The Bowser Commission

As those of you who reside in Indiana may already well know, State Senator Anita Bowser, has been battling the death penalty throughout her legislative career. However, she has unfortunately taken up a personal battle with cancer which has recently taken her away from her work and it is uncertain whether or not she will be returning to the Senate. In honor of her recent attempts to pass legislation barring the execution of the mentally ill, the Senate passed a resolution which urged the Legislative Council to establish a commission to examine the issue of such executions.

We applaud Senator Bowser for her constant efforts to bring attention to the death penalty's immorality and ineffectiveness and hope she has a speedy and sustained recovery.


The bill reads as follows:

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION urging the Legislative Council to assign and direct an interim or statutory committee to study issues pertaining to the imposition of the death penalty on mentally ill individuals.

Whereas, Mental illness does not preclude the imposition of the death penalty in the State of Indiana;

Whereas, Various aspects of the death penalty continue to evoke constitutional scrutiny in the highest courts of this state and country;

Whereas, The issue of mental illness and the death penalty is an increasingly active topic of discussion in legislatures and courts throughout the United States;

Whereas, Senator Anita Bowser has been a tireless champion of civil liberties and the rights of all our citizens;

Whereas, Senator Anita Bowser has been a staunch and tireless opponent of the death penalty;

Whereas, Senator Bowser has authored legislation which successfully precluded the imposition of the death penalty on mentally retarded persons;

Whereas, Senator Bowser has also authored legislation which successfully precluded the imposition of the death penalty on individuals less that 18 years of age;

Whereas, in recognition of Senator Bowser's efforts on these issues, the legislature should study the issues surrounding the imposition of the death penalty on mentally ill individuals; Therefore:

Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assembly
of the State of Indiana, the House of Representatives concurring:

SECTION 1. That the Indiana State Senate hereby urges the Legislative Council to assign and direct an interim or statutory committee to study issues pertaining to the imposition of the death penalty on mentally ill individuals.
SECTION 2. That the committee, if assigned by Legislative Council, should operate under the direction of the Council and be known as the Bowser Commission.
SECTION 3. The Secretary of the Senate is directed to transmit a copy of this resolution to the Legislative Council.

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Spring Meeting: ND ASK Continues to Grow and Forms Committees

Our spring planning meeting this past Wednesday exceeded all expectations, drawing about 30 students, 24 of whom signed up to be active members of newly formed committees which are intended to address various facets of the campaign's mission. The committees are as follows:

State and Community Network Committee – The purpose of this committee is to build and maintain relationships with various groups and individuals within the Notre Dame/South Bend community, across the state of Indiana, and across the country. Members will communicate with other anti-death penalty groups, parishes, social activist groups and community leaders and update them on our events and goals.

Fundraising Committee – In order to maintain the level of professionalism and quality that we’ve strived to attain, we have set a fundraising goal of $5,000 for the 2007 spring semester. This committee will be fundraising from a variety of on and off campus sources through mailings and over the telephone. Additionally, the committee will construct a donor database for future fundraising.

Academic Conference Committee – The academic conference that we’ve scheduled for April 13th-15th will require lots of work. The committee will help contact and schedule potential speakers, put together the conference itinerary, distribute information to potential attendees, and also manage logistical details such as space reservation/preparation, catering, and accommodations for speakers.

Victims’ Families Outreach Committee – It is crucial to any work against the death penalty that we are not negligent of the pain incurred by the families that have lost someone to a capital offense. This committee will establish contact with families of victims of any convicts that ND ASK is in communication with. Members will also prepare statements and put together a campaign strategy to better services for victims’ families. We will also have an informal Prison Ministry committee to facilitate communication with inmates on death row as well as visits.

If you are interested in joining any of these committees, please e-mail us at notredameask@gmail.com or attend the upcoming meetings this Thursday (3/1) in the CSC Lounge. The meeting times are as follows:

6:30-6:40: Prison Ministry
6:40-7:00: State and Community Networks
7:00-7:20: Academic Conference
7:20-7:40: Victims’ Families
7:40-8:00: Fundraising

We hope that you can join us!

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Vatican Denounces Death Penalty

In a statement to the 3rd World Congress Against the Death Penalty, the Vatican reiterated the need for abolition of the death penalty. The statement noted that it is "difficult to justify today" and also that it is "not only a refusal of the right to life, but is also an affront to human dignity."

While the link to the full text of the statement seems to be missing, more excerpts can be found here.

When we note that the Vatican's statement is not considering only the United States with our super-max prisons and highly developed penal system, but rather the entire globe, we realize that it is impossible to justify the use of the death penalty here in the United States.

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Maryland Governor testifies against death penalty

Earlier today in Maryland, the newly sworn in Governor Martin O'Malley testified before a legislative panel that the death penalty was inhumane and ineffective. In a courageous move, Governor O'Malley is testifying on behalf of legislation that would repeal the death penalty in the state of Maryland; legislation that was not, as the Washington Post article notes, a part of his campaign platform.

This kind of brave political and moral leadership is just what the death penalty abolition movement requires. Just as former Governor Kernan recently called for a moratorium along with other members of the ABA assessment team, Governor O'Malley is speaking his mind on the issue, and quite articulately at that.

Hitting all the right notes, Governor O'Malley cites excessive cost, lack of deterrence, arbitrary sentencing and issues of innocence and wrongful conviction as well as moral reasons for his opposition. In addition, he astutely points out that the money wasted on capital cases could be used instead to better the lives of Maryland residents and aid law enforcement and social service agencies in preventing future crime.

We hope that the political voices that have recently become outspoken against the death penalty are simply the beginning of a larger trend indicating that citizens and politicians are fed up with the broken system of capital punishment. Hopefully this kind of political pioneering emboldens those who have had their doubts to speak up and call for a thorough examination of the death penalty and its role in society.

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Observer Article on ND ASK & Kernan Article

For those of you who have yet to pick up today's Observer, here's a link to an article discussing our response to the recent ABA report.

Additionally, an article in today's Indy Star discussed former Indiana Governor Kernan's take on a moratorium; an issue particularly relevant to him as he granted 2 clemencies under his governorship yet did not establish a moratorium. As spokesperson for the ABA Assessment Team, he now supports such a moratorium entirely.

Additionally, here's an article with some interesting comments by a reverend who served on a capital case jury and convicted Eric Wrinkles to death.

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ND ASK Meeting Thursday, 2/22

This Thursday (2/22) we will be holding a large organization meeting at 6 PM in the CSC coffeehouse. We will be discussing our spring agenda as well as announcing the creation and purpose of several committees:

• State and Community Networks Committee
• Fundraising Committee
• Academic Conference Coordination Committee
• Victims Families Outreach Committee

We will be looking for volunteers for each of these committees and will ensure that, no matter how busy your schedule, there is an important role you can play in each one of them.

Additionally, there are several roles that we are looking for volunteers to take on:

• Press Relations Coordinator
• Co-Sponsor/Coalition Relations

This meeting and your participation will be crucial to our success as a campaign. In case that's not enough, we'll also have free pizza.

For those who cannot attend but wish to learn more about our plans and how to play a role in the campaign, please e-mail us for information.

See you there!

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ND ASK Statement on ABA Report

The following statement was released to the press concerning our response to the recent ABA report. We hope you find it useful and understand our emphasis on picking up where the report left off.

Today marked the release of the American Bar Association’s report on the state of Indiana’s death penalty trial and sentencing process and an accompanying recommendation for a moratorium on executions in Indiana. The report serves as an excellent resource to further the discussion of issues surrounding the death penalty here in Indiana and throughout the country. Its contents present us with evidence of a system that is broken and its recommendations suggest how it might be fixed. The thorough and objective nature of the research and creation of the report coupled with the professionalism and dedication of those who served on the panel have resulted in this articulate and expansive base of reference for future action regarding capital punishment in Indiana.

We at Notre Dame Against State Killing (ND ASK) applaud the diligence of the assessment team and the contents of their report and herald their call for a moratorium on executions as both courageous and well-founded; the call confirming the fears and doubts that many of us have held regarding the inequity and unfairness of a judicial system that we hold to the highest of standards. We firmly believe that those who truly examine the logistics and goals of the death penalty system will arrive at the inevitable conclusion that due to the fallible nature of human beings, we cannot possibly support a system whose penalty is irreversible. Within the process of investigation and prosecution, there are mistakes being made when lives hang in the balance. It is inconceivable to continue with such a system given the blatant exposition of these flaws in the ABA report.

While the scope of the report does not presume to question the validity of the death penalty itself, but rather intends to ensure the fair and just execution of the laws, we at ND ASK take the call for a moratorium on legal grounds and add to it questions of the death penalty’s morality, efficacy, and legitimate role in a modern civil society. We thank the American Bar Association and the Indiana assessment team for their crucial work and hope that its expositions of incontrovertible fact are heeded well by Governor Daniels and those in the State Legislature. As the ABA’s poll results of Indiana reveal, 61% of Indiana’s citizens support a moratorium. It is time to halt all executions and begin to honestly and thoroughly examine the death penalty and reach the inevitable conclusion that it is simply an archaic, inefficient, and inhumane means of justice which must be stricken from our society.

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Indiana ABA Death Penalty Assessment Report released

The report is now available to the public on their website and will be discussed at a 2:30 press conference in Indianapolis.

We'll post our own excerpts and commentary as soon as we've have time to look it over. Until then, there's an excellent article in the Indy Star that breaks the report down a bit and discusses its intentions. It looks like the report hits on many of the main points that need to be addressed; many of which may not be easily fixed. It's also food for thought that the Governor has yet to respond to the report.

As previously posted, the baton is now in the hands of those of us around the state who want to see the death penalty gone.

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State of the states

The downward trend of convictions and executions, coupled with recent investigations into the use of the death penalty on a state by state basis and ensuing moratoriums, makes it clear that the death penalty is on the way out. Tennessee's governor recently halted executions for a 30-day period (which has turned up such blatant and absurd examples of negligence such as portions of electrocution procedures incorrectly copied and pasted into the new lethal injection manual) following Florida's botched execution in December during which it took the inmate 30 minutes to die. The House of Representatives in both New Mexico and Colorado have furthered bills to abolish capital punishment outright and a similar repeal bill has made it out of committee in Nebraska.

I'll say it again, the death penalty is on the way out.

With such developments across the country, we can only hope that tomorrow's announcement of the ABA's recommendation to establish a moratorium here in Indiana takes hold. The national political and social climate is just right for this report to resonate all the way to the Governor and the legislature, resulting in the implementation of the recommended moratorium.

Ultimately, however, the report will not speak for itself. While it will contain painstakingly researched and interpreted data, it is up to us to take those facts and the report's recommendations straight to the top. We urge everyone to take the initiative to further this cause in whatever way they can. Whether it be a simple conversation with a friend about death penalty issues or a letter to the editor, any means of expanding knowledge about the death penalty's inherent flaws should be utilized until it is no longer an obtrusive stain on the fabric of our society.

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American Bar Association to call for moratorium in Indiana

This coming Tuesday (2/20), the American Bar Association's Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project will release an extensive report which calls for a moratorium on the death penalty here in Indiana. For those of you not familiar with the concept of a moratorium, it essentially halts all executions indefinitely while keeping capital punishment as legal and a potential future measure. To date, 9 of the 38 states with death penalty statutes have imposed a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.

The report's findings will be announced at a press conference this Tuesday at 2:30.

Several friends of ND ASK, former Indiana Governor Joe Kernan, Senator John Broden, and Paula Sites, were a part of the panel that has worked so diligently to discover and interpret the facts around the issue of the death penalty and we thank all of the panel members for their hard and invaluable work.

We applaud their recommendation for a moratorium and eagerly anticipate reading their analysis that lead to this conclusion. We'll post a link to the report as soon as it's available as well as excerpts and comments.

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"Kill the Death Penalty"--an LA police officer's perspective

In a February 9 article published in The Nation, LA police officer Sunil Dutta provides his argument against capital punishment.

Introducing his analysis of and opposition to the death penalty, Dutta writes:

"Working as a police officer, I have a unique vantage point from which to view the death penalty: It is no less than a vestige of medievalism... Geography, politics, socioeconomic status of the victim and killer, timing, prosecutorial selection, jury composition, jurisdiction of police investigating the crime and the victim's and killer's gender and skin color usually determine who gets the death sentence. When it comes to the death penalty, there is only one deduction: This punishment is totally arbitrary and therefore should be held unconstitutional. Unfortunately, the politics of expedience guides our Supreme Court and Congress -- and when it comes to capital punishment, we are still mired in the Dark Ages."

Officer Dutta touches on many varying and crucial issues that must be considered when opposing the death penalty, from judicial fairness to giving resources to victims families. His argument and occupational and personal experience with homicide and the death penalty make this article an especially worthwhile read.

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"Playing God: The fight to kill the death penalty"

The first article in a three-part series in the Canadian National Post exploring the death penalty in America appeared today. Reporter Mary Vallis examines the changing attitude regarding capital punishment in our nation, through pairing recent eminent events in the death penalty realm (from moratoriums in Illinois and New Jersey to the December 2006 botched execution in Florida) with an analysis of public attitude.

The article provides an excellent summary of important events in the anti-death penalty movement, and combines expert opinions with statistics to analyze current trends in the American outlook on capital punishment.

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"We write as mothers who have been scarred by the death penalty."

This op-ed that appeared in Friday's (2/16) Maryland Gazette was written by two mothers whose experiences give their voices immense weight in any death penalty discussion. One almost had her son executed for a crime he was later found innocent of and the other lost her daughter to a brutal rape and murder. Both of them are calling for an end to the death penalty.

I urge you to read this piece as it brings the individual human stories into the debate that are often lost in the statistics and semantics of the death penalty.

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Dale Recinella Talks Cancelled

Due to several flight cancellations, Mr. Recinella will not be able to join us here at Notre Dame for his scheduled talks, despite his best efforts.

We will be doing our best to bring his informative and passionate talks to campus sometime later this spring. Until then, be sure to check out his website iwasinprison.org for insight into the great work that he and his wife do.

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Death Penalty Still 'Arbitrary and Capricious'?

Back in 1972, the Supreme Court ruling on Furman v. Georgia stated that the imposition was "arbitrary and capricious" and therefore unconstitutional. When the death penalty was deemed to be constitutional again granted that a series of conditions apply to its usage, as ruled in Gregg v. Georgia, it was implied that the use of the death penalty would no longer be arbitrary or capricious.

However, a recent case in Oklahoma demonstrates just how false this premise is in today's justice system.

A man may be eligible for the death penalty depending on what side of a gravel road he was on at the time.

Seriously?

Unfortunately so. Our capital punishment system is so broken that we're pulling out a tape measure to decide whether or not we're going to further tie up our already backlogged judicial system and waste taxpayer dollars trying to kill someone as opposed to spending the money where it is needed such as victim's family resources and real, effective law enforcement.

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ND ASK to Create Documentary

Recently, we here at ND ASK managed to get our hands on some grant money thanks to the efforts of Helen Adeosun and have decided to put it towards good use by filming a documentary about the death penalty as well as other aspects of the justice system here in Indiana. We intend for the film to be a means of conveying information about capital punishment to a wide variety of audiences and providing it as a tool for education and advocacy.

We're very excited about getting this project started but we need some help from those of you with film skills and interest in the topic. Please drop us a line ASAP if you'd like to get some more information on our plans or have some ideas of your own. We'll also be talking about this at our meeting next Thursday (2/22) at 6PM in the CSC.

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Death Row Chaplain to Speak at ND

Florida Death Row lay chaplain and '76 Law School alum, Dale Recinella, will be on campus this Wednesday and Thursday to speak about his experiences ministering to those who have been sentenced to death and to share his opinions and insights about the death penalty. We were lucky enough to have Mr. Recinella with us to speak in the fall and we're blessed to have him this second time. If you didn't see him last time, you can't afford to miss hearing his intensely personal and passionate observations of our justice system and capital punishment.

Dale will be giving two different talks during his stay with us at Notre Dame:

"The Death Penalty Leaves No Survivors"
Wednesday, 2/14 at 7:00PM in the Hesburgh Center, Room C-103

"A Tour Inside Death Row and Solitary Confinement"
Thursday, 2/15, 12:00 Noon in the Law School, Room 120

You can read more about Mr. Recinella's work and background at his website, www.iwasinprison.org or check out his book, The Biblical Truth about America's Death Penalty.

We hope to see you there!

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ND ASK T-Shirts

We are happy to announce that ND ASK t-shirts have arrived and are now for sale! For a measly 10 bucks you can get your hands on the fashion statement of the Spring. Available in sizes S-XL.


The front has our beautiful yet bold logo and the back has the Gandhi quote: "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind." E-mail us at notredameask@gmail.com to order one. If you're a student we'll drop them off at your dorm or if you're outside the Notre Dame community we can ship them right to you. Get one while they last!

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New York Times Magazine Examines Lethal Injection

This Sunday's New York Times Magazine will feature an examination of lethal injection across America entitled The Needle and the Damage Done. It is already available online and I encourage you to read it in its entirety. It is incredibly in-depth and provides an incredible insight as to just what this process of systematically killing people entails. Many of the details discussed in the article are rather disturbing but help shed some light on just how broken the death penalty system is in general as well as lethal injection specifically.

A few excerpts:

"For instance, Doerhoff testified that executions in Missouri have taken place in the dark, an execution team working by flashlight, and that the execution team consists of 'nonmedical people.' For most, the day of the execution is 'the first time probably in their life they have picked up a syringe... so it's a little stressful for them to be doing this.'"

"Deborah Denno, a professor at Fordham University Law School, says that what she thinks of as America’s deep ambivalence about capital punishment — our inability to do away with it or to think very hard about it — has meant that Chapman’s story, that of one man making a small and modestly considered proposal that then persists over time, is not unique... She found that many states made errors when creating their own protocols by using drugs that Chapman originally suggested. As Denno wrote in 2002 in The Ohio State Law Journal, 'One of the most striking aspects of studying lethal-injection protocols concerns the sheer difficulty involved in acquiring' those protocols. She found that only one-quarter of the states that used lethal injection specified the quantities of the drugs to be injected."

The story goes on to articulate numerous inconsistencies with procedures and also includes opinions from those who still favor the use of the death penalty and lethal injection.

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Inaugural ND ASK Blog Post!

We here at Notre Dame Against State Killing have finally created a blog to better serve those of you who are interested in the issues surrounding the death penalty and working towards the elimination of its use. For those of you unfamiliar with our campaign, we encourage you to visit us at our website, www.ndask.org, where you can catch up on all the work that we've been doing thus far. Our philosophy is this: the death penalty is unethical and ineffective; it simply doesn't make sense in the context of our society today. While the majority of Americans prefer life without parole to the death penalty, 41% still believe that the death penalty has a place in our justice system. We attempt to address the conflicting opinions in a thorough and intelligent manner. While we'd ultimately like for you to agree with our opinion, all constructive comments and suggestions are always welcome in our debate. We hope to be of help to you as you try to determine what is best for our country.

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