CUADP


Home

STARVIN' FOR JUSTICE 2001 PRESS & PICTURE GALLERY Whittier woman joins vigil in Washington Story from the Whittier Daily News Photos by Whittier Daily News and Abe Bonowitz
Hundreds opposed to death penalty gather at U.S. Supreme Court for 8th annual fast WHITTIER -- Chrysanthi Settlage has been opposed to the death penalty since she was a little girl growing up in Whittier, but now she is putting her whole being into the cause. This weekend, Settlage joined other death penalty abolitionists in a four-day fast and vigil in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. "I believe there is a little bit of God in every person, and even the worst criminal doesn't deserve to be killed," said Settlage, who is taking part in the eighth annual Starvin' For Justice 2001 vigil. The protest began Friday, the anniversary of Furman v. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court's 1972 decision that found the death penalty to be unconstitutional in practice. The decision forced all states to rewrite their death penalty laws. Settlage, a recent graduate of Yale University now interning in Washington, D.C., said most of the protesters belong to the Abolitionist Action Committee, an ad hoc group committed to educating others on alternatives to the death penalty. Settlage, 23, said her beliefs stem from her Quaker faith. When she lived here she attended Whittier First Friends Church. "I am also following in the footsteps of my heroes, Edith and Gerald Haynes (longtime California residents and activists), who have spent their lives showing our justice system is broken and reminding us that all people deserve compassion. I am standing up against the culture of violence and asking our nation to adopt alternatives to the death penalty."
The protest ends at midnight tonight, the anniversary of Gregg v. Georgia, the 1976 decision that allowed the resumption of executions in the United States. This is her second attempt at the four-day fast -- last year she was only able to forgo food for two days. "I cheated last year -- I only fasted for two days, because I started feeling ill and I didn't think it was the greatest idea to push it," she said. "But I want to do it again to focus on what must be changed. And I prepared myself by only eating fruits and vegetables leading up to the fast." Also joining the fast, which has grown over the years from a handful of participants to crowds numbering in the hundreds, is Abe Bonowitz, director of Citizens United For Alternatives to the Death Penalty, one of many groups involved. "I've done fasts before, but this is a whole different thing," he said. "We are forgoing food so we can focus on the work we have as a team, which is to raise awareness of the death penalty." When Settlage completes her internship, she plans to return to California to start a doctoral program in social policy at UC Berkeley. By Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell Staff Writer

Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (CUADP) works to end the death penalty in the United States through aggressive campaigns of public education and the promotion of tactical grassroots activism.

Designed & Hosted by:

Support CUADP and contact Computer Partners for Web Design & Hosting, eCommerce, Point-of-Sale and ERP Software.