'Starvin' For Justice'

Killing morally wrong, execution not the answer, participants say
By Lorna Taken/Tribune-Star

July 1, 2002

For Rob Larson, voting is not enough. To him, if a person just votes on an issue, he's not having a big enough impact on the situation.

Larson said the best way to get a point across is to get actively involved. And that's exactly what he, an activist for abolition of the death penalty, and various other activists did Sunday in front of the Vigo County Courthouse.

"Being actively involved, that's how things change," Larson said. "Until you go out and do something, rights don't exist."

He expressed his freedom to comment and criticize Sunday as part of "Starvin' For Justice," an event coordinated by the volunteers of the Terre Haute Abolition Network.

Larson, along with other protesters, fasted from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and held out signs for 3rd Street passersby to see.

Some slowed down, some honked their horns, and some paid no attention, but Larson believes that if people at least give the issue a thought, then it's worth it. Larson's sign read - "Execution is Not the Solution."

He said a good solution would be to find more ways to prevent crimes, instead of killing those that do.

"Killing another person is morally wrong and it doesn't become right when the state's involved," he emphasized.

Marie Poling, a student at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, agrees. She showed her anti-death penalty stance by standing in front of the Courthouse with her sign that read "Poor Public Policy."

Poling said that institutionalized killing disturbs her and she doesn't understand why the United States still puts people to death.

"I don't think a healthy society operates with the death penalty," Poling said. "It reflects the values of the culture and I don't want to deal with that."

Anti-death penalty activist Earl Harvey showed his stance by wearing a T-shirt that read "Why do we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong."

"We're the only developed country that puts people to death," Harvey said. "It's just plain wrong."

Harvey's also tries to "know his stuff" when it comes to the statistics on executions.

"Due to DNA testing, [people have realized] that some of the people on death row are not guilty," he said, adding that the number of innocent people executed is more than a person would like to believe.

Harvey also believes that putting a person to death doesn't give them enough time to redeem themselves.

The timing of "Starvin' For Justice" is meant to coincide with the anniversaries of former Supreme Court decisions that suspended the death penalty in 1972. It was reinstated in 1976.

"Starvin' For Justice" is happening all over the United States this week, including Washington D.C., where protesters are standing in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Harvey believes that one day the death penalty will be abolished.

"The issue is moving in our direction," he said.

Many protesters admitted they were hungry, but all agree that going without food for a day is worth it.

"I had a big sandwich before I went to bed," Larson said.

 
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