Letter from Walter Moore to Governor Bush

After the Service of Remembrance I delivered three items to the Governor’s Office:  a copy of the program for our vigil at the Governor’s Mansion;  a copy of the program for the Service of Remembrance, signed by all who attended;  and the following letter to the Governor.

September 21, 2006

The Honorable Jeb Bush
Governor, State of Florida
The Capitol Building
Tallahassee, Florida

Dear Governor Bush:

On behalf of the Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty, I present copies of programs for two services conducted on the occasion of the execution of Clarence Edward Hill.  The first service was a Prayer Vigil conducted in front of the Governor’s Mansion at the time of the execution.  The second was a Service of Remembrance conducted at noon today around the seal of the state of Florida in the Capitol Rotunda.  Both services were in remembrance of both Clarence Hill, executed in our name, and Stephen Taylor, the victim of Mr. Hill’s crime.  The death of Stephen Taylor was senseless and inexcusable.  So was the death of Clarence Hill.

These gatherings serve not just to remember and lament two senseless deaths.  They also bear witness to our conviction that the death penalty is wrong.  And not our conviction only.  The signers of these programs may not be many, but they represent a large and growing number of Florida’s citizens.   We believe the day is not far off when the government of our state will join the great majority of the world’s governments and abolish capital punishment.

May that day come soon.

Respectfully,

Walter Moore, Chair
Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty
(wl_moore@comcast.net)