Florida Innocence Commission Article

FSUNews.com has an article on Nancy Daniel’s presentation about the Florida Innocence Commission.
Click here for FSU News

Nancy Daniels, Public Defender of the 2nd Judicial Circuit

Member of Newly Created Florida Innocence Commission
Speaks at Annual Meeting of the Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty

Public Defender, 2nd Judicial Circuit – Nancy Daniels
Tuesday, August 10 — 7:00 p.m.
Westminster Room — First Presbyterian — 110 North Adams – Park and Adams

There have been 255 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States.

In Florida, 11 people have been exonerated through DNA testing.  Twenty-three men on death row in Florida were found to be innocent either through DNA testing or through some other evidence.

Among those named to the Commission is Nancy Daniels, Public Defender of the 2nd Judicial Circuit.  Nancy Daniels was first elected as Public Defender in 1990 and was Florida’s first female public defender.

Ms. Daniels will speak about the purpose and work of this historic Commission at the Annual Meeting of the Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty.

Vote for our new officers:
Mary Anne Hoffman – Chair
Juvais Harrington – Chair Elect
Walter Moore – Secretary
Terry Farley Walsh – Treasurer

Nancy Daniels to speak.

255 FOUND INNOCENT – SO FAR!

Member of Newly Created Florida Innocence Commission

Speaks at Annual Meeting of the Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty

Ø Public Defender, 2^nd Judicial Circuit – Nancy Daniels

Ø Tuesday, August 10 — 7:00 p.m.

Ø Westminster Room of First Presbyterian Church

Ø 110 North Adams – corner of Park and Adams

·      255 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States.  The average length of time served by the innocent is 13 years. The total number of years served is about 3,245.

·      In Florida, 11 people have been exonerated through DNA testing.  Twenty-three men on death row in Florida were found to be innocent either through DNA testing or through some other evidence. 

·      On July 2, 2010 Chief Justice Charles Canady issued an Administrative Order establishing a Florida Innocence Commission and naming 23 members.  

·      Among those named to the Commission is Nancy Daniels, Public Defender of the 2^nd Judicial Circuit.  Nancy Daniels was first elected as Public Defender in 1990 and was Florida’s first female public defender.  

·      Ms. Daniels will speak about the purpose and work of this historic Commission at the Annual Meeting of the Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty.

Sponsored by Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty

Annual Meeting on Tuesday, August 10 at 7 p.m.

Dear Friends,

This is a report from the TCADP Nominating Committee and an announcement of our Annual Meeting which includes a very important speaker on the newly created Florida Innocence Commission.

Walter Moore and Sheila Meehan comprise the Nominating Committee and ask you to consider the following nominations:

Chair — Mary Anne Hoffman
Chair-elect — Juvais Harrington
Secretary – Walter Moore
Treasurer – Terry Farley Walsh

Voting will take place at the Annual Meeting on Tuesday, August 10 at 7 p.m. at the Westminster Hall of First Presbyterian Church on the corner of Adams and Park.

We are honored to have Nancy Daniels, Public Defender of the 2nd Judicial Circuit as our featured speaker.  Nancy Daniels was first elected as Public Defender in 1990 and was Florida’s first female public defender.  Ms. Daniels was recently appointed to the newly created Florida Innocence Commission.

On July 2, 2010, as a result of a petition filed by several Florida attorneys, Chief Justice Charles Canady issued an Administrative Order establishing an Innocence Commission and naming 23 members.  Former Monroe County judge, Lester A. Garringer, Jr. was named as the Commission’s Executive Director. For the past 7 years Garringer served as staff attorney to the Supreme Court Criminal Court Steering Committee and the Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases.

Please join us on Tuesday, August 10 to vote on our slate of candidates, listen to a brief wrap-up of the past year of activities, and hear our distinguished speaker, Nancy Daniels, tell us about the work of this historic Commission.

Sheila Meehan
Walter Moore
TCADP Nominating Committee

Membership meeting notice

Dear TCADP Members:

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

College students fill Tallahassee journalism void …

Two articles about the TCADP workshop Sat.

The FAMU and FSU student journalists provided excellent coverage of Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty’s Saturday workshop, “Don’t Kill in My Name.”

Please share these articles with others.

From The Famuan
“Floridians fight against death penalty

By Antonio Rosado
Correspondent

Published: Sunday, February 28, 2010
Updated: Sunday, February 28, 2010
Outsized by the lectern, Tallahassee resident Agnes Furey smiled as she stepped aside the platform in the Leroy Collins Public Library. Furey, 73, gripped her small hands on a chair back as she recounted circumstances surrounding a double-murder that brought her speak at the “Don’t Kill in My Name” workshop.
Read More

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. Read More

Dear TCADP Members:

Gov. Crist has signed a death warrant for David Eugene Johnston, whose execution has been scheduled for May 27th. This makes it even more imperative that we who oppose the death penalty become active in raising the visibility of our cause, including by letting public officials know that we want Florida to join the 15 states that have abolished the death penalty. During the legislative session, TCADP will schedule a morning to meet with legislators to discuss our concerns about the death penalty.

Consequently, please make it a priority to attend our workshop,  “Don’t Kill in My Name,” that will be  this Sat. from 12:45-4:30 p.m.  in Program Room B of the Leroy Collins Public Library. Please also invite others whom you know who oppose the death penalty.

The free workshop is designed to educate death penalty opponents about advocating to end the death penalty.

It will include expert presentations on legal, ethical, religious, racial and financial problems with the death penalty, presentations by a homicide survivor who opposes the death penalty 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.

The first 15 attendees will be given TCADP T-shirts.

Attached is a flyer.

Thank you for reading this. I hope to see you Saturday.

Louise Ritchie, Chair
Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty

Upcoming action

1. A coalition of a variety of organizations is holding a phone media conference this Friday morning in an attempt to stop Florida’s execution of Martin Grossman, which is scheduled for next Tues. The participants include some public figures, representatives of peace organizations and religious institutions, and our member, Agnes Furey, a survivor of homicide, is also scheduled to be part of this.

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

Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty Update

Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty Update

Dear TCADP members: Here’s an update about the pending execution of Martin Grossman, and about a talk by Mayor John Marks that TCADP is cosponsoring Feb. 2.

Florida Alternatives to the Death Penalty has requested our help in doing the following in connection with the execution of Martin Grossman, which is scheduled for Feb. 16.

1.            Write letters and call Governor Charlie Crist to ask him to call for a time-out on executions and do a thorough study of Florida’s Death Penalty. Tell him to PLEASE STOP signing Death Warrants. Florida’s governor has the decision-making authority to do this. Letters can be short, even two to three sentences long.

2.            Sign up to receive future action alerts and news from Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) at http://www.facebook.com/l/b107b;www.fadp.org/esubscribe.html.

3.            Forward this action to a friend (or five!) and have them contact Governor Crist too.”

For talking points and more information: http://www.facebook.com/l/b107b;www.fadp.org/takeact.html

  Read More