The issue of the Death Penalty isn´t really important for us in Europe, because we have no death penalty.

And so a lot of my friends or family members were surprised when I told them that I am interested in that and that I want to do something to help to abolish the Death Penalty.

That was four years ago. Now, when I look back I see how naive I was to believe that someone in Europe could change a broken system in another country. But I am a part of this fight now and every day I learn what that means.

I met a lot of people over these past four years, people who lost family or friends through a crime, people who are on Death Row and people who fight against the Death Penalty.

I heard different stories. I heard arguments for the Death Penalty and of course against it. I saw little victories and I saw people dying - killed by the State.

Let me share some details with you so you can better understand why I will never give up my fight (source for these facts: Death Penalty Information Center Dec 2004):

There are 38 States in the USA who have the Death Penalty.

The total Death Row population is about 3.471 inmates.

The three largest Death Rows are:
California with 638 inmates / Texas with 455 inmates / Florida with 384 inmates

The three smallest Death Rows are:
New Mexico / New York and Wyoming with 2 inmates

This year 59 inmates were executed ( last year 65 )and 130 Death Sentences were given (last year 144).

The percentage of executions by nation:
South 85% / Midwest 12% / West 3 % / Northwest 0%

And there were 117 inmates who were exonerated and freed from Death Row since the Death Penalty was reinstated ! Last year we had 12 people who were freed from Death Row, this year 5 people have been exonerated.

In Texas for example more and more concerns were expressed, because of the question of DNA labs and their work: “Do we honestly want to risk executing people who may be innocent? I had enough questions about our administration of the death penalty to have my name taken off the prison that houses death row inmates. This is one of the reasons why I did so.” -

Former TDCJ Chairman Charles Terrell, in a letter to The Dallas Morning News ,supporting calls for a moratorium on Harris Co.executions in the wake of the Houston crime-lab fiasco.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/
dispatch/2004-10-15/pols_naked.html
A few days ago the Kansas Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional, earlier this year it was the New York Supreme Court that halted its state’s practice of capital punishment.

New Jersey is shortly expected under its new Governor to enact a moratorium on executions while a thorough study of that state’s death penalty system is carried out.

I do not suggest that all Death Row inmates are innocent. No, most of them are not, but if you read all of this it shows that it is time to have a moratorium to take a closer look at this system, as was done in Illinois 2000.

One of my first penpals was one of the 117 inmates who was freed and he wrote me, that if I ever had any questions about the death penalty I could ask, Esther Brown who is executive secretary/treasurer of the Organisation Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty(http://www.phap.org) So four years ago I wrote her a short email and that was the beginning of a wonderful friendship.

Esther Brown is the “voice of the Death Row inmates” outside. She is the coordinator for meetings,interviews with the media and much more. For the past year and a half she has been travelling through Alabama to ask for a moratorium on executions. 33 city councils/ county commissions in Alabama have so far passed the resolution. In November I visited her for the second time and she asked me if I would be interested in going to a city council with her to ask for the moratorium. And I said, of course.

It was a two hours drive, with a short stop at the highest point in Alabama. The city, named Ridgeville, has a population of 158 people, 124 are black.

When we arrived the city hall, I understood what these trips mean to Esther. These small cities have so many problems like bad water, bad school situations, unemployment and so on. We came into the room and you saw the proverty but you felt the kindness and the cordiality. We had coffee together and small talk. And the Major asked Esther to make her statement and in the audience there was a minister and he had sad eyes during Esther´s speech.

You have to understand, all these people in this room, with exception of Esther and I, were black and they understood what Esther was talking about. My thought was maybe one of them has a family member or a friend in prison, who knows?

After Esther had finished, all the members of the city council voted for a moratorium and when we left the room the minister shook Esther´s hand and he was glad. At that moment I understood what it means to take care of someone. This man takes care of his community and I am sure he will have talked about this evening at his church Sunday.

For me it was a moment which is deep in my heart. To feel the gratitude of these people, that they were important for a short moment. That someone was there to listen to their problems.

And all of this is the reason why I will continue with my fight and why I have hope that we, who are fighting every day to abolish the Death Penalty, will have a victory one day.

Every small victory is a step forward.
Britta Slopianka

CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU, RIDGEVILLE
Wed Nov 10, 2004 8:00pm

CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU, RIDGEVILLE IN ETOWAH COUNTY FOR BECOMING THE 32ND GOVERNING BODY IN ALABAMA TO ADOPT A MORATORIUM RESOLUTION ON EXECUTIONS. YOUR VOTE WAS UNANIMOUS!

WE THANK THE HON. MAYOR DEBORAH ADAIR AND THE HON.SANDRA HARRIS, EVELYN RUFFIN AND TINA SNITH, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR THEIR WARM RECEPTION.

WE ARE GRATEFUL THAT YOU ALLOWED US TO BE ON YOUR FULL AGENDA AS YOU BEGIN A NEW ADMINISTRATION, AND IT WARMED OUR HEARTS THAT YOU HAD NO RESERVATIONS ABOUT VOTING FOR “JUSTICE FOR ALL.” YOU AND OTHER CITIZENS OF RIDGEVILLE THANKED US FOR COMING AND FOR OUR CONCERN. IT IS A MEETING LIKE TONIGHT THAT KEEPS US GOING.

I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THANK MY FRIEND, BRITTA SLOPIANKA, CHAIRPERSON OF THE GERMAN COALITION AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY, FOR ALL SHE DOES TO PROTEST THE DEATH PENALTY AND FOR TRAVELLING THE DARK ROADS OF ALABAMA WITH ME TONIGHT.

ESTHER AND THE BOARD OF PROJECT HOPE TO ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY


Gadsden Times
Tue Nov 16, 2004 1:06pm

Ridgeville became the 32nd local government in Alabama to pass a resolution supporting a moratorium of the death penalty in the state. Ester Brown, executive secretary and treasurer of Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty, asked the council to pass the resolution when it met Tuesday. Brown said her organization is asking Alabama city councils and county commissions to sign a resolution in support of state Sen. Hank Sanders’ bill on a moratorium for the death penalty “while an independent study is conducted into the fairness of the application of the death penalty,” Brown said.

Sanders, D-Selma, has introduced a moratorium bill he says is supported by the American Bar Association

source: Gadsden Times