6/2/2000:  CUADP Update; including THE AWFUL TRUTH VIDEOS and Fast & Vigil Announcement

Sent to the more than 1600 members CUADPUpdate.


BELOW - order your copy of "The Awful Truth" death
penalty satire, AND

ANNOUNCING: The 7TH ANNUAL FAST & VIGIL To ABOLISH
THE DEATH PENALTY at the U.S. SUPREME COURT, including,
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ON USSC's FURMAN DECISION, and

A few other goodies in between.  Read on!



Greetings all!

Yes, it's true!  Last night George W. Bush, Governor
of Texas and Republican presidential candidate, did, in
fact, issue his *first* 30 day reprieve to a prisoner
waiting to be killed.  This is the first time G.W. Bush has
done such a thing, even though he's had more than 130
opportunities.  Seems like he's starting to feel some
pressure, eh?  But even in his moment of compassion,
he could not be seen to appear weak.  Perhaps that is why
he allowed Ricky McGinn to be transported to the death house,
fed his last meal, and forced to wait until he was within
30 minutes of being poisoned to death before Bush allowed
his surrogates to finalize a stay he had been contemplating
for at least two full days.  Yep, that's a compassionate
conservative for you!

George W. claims no innocent people have been killed
under his watch, and yet several individuals went to
their deaths with far stronger cases of innocence than
Ricky McGinn.  Odell Barnes is one of them - and he was
killed just three months ago on International Death Penalty
Abolition Day (March 1st)!  Fighting all the way to the
gurney on the 22nd of this month will be Shaka Sankofa (AKA
Gary Graham), for whom there is no DNA to test.  As a matter
of fact, eyewitness mistakes are cited by experts as one of
the major reasons for the high rate of wrongful convictions.
Sankofa, who is black, is on death row and about to be
Texecuted based on the eyewitness testimony of a white woman
who never got a close look at the black man she saw, at night,
from across a parking lot....  Hmmm....  Let's keep that
political pressure on Mr. Bush.

BUT, I digress.  This small setback for George W. Bush
will not last long - after all, for those who need to ease
their conscience in order to vote for him, he only needs to
do this just once if he is to prove he is THE "Compassionate
Conservative."   Maybe, however, this brief lull in Texecutions
is Dubya's brother Florida Governor Jeb! Bush's chance to
catch up? 

Yes, that's right, it's sibling rivalry time.  Jeb!
has been looking up to his big brother George with envy,
trying to figure out how to catch up.  Earlier this year,
Jeb! called a special session of the Florida legislature
to try to ramrod into law an "appeals reform" bill modeled
after the speedy Texas appeals system.  The Florida Supreme
Court threw that out recently, so in a next move, Jeb! has
changed the time we kill our prisoners in Florida - from the
traditional 7am to dinnertime/primetime 6pm.  That's right.
Just like they do it in Texas.  BBQ anyone?


THE AWFUL TRUTH death penalty segment

In case you have not heard of the program, "The Awful
Truth," the brainchild of Michael Moore (Roger & Me), it airs
on Wednesdays on "Bravo" cable channel at 10 pm eastern time.
(I've become addicted - it is consistently good, IMHO.)

On May 4th, the focus was on "Compassionate Conservatism,"
and it included an *excellent* spot on the Bush Brother's sibling
rivalry to see which of them can kill more.  There was some
controversy among abolitionists at the time of the filming
because of the satirical manner in which they addressed the
subject: In Texas, a marching band and cheer leaders heralded
an execution, and in Florida, a "fan" of the death penalty had
a tailgate party.  In both cases these scenes took place amidst
the crowd of pro and anti-death penalty demonstrators outside
an actual prisoner killing.

The program also features a verbal exchange with Jeb!,
as well as chilling interviews with several Florida legislators. 
I was disturbed when I watched this, which to my mind makes
this is one of the best pieces of anti-death penalty videos
available today.  Why?  It's funny, and its factual, and it
brings home the issue in a different way then what we are
used to.  There is also an *excellent* website with good
links, including a link to the Odell Barnes story.  Check out
<http://www.theawfultruth.com/bushes/index.html>.

Now YOU can get together with a group of friends and
watch the show.  Groups often use copies of Awful Truth
segments as motivational tools in rallying their own causes
-- labor groups, health care advocacy groups, etc.  Anti-
death penalty folks can embrace this piece in the same
way.

ORDER TODAY!   For a minimum donation of $20, CUADP
will send you a copy.  Call 800-973-6548 or e-mail
<cuadp@cuadp.org> with Visa, MasterCard, or AMEX number
and expiration date, OR send a check or money order
or credit card info to:

CUADP
PMB 335
2603 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hwy
Gainesville, FL 32609
 
Order today!


FOLLOW UP MATTER

Many of you saw the calendar update CUADP sent out just
prior to Mothers Day in which I encouraged folks to support
the Million Mom March.  I heard from one long-time CUADP
supporter who encouraged equal time for the other side. 
We had some back and forth discussion, with me encouraging
her to take the death penalty moratorium resolution to her
next NRA meeting.  Here was her response.

I wrote:
>As for the NRA and your advocacy with them, I wonder if
>you'd be willing to take a death penalty moratorium
>resolution through their policy making process.
>
She responded:
>Perhaps if the death penalty moratorium were run more like
>the NRA and did things the way they do, we would be closer
>to a moratorium. Besides that, the Second Amendment Sisters
>actually turned down NRA endorsement as they wanted to make
>their own point in a grassroots way.  I'm also a Republican.
>There's just a couple of points that I don't agree with the
>party on -- on those points, I disagree strongly -- I'm anti-
>death penalty but pro-choice. It's a girl thing. You wouldn't
>understand. I have my own reasons for it. I'm also a business
>owner and a gun owner....
>Why not send out a letter giving the Second Amendment Sisters
>some publicity (http://www.sas-aim.org/)....

Now there's some food for thought.  The main reason I
included this is because I want to point out that there are
many Republicans (I'm one), gun owners, conservatives, etc.
who are with us on the abolition issue.  We need to get better
at coalition building.  We need to get braver and take our issue
into the places where we don't normally go.  IF YOU are reading
this and are a member of the NRA or your local Republican party,
please let me know.  I would love to work with you to help
educate the masses about getting rid of the bad public policy
commonly referred to as The Death Penalty.  Write me at
<abe@cuadp.org>.

...And now back to our regularly scheduled program:


HEARD RECENTLY, on The Tonight Show...

"Texas is executing guys really fast now.  They executed a
guy today and his trial doesn't even start until Friday.
Texas is executing so many guys so fast that on death row
recently, one inmate asked another who was eating his last
meal, 'You gonna finish that?'"
--Jay Leno


FAST & VIGIL     FAST & VIGIL     FAST & VIGIL     FAST & VIGIL


ANNOUNCING & INVITING YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN

The
A B O L I T I O N I S T

A C T I O N

C O M M I T T E E ' S


                STARVIN' FOR JUSTICE 2000
7th Annual Fast & Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty
                at the U.S. Supreme Court

                  June 29 - July 2, 2000      

Read the who, what, when, where, why and how of
this important annual abolitionist event by visiting
<http://www.abolition.org>.  E-mail your regular postal
address to <aac@abolition.org> for registration materials.

The Fast & Vigil takes place on the sidewalk in
front of the U.S. Supreme Court, considered by many to be
the heart of the legalized killing machines in this country. 
In addition to the strong public witness, this is an excellent
opportunity to meet other abolitionists and to "recharge your
batteries" while engaging in public outreach and maintaining a
physical presence at the Court.  ***FASTING IS OPTIONAL*** 
BOTTOM LINE, this is a great experience and training ground for
people who want to practice, or become very adept, at talking
about the dp.

Prisoners, activists from other countries, and abolitionists who
are unable to come to Washington, D.C. have fasted or held events
in solidarity with the action at the Court.  This tradition
continues to grow as well - those who participate in solidarity
are asked to communicate this to the Fast & Vigil organizers.
E-mail <aac@abolition.org> or write to the address below.

        The Abolitionist Action Committee (AAC) is an ad-hoc group
of individuals committed to highly visible and effective public
education for alternatives to the death penalty through
non-violent direct action.  For fiscal and legal purposes only,
the AAC is a project of CUADP.

Y2K Fast & Vigil HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

June 29 - Street theater/rally coordinated by Maryland
Coalition to Abolish State Killing (MCASE).

June 30 - Concert at the Court, featuring E-Squared
Recording Artist STEVE EARLE.

ALSO

This year's Fast & Vigil will be held in cooperation with
Fellowship of Reconciliation's, "People's Campaign for Nonviolence."
Please consider staying past the Fast & Vigil to participate in 40
days of activism and education for the creation of a culture of
nonviolence and justice. http://www.forusa.org/CampaignsFrame.html

FOR's schedule for Sunday, July 2nd, includes:
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Nonviolence Training at Howard University
      (Main student center) with Jim Lawson, Neera Singh, Richard
      Deats, Gene Hoffman & others (includes planning session for
      the next day's action); 2:00 p.m., The Dalai Lama speaks on
      the Washington Mall; 8 p.m., evening vigil and breaking the
      fast for an end to the death penalty at the Supreme Court.

AND ALSO DURING THE FAST & VIGIL, NEARBY,

The Smithsonian Institution's annual Folk Life Festival on
the Mall this year features TIBET.  "Tibetan Culture Beyond the
Land of Snows"  This Festival program will mark the largest
celebration of traditional Tibetan culture ever held in the West.
The Dalai Lama, a noted abolitionist, speaks on the Mall at 2pm
on July 2, the final day of the Fast & Vigil.  For more details,
see: http://www.si.edu/folklife/festival2000info.htm 



AND FINALLY, Our Friend Bernie Welch penned the following:

>Dear Abe,
>
>    I sent this little sing-a-long to the Dallas News.      
>
>Bernie
>
>From: Blwmm@aol.com
>Date: Sat, 27 May 2000 21:37:28 EDT
>Subject: Musical "Texas"
>To: letterstoeditor@dallasnews.com
>
>Poor George is killin',
>Poor George Bush is killin'.
>He's lookin' o' so righteous and supreme.
>Chorus: And Supreme!
>He's drawed another needle,
>But he's talkin' kinda feeble,
>Cuz this Dubyah isn't actin' very nice.
>
> --Bernard L. Welch
>

*******

CUADPUpdate is occasionally posted via e-mail to people on
the CUADPUpdate list and to individuals on various anti-death
penalty e-mail lists.  All content is the sole responsibility
of CUADP.

CUADP
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POSTED BY:

Abraham J. Bonowitz
Director, CUADP

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                      YES FRIENDS!
      There is an Alternative to the Death Penalty

  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.

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