2. Vigil for David Goreman – Thursday, April 12 at 6 pm in front of the Governor’s Mansion

3. Service of Remembrance – Friday, April 13 at 12 noon at the Capital Rotunda

A two-hour forum that will include perspective and commentary from FSU President Emeritus, former Dean of the College of Law and former American Bar Association President Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte; former Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero; 2nd Judicial Circuit Judge Janet Ferris (retired); 18th Judicial Circuit Judge O.H. Eaton (retired) and former member of the ABA Florida Death Penalty Assessment Team; Harry Shorstein, former Fourth Judicial Circuit State Attorney and former member of the ABA Florida Death Penalty Assessment Team; Mike Minerva, CEO, Innocence Project of Florida, former 2nd Judicial Circuit Public Defender and former member of the ABA Florida Death Penalty Assessment Team; Stephen Hanlon, Chairman, The Constitution Project, and former Chairman of the ABA Steering Committee; Mark Olive, renowned capital case litigator; Chris Slobogin, law professor at Vanderbilt University and former chair of the ABA Florida Death Penalty Assessment Team, Les Garringer, executive director of the Florida Innocence Commission and former Monroe County Judge, and Frank Patterson, Dean, FSU College of Motion Picture Arts.

When: Monday, November 14th from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Where: FSU College of Law Rotunda, 425 W. Jefferson St. (across from the Leon County Civic Center)
*sponsored in cooperation with The Constitution Project
This special event is free and open to the public.

“The struggle for justice doesn’t end with me. This struggle is for all the Troy Davises who came before me and all the ones who will come after me.” — Troy Davis

Friends,

After an afternoon of misinformation from the some media reports, it has been confirmed by the Governor’s office and the DOC that Manuel Valle was pronounced dead at 7:14 pm Eastern Time.

The 4:00 pm execution had been put on hold for almost 3 hours to await a U.S. Supreme Court decision on a stay. The stay was denied and the execution commenced. It is not yet confirmed that Manuel Valle was on the gurney with IV’s started during the entire wait.

There were a dozen execution vigils and protests around our state today. Thanks to every one of you who are working to end this madness in whatever way you can. Writing Letters to the Editor, calls, emails, letters and visits to your representatives, supporting FADP…are all needed. Working together we will see an end to executions in our time…for all time.

“Never Stop Fighting for Justice and We will Win!”

—Troy Anthony Davis, Oct. 9, 1968 – Sept. 21, 2011

Shine the light,

—Mark

Valle was convicted of the 1978 killing of a Coral Gables police officer, and first sentenced in 1981. He then waged a decades-long series of appeals, including most recently a challenge to Florida’s lethal injection drug mixture and procedures, which allowed him to delay his scheduled execution.

The Florida Supreme Court issued a ruling Thursday allowing the execution to proceed. It is scheduled for Sept. 1.

The bishops argue that a sentence of life without parole would be enough to ensure public safety, and that “human dignity – that of the convicted as well as our own – is best served by not resorting to this extreme and unnecessary punishment.” Their full announcement is below:

Tallahassee, FL – In an August 3, 2011 letter to Governor Rick Scott, the bishops of Florida urged the governor to stay the execution of Manuel Valle scheduled for September 1, 2011. Non-lethal means of punishment protect society and respect the life of all persons, even those who have done great harm. Text of the letter follows: #

Dear Governor Scott,

We renew our appeal to you to end the use of the death penalty in our state. We urge you to stay the execution of Manuel Valle scheduled for September 1, 2011.

We concede the right of the State to impose the death penalty when absolutely necessary, that is when it is otherwise impossible to defend society.  However, given the ability of Florida to protect its residents by incarcerating inmates for life without possibility of parole, we pray you will exercise that option.

Willful murder is a heinous crime; it cries to God for justice.  Yet, God did not require Cain’s life for having spilt Abel’s blood.  While God certainly punished history’s first murderer, he nevertheless put a mark on him to protect Cain from those wishing to kill him to avenge Abel’s murder (cf. Genesis 4:15).  Like Cain, the condemned prisoner on death row – for all the evil of his crimes – remains a person.  Human dignity – that of the convicted as well as our own – is best served by not resorting to this extreme and unnecessary punishment.  Modern society has the means to protect itself without the death penalty.

The killing of Officer Louis Pena caused great suffering and pain for his family and friends, and we pray they were consoled as they mourned the loss of their loved one. We are hopeful that Officer Gary Spell and his family are healed from his traumatic experience as he came to the aid of his fellow officer. An execution re-opens the emotional wounds of victim’s families and does not bring back or honor their loved one. True peace can only be achieved by forgiveness.

Killing someone because they killed diminishes respect for life and promotes a culture of violence and vengeance. We affirm the right and duty of the State to assure public safety and punish the guilty by incarceration, which allows the inmate an opportunity for reflection on their offenses and sorrow for the pain they have caused others.

Governor, we ask you to stop state sanctioned killing by sparing the life of Manuel Valle, allowing him to serve out his sentence in prison for the rest of his natural life.

Respectfully in the Lord,

Most Reverend Thomas G. Wenski
Archdiocese of Miami

Most Revered Gerald M. Barbarito
Diocese of Palm Beach

Most Reverend Robert N. Lynch
Diocese of St. Petersburg

Most Reverend Frank J. Dewane
Diocese of Venice

Most Reverend John G. Noonan
Diocese of Orlando

Most Reverend Felipe J. Estévez
Diocese of St. Augustine

For those of you who celebrate Christmas you know how difficult it can be to shop for gifts and you also know the hassle of commercial shopping.  TCADP wants to tell you about the Alternative Christmas Market which has been taking place at John Wesley United Methodist Church for 24 years.  You can purchase gifts or make donations to honor your friends and family members.  One of the organizations you can select for contributions is Kindred Spirits.

Kindred Spirits Charitable Trust is a 501(c )(3) organization that was started many years ago by Audrey Rivers and others who were concerned about indigent prisoners on Florida’s Death Row.  They rely entirely on donations and have no paid staff.  The mission of Kindred Spirits is to provide friendship and support to those on Death Row by writing letters, sending stamps, magazine subscriptions, small amounts of money for canteen purchases, birthday cards, and other small acts of kindness.

Please consider supporting Kindred Spirits and attend the Alternative Christmas Market this weekend.  John Wesley is on Old Saint Augustine Road near the Indianhead Acres neighborhood. Here’s the website for the Market: https://sites.google.com/site/acmatjwc/Home

John Wesley Church
1689 Old Saint Augustine Rd
Saturday, December 4 from 9 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday from 1:00 p.m.  – 4:00 p.m.

Sheila Meehan
TCADP Board

Attend the reception on Thursday, November 4, at the Hotel Duval. The event is sponsored by the Innocence Project, where another person who was wrongfully accused and was ultimately freed will share his story.  See the details below.

You will also find a link that will take you to the Innocence Project’s site where you can purchase tickets for the reception and movie – all for only $25.  The money will go a long way towards investigating and freeing others who have been wrongfully convicted.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU PURCHASE TICKETS ON LINE OR RSVP to the Innocence Project so they know how many movie tickets to purchase in advance.

Please support this worthwhile cause.  Perhaps more than anything else, the freeing of the wrongfully convicted has helped to convince so many that the death penalty is bad public policy.

Sheila Meehan
TCADP Board

Conviction – The Movie

Starring Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell, Conviction is a movie based on the true story of Betty Anne Waters, who dedicated her life to overturning the wrongful conviction of her older brother, Kenny.

We very excited to have a feature film tell the story of wrongful conviction and its impact on people’s lives, thus bringing a spotlight to the work that Innocence Projects do. Conviction opens in Tallahassee at the Regal Cinemas Miracle 5 on October 29th. Please wait until November 4th to see the movie as we are hosting a reception with at least one Florida exoneree from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Mahogany Room on the 7th floor of the Hotel Duval before the 7:30 p.m. showing of the movie. Multiple sponsorship opportunities are available for the reception and movie showing on November 4th, all of which will enable IPF find and free innocent people in Florida prisons. Become a Sponsor.

Tickets for the reception and movie are $25 per person.

Use this link to go directly to the IP site and purchase your ticket:  http://floridainnocence.org/content/?page_id=2154

Parking tends to be hard to find evenings at FAMU. However, FAMU police will NOT ticket people without FAMU decals on evenings and weekends as long as you do NOT park in handicap or reserve parking. There is a parking lot on Orr Drive,which abuts Tucker Hall may have spaces available. There also is a parking garage about 2 blocks away on the extension of Railroad Ave. which is on FAMU’s campus.

The Exonerated
By Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen

Told in their own words, six Americans with vastly different ethnic, religious, and educational backgrounds share stories of their sentences on death row for crimes they did not commit. As an evening of theater that has the potential to change lives, the politics is exemplary, the stories harrowing and uplifting.

Fri., Oct. 22 – 8 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 23 – 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 24 – 3 p.m.

Admission: $12 Adults, $9 Senior Citizens and $7 Students/Child
Free for FAMU Students with valid I.D.

Preview Performaces: Oct. 20 & 21. $5 General Admission, Free for FAMU Students witth valid I.D. A post show discussion will follow the Sat. 2 p.m. matinee performance.

All shows are performed in the newly renovated Charles Winter Wood Theatre located in Tucker Hall (on Orr Drive next to FAMU’s library) on the campus of Florida A&M University unless otherwise indicated. Group rates are available. For more information call 561.2425.

I am inviting you to a meeting this Thursday, at noon,  March 25 in the First Presbyterian Church annex (the white building next to the church, 110 North Adams St). We’ll be meeting in the second room on the right on the first floor.

At this all membership meeting, we’ll be following-up on our workshop of a few weeks ago, including writing letters to legislators, planning a morning to talk to legislators, and planning some activities to continue informing the public about why it’s important to abolish the death penalty. This will include our participation at the upcoming Peace Festival in Railroad Sq. Art Park, and discussing ways we can take advantage of FAMU’s Essential Theater’s  upcoming Oct. production of “The Exonerated” — a play based on the experiences of 6 people who were exonerated from death row .

Please come with your ideas. If you can’t come, please e-mail your suggestions to me.

Best,

Louise Ritchie,
Chair, Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty
LouiseRitchie@aol.com

2.  Despite 10,000 people signing petitions requesting that Martin Grossman not be executed, Gov. Crist says he still plans to execute Grossman Tues. Feb. 16. If it goes as scheduled, at 6 p.m. Tues. please come stand outside the governor’s mansion at 6 p.m. Tues. Feb. 16 as we hold a vigil to reflect our opposition to the death penalty, and come to the memorial service we’ll hold Weds. at noon in the courtyard between the old and new capitols.

3.  Sat. Feb. 27 free public workshop to train death penalty opponents about advocating for ending the death penalty. This is the beginning of our campaign to add Florida to the 15 states and D.C. that don’t impose the death penalty. It will be 12:45-4:30 in Program Room B of the Leroy Collins Public Library.

Please come to the workshop and also invite others. We’re particularly interested in involving students in this movement, so please share this information with professors and college and high school students and their organizations.

The workshop will include: experts’ presentations on legal, ethical, religious, racial, and financial problems with the death penalty; presentations by a homicide survivor and by a former journalist who witnessed an execution; instruction from an experienced legislative lobbyist;  and it will conclude with a documentary about an innocent man who spent almost 18 years on Florida’s death row.

We will give free TCADP T-shirts to the first 15 attendees.

Thank you for reading this.

Louise Ritchie
Chair, TCADP