-ing restorative justice, saying, ‘Youcouldn’t have loved your childrenif you don’t want to even the scoreand have the killer killed.’”

Liz Brancato, who joinedMVFHR during the “Dissent withDignity” walk that took place lastMay in the days precedingConnecticut’s first execution in 45years, writes that she has spokenagainst the death penalty to sever-al audiences around the state andthat she and others in theConnecticut Network to Abolish

Victims’ Voices: News from Around the U.S.

continued on page 13

Derrel Myers on the protest walk from San Francisco to San Quentin.

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the Death Penalty (CNADP) havebeen staffing information tables atperformances of the play TheExonerated in Hartford. In Januaryand February MVFHR ExecutiveDirector Renny Cushing, boardmember Robert Meeropol, andConnecticut member GailCanzano did “talk backs” after per-formances of the play, and inMarch, Texas member Kerry Cook,who is one of the exonerateddeath row inmates featured in theplay and is also the brother of amurder victim, traveled toConnecticut to speak at a pressconference organized by CNADP.

Delaware:In November, MVFHR board

member Walt Everett traveled fromPennsylvania to speak at vigil andprotest of the execution of BrianSteckel, along with Delaware vic-tims’ family members. At the vigil,Walt met Michael Berg, whose 26-year-old son Nicholas Berg was

beheaded in Iraq in 2004 and whowas also speaking out against theexecution. Michael joined MVFHRsoon afterward, saying, “Havinglost my son in Iraq, I’ve becomeeven more sensitized to the awful-ness of the waste of human life,and I’ve become far more activeagainst the idea of using violenceto solve problems that should besolved in other ways.”

Illinois: Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins and

Bill Jenkins report that they andseveral other victims’ family mem-bers have spoken to a wide rangeof audiences over the past severalmonths, including many studentgroups. Jennifer and Bill have alsospoken on victim impact panelsorganized by the Cook CountyJuvenile Probation Department,and Bill has held trainings andgiven presentations that educatevictims’ service professionals aboutvictim opposition to the deathpenalty, including a speech at thefirst conference of the NationalCenter for Victims of Crime.

Maryland:Bonnita Spikes and Vicki

Schieber have been actively work-ing to protest executions inMaryland and have spoken to uni-versity and church groups aroundthe state. Bonnita works withMaryland Citizens Against StateExecutions to reach out to victims’and prisoners’ family members andto educate the public about theeffects of the death penalty, partic-ularly its effect on African-American communities. She hasmade efforts to engage in dialogue

and encourage leadership withinthe Black churches, and in Augustshe addressed the TeamstersNational Black Caucus and theNational Black Police Association.Ron Hampton, director of theNational Black Police Association,told MVFHR that the associationhas officially opposed the deathpenalty since 1986. “One of ourgoals is to evaluate the criminaljustice system and its negativeimpact on communities of color,”he explained, “and we see thedeath penalty as part of that.”Ron said it was valuable to have avictim’s family member addressthe conference. “People believethe death penalty has somethingto do with fighting crime. Wedecided we had to train and edu-cate people regarding the truth ofthe death penalty. Bonnita’s pres-entation was an opportunity forface-to-face conversation withsomeone who could articulateanother view. The audiencereceived the talk quite well. Fromthe evaluations afterwards, we sawthat people who had been in favorof the death penalty before theyattended the talk now changedtheir minds.”

Massachusetts:In July, nine victims’ family

members and family members ofthe executed attended a hearingon a bill that would have reinstat-ed the death penalty inMassachusetts, and several gavetestimony. Loretta Filipov, whosehusband Alexander Filipov waskilled when he was a passenger onAmerican Airlines Flight #11 onSeptember 11, 2001, told the law-


Victims’ Voices: News fromAround the U.S.continued from page 12

Michael Berg

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opposing the death penalty is anunexpected one, and it provokesthought and opens up ideas,”Laura says. In December, whenthe murder of two police officersprompted the governor to call aspecial legislative session with thegoal of bringing back the deathpenalty, several murder victims’family members contacted theirlegislators and published letters tothe editor arguing that the deathpenalty should not be reinstated.

North Carolina: Many victims’ family members

joined other abolitionists inprotesting the 1000th United Statesexecution since 1977, which tookplace in North Carolina onDecember 2nd. MVFHR and TheJourney of Hope collaborated on avictims’ statement opposing theexecution, which was read aloud atseveral protest events around thecountry. At the prison in Raleigh,17 people were arrested for an actof civil disobedience (entering theprison grounds) at the time of theexecution. Renny Cushing deliv-ered a statement outside the prisonthat said, in part, “Human Rightsinvolve responsibilities. A funda-mental responsibility of us all is tobe vigilant in protecting thehuman rights of others. Tonight,my personal conscience acceptsthe human responsibility tooppose the violation of humanrights that is the death penalty.Acting with the power of nonvio-lence in the face of violence, Ienter the grounds of the CentralPrison to defend human rights,bear witness against killing in myname, killing in the name of vic-

tims, killing in the name of socie-ty.” Charges against the protesterswere eventually dropped.

North Dakota:Marietta Jaeger Lane, whose

daughter Susie was kidnapped andmurdered in 1973, writes that shehas been speaking to universitygroups in North Dakota as well asin her home state of Montana.When she and Sister Helen Prejeanaddressed a group at the Universityof Mary in Bismarck after a per-formance of the Dead Man Walkingplay, Marietta reports that she “hadthe gratifying occasion of a numberof students and locals telling methat they’d changed their positionon the death penalty as a result ofhearing Helen and me speak andseeing the play and were nowopposed to capital punishment.”

Oklahoma:Ann and Jim Fowler write that

they have been visiting state legis-lators about the three abolitionbills that were introduced this ses-sion. The Fowlers’ son Mark wasexecuted in 2001; Jim’s mother,Goldie, had been murdered yearsearlier in a separate crime. “Wehave learned that legislators havenot been truly informed regardingthe failure of the death penalty sys-tem,” Jim told MVFHR. “Almostevery letter we write is published inthe ‘Sooner Catholic’ newspaperhere in Oklahoma City. This news-paper reaches approximately50,000 homes in the western halfof the state. In addition to this, wehand-carry 140 copies to each andevery legislator’s office at the statecapitol. This gives us the feeling

makers, “We need to stop the cycleof violence. We can see from thepresent course we are following inthis country that violence onlybegets more violence and killingonly leads to more killing. It ispossible to have justice withoutrevenge and hate.” JamieBissonnette of the AmericanFriends Service CommitteeCriminal Justice Program said inher testimony, “In 1974, two ofmy cousins were killed. My cousinPedro Bissonnette … believed thatcivil rights extended to Native peo-ple and founded the Oglala SiouxCivil Rights Organization(OSCRO). … I have done dedicatedcriminal justice work in my owncommunities, the tribes in NewEngland. I do this work because Ibelieve we have to be about solv-ing problems, building peace, andestablishing balance. These threethings are justice. The death penal-ty is not.”

New York:After the state Supreme Court

ruled in 2004 that New York’sdeath penalty statute was uncon-stitutional, the state has beeneffectively without a death penal-ty, and abolitionists have beenactively working to prevent a leg-islative or judicial reinstatement.New Yorkers Against the DeathPenalty Director of OrganizingLaura Porter says that victims’ fam-ilies have been an important partof that effort. “Particularly whenwe reach out to new audiences, thevoice of victims’ family members



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were exonerated death row inmateShujaa Graham, attorney TeresaNorris, and Kathleen HawkNorman of Jurors for Justice. Thegroup held a press conference atthe State House and traveled toseveral South Carolina cities todeliver public presentations againstthe death penalty. Many aboli-tionists, including victims’ familymembers and family members ofthe executed, also participated in apublic protest of the 1001st execu-tion, which took place in SouthCarolina the following day.

Tennessee: Hector Black writes that he and

his wife Susie have spoken to sev-eral groups around the state inrecent months, and have begunmeeting with lawmakers to lay thegroundwork for a moratorium andstudy bill that will likely be intro-duced in 2008. The Blacks’ daugh-ter Patricia Nuckles was murderedin 2000. Another outspoken vic-

tim’s family member in Tennessee,Regina Hockett, whose daughterAdriane Dickerson was murderedin 1995, also reports several recentspeaking engagements, including apanel at Vanderbilt Universitywhere she spoke along withBonnie DeShields, whose brotherRobert Coe was executed inTennessee in 2000.

Randy Tatel, Director of theTennessee Coalition to AbolishState Killing (TCASK), believes thatthis kind of public education iscritical to anti-death penalty workin Tennessee. “The voices of fami-lies of the executed are so margin-alized in the entire discussion ofthe death penalty,” Randy says,“that it’s essential to include thosevoices in our abolition efforts.And I believe it’s impossible tohave a meaningful policy discus-sion if you don’t include murdervictims’ family members. Thedeath penalty is part of a largerdiscussion about what society

that we are accomplishing smallsteps in a long journey.”

In December, MVFHR memberJohnnie Carter was a guest on theMitch Albom Show, a nationalradio program, discussing her expe-rience witnessing the execution ofthe man who murdered her 7-year-old granddaughter. “I did not getclosure from watching someoneelse get killed,” Johnnie said.

South Carolina: SueZann Bosler, daughter of a

murder victim and herself a sur-vivor of attempted murder, wasone of the featured speakers on the“Death Penalty: Voices ofExperience” tour that AbeBonowitz, the South CarolinaEqual Justice Alliance, the Centerfor Capital Litigation and severalother groups organized in the daysprior to the 1000th execution in theUnited States (see North Carolina,above). Other speakers on the tour


Celia McWee protesting in South Carolina.

SueZann Bosler speaks at a press conference at the South Carolina state capitol.


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needs to do in response to murder,and a victim’s family memberopposing the death penalty jarspeople from their set position onthe issue.” Each year on NationalCrime Victims’ Rights Week,TCASK issues a statement sayingthat they believe it is important torecognize all victims: “What manypeople, including many good-hearted victim’s rights advocates,fail to acknowledge is that an exe-cution creates an entirely new set,an unnecessary set, of victims’family members.”

Texas:In October, several victims’

family members and family mem-bers of the executed, from Texas

and from several states around thecountry, participated in theJourney of Hope’s two-week speak-ing tour throughout the state andthen spoke on several panels at theannual conference of the NationalCoalition to Abolish the DeathPenalty, which was held in Austinthis year. These activities resultedin a great deal of press coverage,including an article in the AustinAmerican-Statesman that carried theheadline, “Victims’ family mem-bers crusade against the deathpenalty; vengeance not the answer,say relatives of those killed.” InJanuary, MVFHR provided a train-ing on victims’ issues at the annualconference of the Texas Coalitionto Abolish the Death Penalty.

Virginia:In November, Vicki Schieber

(see p. 3) and Ida Reid spoke at theannual conference of Virginiansfor Alternatives to the DeathPenalty (VADP). Ida, whose broth-er James Reid was executed inVirginia in 2004, had just partici-pated in the “No Silence, NoShame” gathering that MVFHRorganized in Texas, and she con-cluded her statement at the VADPconference by saying, “We havebeen hidden, we have been silent,we have been ashamed to speakout, but now, with this projectbringing us together, we are pre-pared to talk about the effect ofexecutions on surviving familymembers. I know that ending oursilence and moving away from ourshame will help us heal ourselvesand help us bring about a betterworld.”

Documents

Sister of Murdered Correctional Officer Opposes the …mvfhr/MVFHR_3-06.pdf“But of course I love my brother very much. We were very close in age, and for me his death was a very