9/27/2000: More "This & That"
This message is sent FIRST to the members of
CUADPUpdate....
Feel free to forward
CONTENTS in this edition....
Watch Oprah 9/28/2000
NGA - Update, including Where to fine Abe in the movie, "Dead
Man Walking"
T-shirt item
New ACLU DP action site
What laws would YOU change?
Texas Death Row Book Available
Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul - 2nd announcement
STEVE EARLE ON NIGHTLINE
Happy New Year!
****
Thursday 9/28/00: Oprah Winfrey Show - Check local listings.
On Thursday morning, September 28, Oprah will broadcast a show on
wrongful convictions and the death penalty, featuring Larry
Marshall, Kirk Bloodsworth, Dennis Williams, Gary Gauger, and Gerald
Kogan live and ending with a very moving film clip of Bryan
Stevenson. When the show was recorded the other day, it was reported
that Bloodsworth had the audience in tears. This show is going
to be powerful, very possibly one of the best thing that's happened
since the Illinois moratorium. Kindly forward this information to
others who might be interested in watching.
Note also: There's a place at http://www.oprah.com
where you can express your views on the death penalty.
*******
National Governor's Association - an UPDATE
Most of you saw my post about how a judge agreed with me that the
cops who stopped me in State College last July were not interested
in minor traffic infractions. For the full story, visit http://www.cuadp.org/natgovassocmeet.html
But here's a couple of updates:
#1 - my lawyer wrote:
> [...]
>Coincidentally, I was at a wedding with Carmine Prestia
>officiating last weekend. After outing me as a leftist
>to my father in law's conservative family, he told me the
>story about your hearing, his finding of not guilty and
>your luncheon with the officers. A great story -- and he
>was happy to tell it.
#2 - I'm sure the judge was also happy to receive the autographed
book sent to him by Sister Helen Prejean, in which she inscribed:
"To Judge Carmine Prestia, Jr- Thank you for being a judge who
stands for life, not death. You are in my prayers that your
courage does not fail. -Sister Helen Prejean"
In case you don't recall or are new to this list, at the end of my
trial, Justice Prestia asked if I really know Helen, and said that
he was impressed with her book. Thanks Theresa, for helping
expedite that book!
and finally,
#3 - Where to find Abe in the movie, "Dead Man Walking"
After the last update, several people wrote messages like:
>Abe,
>I watched the film twice but didn't see you. Where were you
hiding?
>
>=====
>Anna <aboaev@yahoo.com>
>Turku, Finland
You had to watch closely.... In the first execution scene in
the film, Sr. Helen is seen protesting outside the prison gates.
The REAL Helen is in a white sweater to the left of Susan Sarandon.
I am in a purple shirt, holding a sign, with my back to the camera.
As the camera pans back and then into the circle of nuns, I put my
sign down and turn to the right, and you can see my profile in the
shadow before my image exits screen-right. My other scene got
cut.
I can't tell you how cool it was to get the call, "Come on down
and be extras!" I was working with Magdaleno M. Rose
Avila at the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation. We went down for
several days, and Magdaleno ended up getting serious facial exposure
in the final cut of the film. He's the big Mexican in the
heavy black rimmed glasses who Helen waives/says goodbye to at the
end of the same scene I am in - just after the guard drives by with
the tears in his eyes.... I'm sure that there were more then a
few instances around the world where people were watching the film,
and someone would see the big guy and instinctively yell out, "MAGDALENO!"
hahaha!
For me, the best part of being there was standing behind the film
crew that was interviewing Burl Cain, then the new Warden of Angola.
He had just killed his second prisoner, and he was talking like an
abolitionist. He described Helen, who he had just met that
day, as being "biblically sound," and he talked about his
feelings that the prisoner-killings were too hidden behind walls,
and that if executions were televised, people would get sick of it
and we would abolish the death penalty....
*******
T-Shirt question
>Abe,
>
>The T-shirt, bumper stickers and buttons arrived yesterday. You
>sent more than I paid for, thank you. I'll try to spread
the
>extras around where they will be used.
Thanks for writing that. The fact is that CUADP is much more
interested in spreading the message than in making the money.
To be clear, we need all the money we can get, but... what goes
around comes around, eventually.
See http://www.cuadp.org/abolitionwear.html
for info on t-shirts, buttons, stickers and other cool abolitionist
stuff....
*****
NEW ACLU Action site!
Visit the ACLU NationalDeath Penalty Campaign at http://www.aclu.org/death-penalty?o
******
WHAT LAWS WOULD YOU CHANGE?
>If you could change any US law or policy, what would it be?
>Together we can change anything we choose.
>
>GenerationNet.org <http://www.GenerationNet.org>
is a new
>nonprofit using the Internet to give young people a voice
>in shaping the laws that affect our lives.
*******
TEXAS DEATH ROW BOOK AVAILABLE
Ken Light has produced an extraordinary photographic record of Texas
Death Row. For those of you who do not know, my education is
actually in photographic technology, and black and white photography
has always been my favorite. This is a very good book both
photographically and otherwise.
>Abe,
>
>Folks have been asking where they might get information about
>ordering copies of my Texas death Row book. Thye can go to
>http://www.Kenlight.com/publications/index.html
and click on
>Texas Death row to see some of the images or click on Amazon
>logo to see the book.
>
>Ken Light
>http://www.kenlight.com
>
*****
NOTE - this item is a repost. jane sent me a copy of the book
(THANKS jane!) and I've had a chance to look through it. This
one is worth having handy.....
CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE PRISONERS' SOUL
"Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul" has been released.
This new addition to the "Chicken Soup" series of books is
a compilation of 101 inspiring and hope-filled stories written by
prisoners and those who work closely with them. The book is
being made available *free* to prisoners, but we urge you to buy
yours and in doing so, support the work of jane davis, a member of
CUADP's advisory board and the founder/director of HOPE-HOWSE
International, a non-profit peace and human rights organization, who
has not one, but TWO stories included in it. Not be available
in book stores, your minimum donation of $30 (plus S&H) to HOPE-HOWSE
will get you a free copy. Credit cards accepted. Contact jane
at jane@hope-howse.org or
visit the website at <http://www.hope-howse.org>
If you want to purchase an individual book call HCI at (800)
851-9100, ext. 5, but CUADP encourages you to support the work of
Hope-Howse.
****
STEVE EARLE ON NIGHTLINE!
I received the following from the producer of the Nightline
piece....
>Abe:
>Peter from Nightline here. FYI: Our Steve Earle
profile is
>slated to air Friday, Oct. 6. One third of the show will
be
>on Steve's abolition work and we feature the Supreme Court
>vigil and Steve's description of Jonathan Noble's execution.
>Note that Oct. 6 is pretty well set, but just be sure to say
>that it is "scheduled" for that date. We're a
news program,
>so any significant news story will bump a feature story like
>this to a later date.
****
and finally,
May there be PEACE among ALL mankind, from prisons to pulpits and
bedrooms to boardrooms!!!. L'Shana Tova, a Happy New Year, to
all those celebrating at this time.
*****
paz!
--abe
Paz is Spanish for Peace.
May no harm come to you.
May you be free of fear.
May you be free from danger
May you be free of pain and suffering.
May you be healed.
May you have mental happiness
May you have physical happiness
May you be well, happy, and peaceful.
May your home be a refuge, a place of peace.
May your mind be a refuge, a place of peace.
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