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A
Report on the Injustice in the Application of the Death Penalty in
Missouri (1978-1996)(Microsoft Word document)
Researchers
from Missouri and New York found that about one of every 100 homicides in
Missouri resulted in a death sentence during that 18-year period. Race of
the victim and race plus socio-economic status of the defendant were found
to be great indicators of who ultimately received a death sentence.
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Sunday, June 26, 2005
Mid-Missouri Support Vigil, Fast and Teach-In
Wednesday June 29
9:00a.m. - 6:00p.m.
Boone County Courthouse
lawn, Columbia
The public is encouraged to join other concerned citizens in this
event re-considering various aspectsof the death penalty, any time
Wednesday, June 29. A fast and vigil will take place throughout the day,
with a teach-in beginning at 12 Noon, featuring several speakers and
live music by folk guitarist Steve Jacobs.
Teach-In Speakers will include:
--Mike Lenza, UMC Sociology Instructor, Lead Author
of “Perspectives on the Politics of Death: A Statistical, Theoretical
and Historical Examination of the Death Penalty in Missouri;”
--Melinda Pendergraff, Capital Defense Attorney
--Rep. Judy Baker (D-Columbia), 25th
District State Legislator
--Don Miller, Retired Counselor, Teacher &
Crisis Manager with Dept. of Corrections Prisons
--Lana Jacobs, Consistent Life Network Executive
Director
Individuals will gather in solidarity with those participating in a
four-day fast by the same name occuring at the U.S. Supreme Court in
Washington, DC. The Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional on
June 29, 1972. Four years later on July 2, the justices allowed capital
punishment to resume, ruling new state procedures again made the
practice constitutional. Since Missouri lawmakers re-enacted the death
penalty in 1977, state officials have executed 64 people, 4th
most of any U.S. state. Wrongful convictions, plus other issues of
apparent unfairness and injustices in Missouri have nutured the
development of a campaign for a thorough review of the state's death
penalty with a subsequent moratorium on executions.
For more information about the event contact Jeff at 449-4585.
Co-sponsors include the Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation,
Missouri Association for Social Welfare (Central Missouri chapter), St.
Francis House Catholic Worker Community and the Consistent Life Network.
For more details about the Washington activities, log onto http://www.abolition.org/starvin12.htm.
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Wednesday, June 22, 2005
We've compiled several items of
interest:
- A letter from Barry R. Howe, Bishop of West Missouri and George
Wayne Smith, Bishop of Missouri
- Reflections by Jeff Stack on the execution.
and
- links to two news stories about Vernon Brown's execution
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Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Pastors for Peace Caravan to Cuba Coming to Columbia July 13
Donations of Material Aid
& Cash Needed
Pastors for Peace continues their
caravan of humanitarian aide from the people of this country to the
Cuban people this July. The Friendshipment will be stopping in Columbia
on July 13. Join us in welcoming these ambassadors of good will,
beginning that evening, Wednesday, 13 July anytime from 6:00-9:00 in the
Fellowship Hall of First Christian Church, located at 101 N. 10th St. in
downtown Columbia. There will be live music, a potluck dinner beginning
at 6:15 and a program with speakers from the Pastors caravan making a
presentation on Cuba and the humanitarian project. Pastors for Peace is
a project of the Interreligous Foundation for Community
Organization(IFCO). For more information on this the 16th Friendshipment
to Cuba or for more about the group's work log onto http://www.ifconews.org/Cuba/caravan16/main.htm
For
more than four decades, the U.S. government has immorally continued
sanctions against the people of Cuba. Pastors for Peace provides
mid-Missourians and citizens throughout this country a concrete
opportunity to assist the Cuban people. Organizers are seeking donations
of money, educational supplies, antibiotics, vitamins, medical supplies,
construction supplies and tools, new childrens' shoes plus alternative
energy equipment (Check the the Pastors
For Peace website [pdf] for a full listing in English
and Spanish).
Checks can be written out to “IFCO” and earmarked
“Pastors for Peace,” then sent to FOR, P.O. Box 268, Columbia MO 65205
(We will pass on whatever we collect, either mailing it ahead or passing
it along at the July event. Call 449-4585 for more information, locally.
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Thursday, May 26, 2005
It can happen in less than a minute. Something that can change the
life of so many people. Sometimes it can be good; most times it’s not.
What a person does with a negative change has to come from deep within
that person. Those changes are what defined the man Stanley Lamont Hall
became. He entered the world too early and left it too early. Being born
premature effected Stan’s ability to learn. School AND his classmates
were difficult to deal with.
[more...]
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Wednesday, May 25, 2005
We wanted to remind you that the
award-winning documentary “Picture This: A Fight to Save Joe,” about the
legal battle to stop the execution of Joe Amrine, will be screened at
the Ragtag Cinemacafé in Columbia on Wednesday, May 25 at 7 p.m. There
will be a $12 cover for the event with proceeds going to help with Joe’s
living expenses. John McHale, director of the documentary, and Joe
Amrine will be in attendance at the screening. Danny Glover provided
narration for the documentary.
The documentary, is a follow-up to
“Unreasonable Doubt,” which was a catalytic factor in the Missouri
Supreme Court’s decision to re-consider Joe Amrine’s death sentence,
vindicate him, and help set him free in 2003. “Picture This” draws
viewers into the public fight to stop the execution of Joe Amrine, a
Missouri man who was on death row for 17 years, despite there being
neither witnesses nor evidence against him. This documentary reveals the
empowering potential of video and the truth.
In addition to the
Columbia showing, “Picture This” has been shown at a United Nations
Human Rights Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, the annual meeting of
the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in New York City,
and the National Communication Association Convention in Kansas City.
The May 25 Columbia screening will be co-sponsored by the Mid-Missouri
Fellowship of Reconciliation. Proceeds will support Joe through the
Public Interest Litigation Clinic, which defended him in his appeals and
is his current employer.
“It’s exciting to be showing the
documentary in Columbia from where Joe received so much support from his
legal team and supporters,” said McHale, an Assistant Professor of
Communication at Illinois State University. Joe Amrine’s case reminds us
that mistakes are made in our judicial system and highlights the need
for a moratorium on executions with a thorough study of the death
penalty.
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Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Columbia businesses calling for an execution moratorium
Please Patronize the following Columbia businesses which have
endorsed a resolution calling for a study commission and execution
moratorium in Missouri. (So far more than 50 local entities-- houses of
worship and organizations, in addition to the businesses-- have endorsed
the public policy and signed a resolution). Below, you will also find
contact information and in some cases the website for the business when
we could find one, so you can determine their hours of operation and
other particulars. Please thank the owners/workers for their business's
support of this reasonable public policy and do reward the locally-owned
businesses for their progressive and wise stand on this matter, with
your consumer dollars, whether you live here or when you visit Columbia
Urge other businesses not on this list, which you patronize-- to
endorse a resolution calling for a study commission and moratorium on
executions. Contact 573-449-4585 for more details to join and/or support
the campaign.
Thank you in advance for being a conscientious consumer and for
joining the effort to help create a more just and fair society.
-- The Mid-MO FOR is the local coordinating group for the statewide
moratorium campaign
- Practice of Elizabeth Allemann, M.D. 1200 Fay Street Columbia MO
65201 443-7070 Family physician and pediatrician
- The Arsenic Leopard 1031 E. Walnut Columbia MO 65201 443-4555 A
variety store of local & imported art & craft
- Blackberry Exchange 16 S. 9th St. Columbia MO 65201 499-0420
Retailer of pre-owned clothes and accessories
- The Blue Note http://www.thebluenote.com/ 17
N. 9th St. Columbia MO 65201 874-1944 Night club with live music of
many genres
- Clovers Natural Market 2100 Chapel Plaza Ct. Columbia MO 65202
445-0990 802 Business Loop 70 E. Columbia MO 65201 449-1650 Grocer of
natural and organic produce, other foods & goods
- Columbia Books Inc. 22 S. 9th St. Columbia MO 65201 449-7417 Book
store offering antiquarian, first-printing modern & children's
books
- Cool Stuff 808 E. Broadway Columbia MO 65201 875-5225 Retail,
variety and gift store with international goods
- Day Care Extraordinaire 112 Spring Valley Rd. Columbia MO 65203
449-8843 Day care for children
- Hinshaw Family Partnership 1116 Wilkes Boulevard Columbia, MO
65201 449-6933 House and apartment rentals
- Kassmann Insurance Agency Inc. 116 N. Garth Columbia, MO 65203
442-1105 Independent insurance agent
- Lakota Coffee Co. 24 S. Ninth St. Columbia MO 65201 874-2852
Public library lobby Columbia 65203 Coffee and snack shop
- Lindsey's Rental 708 W. Sexton Rd. Columbia MO 65203 442-6197
Rentals, sales and repairs of home owners equipment plus party
supplies
- Main Squeeze http://www.main-squeeze.com/
28 S. 9th St. Columbia MO 65201 817-5616 Natural foods cafe and juice
bar
- Maude Vintage Clothing & Costumes http://www.maudevintage.com/
818 E. Broadway Columbia MO 65201 449-3320 Vintage and modern
pre-owned clothes, accessories & costume rental
- 9th Street Video 25 9th Street Columbia MO 65201 875-4112 Rental
store with foreign, independent, classic and newly-released films
- The Peace Nook 804-C E. Broadway Columbia MO 65201 573-875-0539
Retail, book and food store operated by Mid-MO Peaceworks
- Root Cellar 21 N. Providence Columbia MO 65201 443-5055 Grocer and
deli specializing in Missouri produce, food and other goods
- Sharp End Restaurant 609 N. Garth Columbia MO 65203 449-4849
Restaurant serving breakfast and lunch with adjoining bar
- Sparky's Ice Cream 21 S. 9th St. Columbia MO 65201 443-7400
Homemade ice cream shop
- World Harvest International & Gourmet Foods 3700 K Monterey
Dr. Columbia MO 65201 442-3833 Grocer and deli with foods from
throughout the world
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Monday, May 23, 2005
By Sylvester
Brown Jr.
Of the Post-Dispatch
04/28/2005
I
killed a man Tuesday night.
It's not easy accepting
responsibility for taking a life, but I do.
When Gov. Matt Blunt
decided Tuesday to let the scheduled execution of convicted murderer
Donald Jones move forward, he did so with Missourians in mind, he said.
"We have capital punishment in our state because we believe some crimes
are so horrific and so terrible that the only reasonable penalty, the
penalty that fits the crime, is indeed the death penalty," Blunt told
reporters Tuesday. "And we will apply the death penalty this
evening."
[more...]
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Thursday, May 19, 2005
Vernon
Brown’s wait draws criticism
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Death-penalty
opponents objected to an inmate’s three hours strapped to a gurney
before his execution, saying the wait adds grist to their claims that
death by injection is inhumane.
[more...]
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Thursday, May 19, 2005
State kills
another human being
Vernon Brown executed early Wednesday
morning.
[more...]
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Monday, May 16, 2005
Protest and
Halt Tuesday Execution of Vernon Brown
Vernon Brown is
scheduled to be executed at the Bonne Terre prison in southern Missouri,
late Tuesday night, a few minutes after midnight, officially on May 18.
He is a man who's mentally-ill and one who has proven himself to truly
be a danger to society, receiving death sentences for two horrific
murders. In 1986, he kidnapped Janet Perkins, a nine-year-old girl, whom
he had tied up and strangled. He also received a death sentence for the
1985 murder of Synetta Ford.
Despite the vile offenses he
committed, he remains a human being with an intrinsic right to life--
not a right to freedom, but a human right to continue living and
breathing. The state of Missouri and its minions have no moral right,
despite a legislated “legal right” to kill. We mourn with the loved ones
of the two, the child and the woman who were murdered by Mr. Brown. It
is impossible for us to fully understand the depth of their emotional
suffering over their profound losses. We sadly also realize that killing
Vernon Brown will obviously not restore life to the dead. It will
however increase the number of human beings killed in our society and
the number of humans mourning the violent death of a loved
one.
Please take a stand for life.
What You Can
Do:
*Contact Gov. Matt Blunt on Monday or Tuesday. Urge
him to commute Vernon Brown's death sentence, thus showing a reverence
for life--end the killing.
Write: Gov. Blunt, and fax him a
letter at: 573-751-1495; Phone 573-751-3222
E-Mail: It's best to
write, call or fax but if you can't, send a note via mogov@mail.state.mo.us.
Please
note: FOR's coordinator and a few other volunteers did a count of all
correspondence to Gov. Blunt in regards to the last two executions. We
found just 43 personalized letters from Missouri residents (a pretty,
pitifully small number from my perspective) opposing the execution of
Stanley Hall. Just 57 people wrote to protest the state killing of
Donald Jones. Perhaps the numbers reflect the lack of faith we
understandably have in Gov. Blunt to do the right thing. It’s also worth
noting that just one person (a different person each
time) wrote to his office urging the governor wrote to him asking him to
allow the executions to take place.
I am also assuming his
workers aren't holding back nor destroying letters. Some people insist
they wrote letters (which we did not find). Please do write to the
governor and let us know you wrote a letter. Send a copy via e-mail to
us if you want as well at
jstack@no2death.org.
Jeff
*Join Vigils for Life
Tuesday 17 May
5:00- 6:00 p.m. Boone
County Courthouse, Columbia
6:30 p.m. Newman
Center, 701 Maryland,Columbia
11:00
p.m.-Midnight State Capitol, High St., Jeff
City
Elsewhere around state, log onto http://www.moabolition.org/
Other
Issues worth considering…..
* Inadequate legal
representation. In the trial for the murder of the little girl, for
which he is to be executed, trial counsel did not call a single witness
or introduce a single exhibit in the penalty phase. There was much that
such an investigation could have revealed. In childhood he was abused by
his grandfather and may have been his grandfather’s son, through
incest.
* His childhood was marked by poor school performance,
abuse at home, and a head injury; since then he often fell into
trance-like states which he did not remember and in which he was not
responsible for his actions. No investigation of possible brain damage
was carried out. Also, he had become a chronic user of PCP. He was
purportedly under the influence of PCP, which has anesthetic properties
(according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) PCP and
can induce “a profound departure from reality, which leaves the user
capable of bizarre behavior and severe disorientation.” While this would
excuse him his violent behavior, it could help explain why he may have
done what he did.
* Others would mourn his death, including his
brother Quin Turner, who while serving in Desert Storm, wrote a strong
letter of mitigation for him, revealing another side to his brother, one
of warmth and love. However, the trial judge in the trial for the murder
of Synetta Ford kept it out of the court records. In addition to the
information Quin Turner provides about Brown’s childhood, he reveals the
grief he will feel if he loses his brother.
He wrote his letter
to the court while deployed to Saudi Arabia in “Operation Desert
Shield,” as a platoon sergeant in the Army's Headquarters and Light
Maintenance Company, 801st Maintenance Battalion with the 101st Airborne
Division (Air Assault).
“All I know right at this moment is that
I must help fight two battles, the one over here, the one over there, my
brother's life.... (T)he natural love that two brother might share, my
brother has shared with me throughout our lives, (and) truly let's me
know that I have been blessed.
“I remember the times of being
chased home by the bigger boys at school that is until I reached the
railroad track where there stood Vernon. He not only stood there to
protect me, but my friends as well....through him I learned to stand on
my own two feet.” Mr. Brown's brother continued, explaining that the
U.S. military's justification for launching the 1991 war on Iraq,
theoretically in defense of Kuwait: “Now, here I am with a whole lot of
others doing exactly for the people here what he has done for myself and
others.
“My brother's life means a hell of a lot to me, as well
as others that may not show it outright...Please, let God's law (and not
a human-imposed 'death sentence') decide his fate-- he has too much good
in him to let go of (him). If my brother is guilty, which to me is very
hard to believe, then by all means protect the lives of others, yet
protect (Vernon) from those that can do more harm than
good.”
Sadly, we must count state officials among those bent on
doing harm to Vernon Brown.
Call 573-449-4585 for more
information.
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