Death Warrant — Vigil and Service of Remembrance

Governor Rick Scott signed a death warrant for Oba Chandler.
We will hold a vigil in front of the Governor’s mansion on the day and time of the execution — Tuesday, November 15th at 4 p.m.
On the next day, Wednesday, November 16, at 12 noon there will be a Service of Remembrance for Mr. Chandler and the victims at the Rotunda of the Capitol.

Please join us.

This weekend and more …

THIS Saturday and Sunday we will be signing holiday cards for prisoners. Every year we sign holiday cards for the prisoners on Florida’s Death Row. The cards and a calendar purchased by Kindred Spirits are sent to every person on Death Row in December. As in previous years, Robert and Nancy Smith Fichter are graciously opening their home for the card signing. Please come by and sign as many cards as you can. All are invited.

· Saturday, November 12 – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
· Sunday, November 13 – 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
· Location: 710 Waverly Road, Tallahassee 32312

Death Warrant
Governor Rick Scott signed a Death Warrant and has scheduled the killing of Oba Chandler for Tuesday, November 15th at 4 p.m. We will hold a vigil on that day and time in front of the Governor’s mansion. On the following day, Wednesday, November 16, at 12 noon there will be a Service of Remembrance for Mr. Chandler and the victims at the Rotunda of the Capitol. Please join us.

Sheila Meehan
Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty

Valle Executed

Important — from Mark Elliott of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty:
Valle Executed

“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

Manuel Valle’s petition -Broward Palm Beach New Times Blog

South Florida-  Manuel Valle’s petition asking for a stay of execution was denied today by the Florida Supreme Court.

His scheduled date with death remains September 28, 2011, at 4 p.m. Read More

Valle execution back on

by John Kennedy | September 13th, 2011

Gov. Rick Scott scheduled Sept. 28 as the date for the execution of convicted Miami-Dade cop killer Manuel Valle.
Valle’s execution has been put off twice this summer, first by the Florida Supreme Court and later by federal judges in Atlanta. Those stays, however, have been lifted as courts have effectively endorsed the state’s use of the compound pentobarbital for the lethal injection needed, a change forced by a manufacturer’s discontinuing the three-drug round of chemicals formerly used.
Valle’s execution has been set for 4 p.m. that day, a Wednesday. Valle is the first death warrant signed by Florida’s new governor.
Since his conviction for the 1978 killing of Coral Gables police officer Louis Pena, Valle has been sentenced to death and re-sentenced three times in legal wrangling that eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned his death penalty in 1987. Courts later reaffirmed his death penalty conviction.

Palm Beach Post.com

Good and Bad news …. 5 items

Dear Friends,

On behalf of the board of Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty, I have some bad news and some good announcements – all for early September – 6, 7, and 11.

The Governor has set a new date for the killing of Manuel Valle. It is now scheduled for Tuesday, September 6 at 6 p.m.

Please attend the Vigil in front of the Governor’s mansion on September 6th at 6 p.m. This will be the first in the Scott administration.

On the following day, Wednesday, September 7th, we will gather at the Capitol Rotunda at 12 noon for a Memorial Service for Mr. Valle and for victim, Louis Pena.
Read More

Florida’s Catholic bishops repeated their plea for Gov. Rick Scott ….

Travis Pillow writes in the Florida Independent that Florida’s Catholic bishops repeated their plea for Gov. Rick Scott to call off the execution of Manuel Valle, the subject of Scott’s first death warrant.

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. Read More

18 August 2011 Virginia executes Jerry Jackson amid death-drug row

From BBC

Jerry Jackson was the 31st prisoner put to death in the US this year

The US state of Virginia has executed a convicted murderer and rapist by lethal injection, despite objections from the drug manufacturer. Read More

The saga of Manuel Valle

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has asked U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to lift a stay of execution ordered by the state’s highest court.
Bondi filed the request after the Florida Supreme Court on Monday ordered a month-long stay for Manuel Valle.
He was had been scheduled for execution Aug. 2 for killing a Coral Gables police officer 33 years ago.
The state justices, in a 4-3 ruling, ordered the stay so a trial judge can hold a fact-finding hearing on whether Valle would feel pain from a new drug Florida plans to use for lethal injection.
Bondi’s filing says that issue already has been decided in cases from other states.
Thomas can lift the stay, but death row cases usually are referred to the full court.

Florida Supreme Court overturned death sentences Thursday

By Brent Kallestad
The Associated Press

The Florida Supreme Court overturned death sentences Thursday for convicted killers from Jacksonville and Zephyrhills. Read More