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Christian Communication Network®
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1.) Former Death Penalty Supporter to Protest Approach of 1000th Execution in the US 2.) Statement from Dr. Jonathan I. Groner, on Physician Participation in Executions To: National Desk Contact: Abe Bonowitz, Director, Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, 561-371-5204 cell, abe@cuadp.org; Jonathan I. Groner MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery, The OSU College of Medicine and Public Health, 614-722-3919, gronerj@chi.osu.edu (PRODUCERS - Reps Available for Talk Shows) MEDIA ADVISORY, Nov. 30 /Christian Wire service/ -- Former death penalty supporter, now executive director of Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Abraham J. Bonowitz will be present at the 1000th execution protests and is available for comment at 561-371-5204. Bonowitz (http://www.cuadp.org/abe_bio.html) is a leading organizer in the national efforts to raise awareness around the 1000th execution. Statement from Dr. Jonathan I. Groner, on Physician Participation in Executions: "While human rights organizations around the world are decrying the shameful milestone of the 1000th execution in the United States, there is another slightly smaller, but perhaps even more shameful number to consider: 832. "Of the 1000 executions, 832 have been administered by lethal injection. The first occurred in 1982, when two physicians watched as a Texas inmate was executed by the injection of lethal drugs into a vein in his arm. In the ensuing 25 years, almost all states have adopted lethal injection as the preferred execution technique. Since 2001, 99% of executions have been carried out by lethal injection. "The number 832 is shameful because it is likely that doctors have participated – to some degree – in every lethal injection. It is well documented that physicians have monitored vital signs, prepared lethal drugs, selected IV sites, inserted IVs, and supervised execution personnel. It is known for certain that physicians directly participate in lethal injection executions in Connecticut, Georgia, and Missouri, and there is evidence that they been involved in other states as well. This participation is contrary to the ethical guidelines of major national medical organizations, including The American Medical Association. "Lethal injection is a medical charade. It subverts medical technology and medical expertise – designed to bring comfort and healing – into instruments of killing. This medicalization of killing originated in the atrocities of Nazi medicine during World War II. "Furthermore, lethal injection is a stain on the face of medicine because it defiles not only those physicians who participate, but all physicians as well. Doctors have a responsibility not only to heal and comfort, but also to be a morally protective force in society. Doctors have failed society 832 times. It is time for the medical community to call for an end to capital punishment in the United States. Articles by Dr. Groner: 1. Groner JI: Lethal injection: a stain on the face of medicine. Bmj 325:1026-1028., 2002 2. Groner JI: Lethal Injection and the Medicalization of Capital Punishment in the United States. Health and Human Rights: An International Journal 6:64-79, 2002 3. Groner JI: Lethal Injection: The Medical Charade. Ethics and Medicine: An International Journal of Bioethics 20:25-30, 2004 ************** More information about the 1000th execution is available (still in development) at http://www.1000executions.org ** For additional background and context, please see the Death Penalty Information Center's press release at http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=1&did=454 Headlined: U.S. Death Penalty Continues Steady Decline as 1000th Execution Approaches; Public Opinion, Executions, Death Sentences Drop as Public Skepticism Rises *** SENT BY: Abraham J. Bonowitz, Director, CUADP, abe@cuadp.org ******************************************************** 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. Visit http://www.cuadp.org or call 800-973-6548 |
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