The time has come...
The time has come...
The time has come to abolish the Death Penalty world-wide. The case for abolition becomes more compelling with each passing year.
Nowhere has it been shown that the Death Penalty has any special power to reduce crime or political violence. In country after country it is used disproportionately against the poor and against racial and ethnic minorities. It is often used as a tool of political repression. Its use is arbitrary and irrevocable. It is imposed and inflicted arbitrarily. It is an irrevocable punishment, resulting inevitably in the execution of people innocent of any crime. It is a violation of fundamental human rights.
Whatever purpose is cited, the idea that a government can justify a punishment as cruel as death, conflicts with the very concept of human rights. The significance of human rights is precisely that some means may never be used to protect society because their use violates the very values which make society worth protecting.
There are 38 states in the US which have the Death Penalty, along with the US Government and the US Military. As part of the Irish Section's fight against the Death Penalty there are four local groups working on the State of Virginia, USA. These are Group 34 (Dublin), the Limerick Group, the Schull Group and the Cork Group.
And now for some information on Virginia, and its very strange laws:
Virginia currently has 57 inmates on Death Row. It has executed 31 inmates since 1976, five of them in 1995. Another two have been executed this year already. Eleven States in the US forbid execution of the mentally retarded, Virginia is NOT one of them. The methods of execution in VA are Lethal Injection or Electrocution by choice, with Electrocution by default.
THE CONTEMPORANEOUS OBJECTION RULE
The C.O.R. states that when an objection is not raised in the original trial, it cannot be considered in a direct or later appeal. EVERY state except Virginia waives the C.O.R. in capital cases, by statute or by case law. This rule bars Appeals Courts from hearing about even blatant mistakes in the trial and illegal procedures that can include jury selection, jury instructions, evidence prevented or withheld, witness testimony, and any other aspect of the trial. These problems can, and do, affect the basic fairness and constitutionality of the trial. The issue not objected to at the first trial is barred, even if it shows the innocence of a person on Death Row.
THE 21 DAY RULE
The 21 Day Rule states that new evidence discovered more than 21 days after the trial cannot be considered in State or Federal Courts, even if the evidence could prove the innocence of a convicted defendant. The 21 Day Rule has created a situation where a person can be legally executed despite new evidence that he is innocent.
Please protest against this continued barbarism. Write to:
Governor George Allen, General Assembly Building, Richmond,
Virginia, VA 232219, USA.
