Important update!

The situation regarding the death penalty’s imposition in Florida is
even more dire than my message yesterday indicated. David Lee Johnston
is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 9, not in May as I
had written yesterday. He originally had been scheduled to be executed
last May, but the Florida Supreme Court had stayed that execution.

Johnston’s execution will be the second Florida execution within just a
few weeks as Feb. 16, Martin Grossman was executed.

Please allow this information to inspire you to attend the free workshop
that Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty is holding tomorrow,
Sat., Feb. 27 –12:45-4:30 at the Leroy Collins Public Library, Program
Room B, which is on the first floor.  Please also urge your friends to
attend.

We’ll be learning about how to advocate successfully to end the death
penalty in Florida, including by  supporting incremental steps such as
requiring unanimous juries for the death penalty to be imposed. The 15
states that have abolished the death penalty typically did so after such
incremental steps were imposed.

Florida leads the nation in the number of people who have been
exonerated (released due to innocence) from death row. Yet, unanimous
juries are not required for the death penalty to be imposed in Florida.

Previous advocacy in Florida has caused the death penalty to no longer
be imposed on juveniles and on people who are mentally retarded. It also
has lead to persons convicted of capital crimes being able to get one of
only two sentences: the death penalty or life imprisonment with no
chance of parole. Research has indicated that the majority of the public
would choose life imprisonment without parole over execution if they
were given that choice. This is more reason for us to take actions that
raise the visibility of our cause.

Free TCADP T-shirts will be given to the first 15 attendees, and free
TCADP buttons will be given to all attendees at the workshop. You also
will be able to buy T-shirts for $10 apiece.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope to see you tomorrow
at the workshop.

Louise RItchie, Chair, Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty