Inside, the Supreme Court was hearing arguments in a dusty federal tax case. Outside, police were arresting 14 death penalty protesters who unfurled a 30-foot wide banner with the message "STOP EXECUTIONS!" on the Court's marble plaza. One by one this morning, the demonstrators were escorted or dragged away for violating the federal law (40 U.S.C. 6135) that forbids "processions or assemblages" on Supreme Court grounds.The protest marked the 35th anniversary of the Utah execution by firing squad of Gary Gilmore, the first execution since the high court's reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. It was a repeat of a similar demonstration five years ago, and in between, numerous others -- from Princeton philosopher Cornel West to demonstrators dressed like Guantanamo detainees -- have been arrested in the same location.The demonstrators assembled beforehand at the nearby United Methodist Building where they discussed what to expect when arrested, and held hands in prayer. Bethesda, Maryland solo practitioner Mark Goldstone, longtime lawyer for Court protesters, briefed the group on the legalities, and told them, as he put it later, "It's too bad you aren't corporations, because then you would have more First Amendment protections."Shortly after 10 a.m., the protesters ambled over to the Court to begin a process that they knew would end in arrest. In a 1983 decision United States v. Grace, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a no-protest zone on Court property. It allowed demonstrations on the public sidewalk in front of the Court, so the protesters today probably knew they were breaking the law as soon as they walked onto the Court's marble plaza.Court police were out in force in anticipation of the protest, but they allowed the demonstrators to enter the plaza and begin climbing the majestic steps, even though the steps are no longer used as an entrance. Suddenly, one of the group took the rolled-up banner out from under his coat and the demonstrators, now facing the street, unfurled the banner for all to see. Encouraged nearly 100 demonstrators on the sidewalk, they chanted "Abolition now!" and "They say death row, we say hell no!"Court police watched intently, but did nothing to stop the protest or to confiscate the banner. After a few minutes, Court police chief Ross Swope came out from the Court building with a bullhorn to warn those holding the banner that they were in violation of the law and "will be arrested." After 10 more minutes of chants, the police started to move in with plastic handcuffs. The arrests came one at a time at one end of the banner. As each protester was taken away, those remaining spread out to keep the banner aloft. When only two protesters were left, they dropped it. As they were taken away, Court police folded up the banner neatly. After processing inside the Court building, the arrestees were expected to be detained overnight by D.C. police and arraigned on Wednesday.Goldstone, a veteran observer of these demonstrations, said he was generally pleased with the conduct of the Court police. "They seemed very relaxed, and didn't prevent the demonstration from happening," Goldstone said, adding that he was impressed by their respectful handling of the banner. "They didn't just grab it away or treat it like an incendiary device."Photograph: AP Photo/Evan Vucci
17 Mayıs 2012 Perşembe
14 Arrested In Death Penalty Protest at Supreme Court
To contact us Click HERE
Inside, the Supreme Court was hearing arguments in a dusty federal tax case. Outside, police were arresting 14 death penalty protesters who unfurled a 30-foot wide banner with the message "STOP EXECUTIONS!" on the Court's marble plaza. One by one this morning, the demonstrators were escorted or dragged away for violating the federal law (40 U.S.C. 6135) that forbids "processions or assemblages" on Supreme Court grounds.The protest marked the 35th anniversary of the Utah execution by firing squad of Gary Gilmore, the first execution since the high court's reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. It was a repeat of a similar demonstration five years ago, and in between, numerous others -- from Princeton philosopher Cornel West to demonstrators dressed like Guantanamo detainees -- have been arrested in the same location.The demonstrators assembled beforehand at the nearby United Methodist Building where they discussed what to expect when arrested, and held hands in prayer. Bethesda, Maryland solo practitioner Mark Goldstone, longtime lawyer for Court protesters, briefed the group on the legalities, and told them, as he put it later, "It's too bad you aren't corporations, because then you would have more First Amendment protections."Shortly after 10 a.m., the protesters ambled over to the Court to begin a process that they knew would end in arrest. In a 1983 decision United States v. Grace, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a no-protest zone on Court property. It allowed demonstrations on the public sidewalk in front of the Court, so the protesters today probably knew they were breaking the law as soon as they walked onto the Court's marble plaza.Court police were out in force in anticipation of the protest, but they allowed the demonstrators to enter the plaza and begin climbing the majestic steps, even though the steps are no longer used as an entrance. Suddenly, one of the group took the rolled-up banner out from under his coat and the demonstrators, now facing the street, unfurled the banner for all to see. Encouraged nearly 100 demonstrators on the sidewalk, they chanted "Abolition now!" and "They say death row, we say hell no!"Court police watched intently, but did nothing to stop the protest or to confiscate the banner. After a few minutes, Court police chief Ross Swope came out from the Court building with a bullhorn to warn those holding the banner that they were in violation of the law and "will be arrested." After 10 more minutes of chants, the police started to move in with plastic handcuffs. The arrests came one at a time at one end of the banner. As each protester was taken away, those remaining spread out to keep the banner aloft. When only two protesters were left, they dropped it. As they were taken away, Court police folded up the banner neatly. After processing inside the Court building, the arrestees were expected to be detained overnight by D.C. police and arraigned on Wednesday.Goldstone, a veteran observer of these demonstrations, said he was generally pleased with the conduct of the Court police. "They seemed very relaxed, and didn't prevent the demonstration from happening," Goldstone said, adding that he was impressed by their respectful handling of the banner. "They didn't just grab it away or treat it like an incendiary device."Photograph: AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Inside, the Supreme Court was hearing arguments in a dusty federal tax case. Outside, police were arresting 14 death penalty protesters who unfurled a 30-foot wide banner with the message "STOP EXECUTIONS!" on the Court's marble plaza. One by one this morning, the demonstrators were escorted or dragged away for violating the federal law (40 U.S.C. 6135) that forbids "processions or assemblages" on Supreme Court grounds.The protest marked the 35th anniversary of the Utah execution by firing squad of Gary Gilmore, the first execution since the high court's reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. It was a repeat of a similar demonstration five years ago, and in between, numerous others -- from Princeton philosopher Cornel West to demonstrators dressed like Guantanamo detainees -- have been arrested in the same location.The demonstrators assembled beforehand at the nearby United Methodist Building where they discussed what to expect when arrested, and held hands in prayer. Bethesda, Maryland solo practitioner Mark Goldstone, longtime lawyer for Court protesters, briefed the group on the legalities, and told them, as he put it later, "It's too bad you aren't corporations, because then you would have more First Amendment protections."Shortly after 10 a.m., the protesters ambled over to the Court to begin a process that they knew would end in arrest. In a 1983 decision United States v. Grace, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a no-protest zone on Court property. It allowed demonstrations on the public sidewalk in front of the Court, so the protesters today probably knew they were breaking the law as soon as they walked onto the Court's marble plaza.Court police were out in force in anticipation of the protest, but they allowed the demonstrators to enter the plaza and begin climbing the majestic steps, even though the steps are no longer used as an entrance. Suddenly, one of the group took the rolled-up banner out from under his coat and the demonstrators, now facing the street, unfurled the banner for all to see. Encouraged nearly 100 demonstrators on the sidewalk, they chanted "Abolition now!" and "They say death row, we say hell no!"Court police watched intently, but did nothing to stop the protest or to confiscate the banner. After a few minutes, Court police chief Ross Swope came out from the Court building with a bullhorn to warn those holding the banner that they were in violation of the law and "will be arrested." After 10 more minutes of chants, the police started to move in with plastic handcuffs. The arrests came one at a time at one end of the banner. As each protester was taken away, those remaining spread out to keep the banner aloft. When only two protesters were left, they dropped it. As they were taken away, Court police folded up the banner neatly. After processing inside the Court building, the arrestees were expected to be detained overnight by D.C. police and arraigned on Wednesday.Goldstone, a veteran observer of these demonstrations, said he was generally pleased with the conduct of the Court police. "They seemed very relaxed, and didn't prevent the demonstration from happening," Goldstone said, adding that he was impressed by their respectful handling of the banner. "They didn't just grab it away or treat it like an incendiary device."Photograph: AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Execution Watch Jan. 26: Rodrigo Hernandez
To contact us Click HERE
Rodrigo Hernandez
By Execution Watch
After a hiatus of more than two months, Texas will gear up its death machine Thursday for the state killing of Rodrigo Hernandez. Execution Watch will provide live coverage and commentary on KPFT FM-Houston, starting at 6 p.m. Central Time.
The show may be heard online at http:executionwatch.org > Listen.
It will be the first execution of 2012 in the busiest death chamber in America. Six other executions are on the calendar in Huntsville over the next three months.
Show Preview:
EXECUTION WATCH
"Unless a stay is issued, we'll broadcast ..."
Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, 6-7 PM CT
KPFT Houston 90.1 FM, HD-3
Listen online: www.executionwatch.org > Listen
*** Join the Execution Watch discussion on Facebook ***
TEXAS PLANS TO EXECUTE:
RODRIGO HERNANDEZ, 40, condemned following his 2004 conviction in the murder of a Frito-Lay saleswoman in San Antonio a decade earlier. The U.S. Supreme Court declined in 2010 to hear his appeal. Background at executionwatch.org > Backpage on Rodrigo Hernandez.
SHOW LINEUP
Host: MARLO BLUE is news anchor for KPFT, where she interviews major newsmakers and helms the live Local News broadcast each weekday at 4:00.
Legal Analyst: JIM SKELTON, a legal educator and retired attorney, the native Texan has seen capital trials from both the prosecution defense tables. Joining him, attorneys SUSAN ASHLEY and LARRY DOUGLAS.
Featured Interview: PROF. ROBERT BOHM is the author of the just-released fourth edition of DEATHQUEST, the first textbook dedicated to capital punishment. Prof. Bohm, who once worked as a corrections officer, teaches criminal justice at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
Reporter, Death House, Huntsville: GLORIA RUBAC founder and leader, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, abolitionmovement.org.
Reporter, Vigil, Houston: DAVE ATWOOD, a founder of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, will report from the vigil the group sponsors in Houston, www.tcadp.org.
NEXT SCHEDULED EXECUTION
On Feb. 1, Texas plans to execute DONALD NEWBURY. We’ll broadcast the details, including any unresolved issues. Details: executionwatch.org
PRODUCER: Elizabeth, eliza.tx.usa @gmail.com.
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Otis, omaclay @gmail.com.
STUDIO ENGINEER: Doyle.
THEME: By Victoria Panetti, SheMonster International, myspace.com/shemonster.
WEB: http://executionwatch.org
FACEBOOK: Execution Watch
KPFT FM-Houston is a flagship station of the nonprofit Pacifica Network.
(END)
Rodrigo HernandezBy Execution Watch
After a hiatus of more than two months, Texas will gear up its death machine Thursday for the state killing of Rodrigo Hernandez. Execution Watch will provide live coverage and commentary on KPFT FM-Houston, starting at 6 p.m. Central Time.
The show may be heard online at http:executionwatch.org > Listen.
It will be the first execution of 2012 in the busiest death chamber in America. Six other executions are on the calendar in Huntsville over the next three months.
Show Preview:
EXECUTION WATCH
"Unless a stay is issued, we'll broadcast ..."
Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, 6-7 PM CT
KPFT Houston 90.1 FM, HD-3
Listen online: www.executionwatch.org > Listen
*** Join the Execution Watch discussion on Facebook ***
TEXAS PLANS TO EXECUTE:
RODRIGO HERNANDEZ, 40, condemned following his 2004 conviction in the murder of a Frito-Lay saleswoman in San Antonio a decade earlier. The U.S. Supreme Court declined in 2010 to hear his appeal. Background at executionwatch.org > Backpage on Rodrigo Hernandez.
SHOW LINEUP
Host: MARLO BLUE is news anchor for KPFT, where she interviews major newsmakers and helms the live Local News broadcast each weekday at 4:00.
Legal Analyst: JIM SKELTON, a legal educator and retired attorney, the native Texan has seen capital trials from both the prosecution defense tables. Joining him, attorneys SUSAN ASHLEY and LARRY DOUGLAS.
 |
| Prof. Robert Bohm |
Reporter, Death House, Huntsville: GLORIA RUBAC founder and leader, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, abolitionmovement.org.
Reporter, Vigil, Houston: DAVE ATWOOD, a founder of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, will report from the vigil the group sponsors in Houston, www.tcadp.org.
NEXT SCHEDULED EXECUTION
On Feb. 1, Texas plans to execute DONALD NEWBURY. We’ll broadcast the details, including any unresolved issues. Details: executionwatch.org
PRODUCER: Elizabeth, eliza.tx.usa @gmail.com.
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Otis, omaclay @gmail.com.
STUDIO ENGINEER: Doyle.
THEME: By Victoria Panetti, SheMonster International, myspace.com/shemonster.
WEB: http://executionwatch.org
FACEBOOK: Execution Watch
KPFT FM-Houston is a flagship station of the nonprofit Pacifica Network.
(END)
Former Death Row prisoner Tim McKinney has a new trial date - April 9, 2012
To contact us Click HERE
The struggle to stop the execution of Troy Davis last fall showed the brutal reality of innocent, African-American men on death rows across this country. Now we face yet another urgent case: the time is now to stand with Tim McKinney. Tim McKinney is an innocent man who was on Tennessee's death row for over a decade. He is going to be re-tried for murder on April 9, 2012.
We are seeking help negotiating this new stage in Tim’s struggle for justice and would appreciate your advice and contribution. How can we PACK THE COURTS April 9th?!
------------------------------
Our efforts include securing pro-bono counsel for his appeals process with the international law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell (read more at http://www.davispolk.com/pro-
At this time we are reaching out to the TN community to get support in anticipation of a challenging process in the courts. Being granted a new trial is a huge victory but Tim has faced additional challenges in Memphis. We kindly ask that you take the time to look over Tim’s case and consider how you or other TN activists and professionals might help our cause. Please let me know what I can do to assist you in joining our campaign. We know your time is valuable.
How can we PACK THE COURTS April 9th?!
------------------------------
The struggle to stop the execution of Troy Davis last fall showed the brutal reality of innocent, African-American men on death rows across this country. Now we face yet another urgent case: the time is now to stand with Tim McKinney. Tim McKinney is an innocent man who was on Tennessee's death row for over a decade. He is going to be re-tried for murder on April 9, 2012.
We are seeking help negotiating this new stage in Tim’s struggle for justice and would appreciate your advice and contribution. How can we PACK THE COURTS April 9th?!
------------------------------
Our efforts include securing pro-bono counsel for his appeals process with the international law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell (read more at http://www.davispolk.com/pro-
At this time we are reaching out to the TN community to get support in anticipation of a challenging process in the courts. Being granted a new trial is a huge victory but Tim has faced additional challenges in Memphis. We kindly ask that you take the time to look over Tim’s case and consider how you or other TN activists and professionals might help our cause. Please let me know what I can do to assist you in joining our campaign. We know your time is valuable.
How can we PACK THE COURTS April 9th?!
------------------------------
Help Stop the Execution of Hart Turner
To contact us Click HERE
At the request of Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, the MS Supreme Court has set the execution of Edwin Hart Turner for 6 pm on February 8. Hart is on death row for killing two men at a Mississippi gas station in 1995. He had no prior criminal history.
Just six weeks before the crime, Hart was released from a three-month stay at a mental institution after his second suicide attempt in five years. Upon release Hart felt “upbeat” and those around him were hopeful that he was finally recovering from the mental disturbances which had plagued him since childhood.
He wasn’t. Hart’s behavior grew increasingly bizarre and manic. He attributed his new energy to the Prozac prescribed by the hospital but said that he “could not sleep because his mind was going too fast” and that he “couldn’t think right” or “make a complete sentence in his head.” A few days before the crimes, Hart broke down and sobbed uncontrollably for hours – “shift[ing] back and forth many times from ‘I am not a bad person’ to ‘I am a bad person,’” before eventually falling asleep fully clothed, awaking the next morning with no memory of what happened.
Hart’s mental disturbance wasn’t surprising given his background. Though Hart was a “considerate and affectionate boy” who would “hug you when he saw you,” he was raised in an environment of abuse and trauma. His family tree was littered with mental illness – his grandmother and great-grandmother were each committed to the State Hospital at Whitfield on numerous occasions. Hart was raised by alcoholics who fought in his presence and threw furniture at each other constantly. Hart’s mother attempted suicide twice, and when Hart was twelve his father was killed in a dynamite explosion that his family has come to believe was actually suicide.
Hart’s own struggles with mental illness began early – his mother took Hart to the hospital on two occasions when Hart was fifteen, reporting that he was “acting funny,” and Hart told doctors he was having trouble sleeping and his generally good grades were falling. Throughout adolescence, Hart was repeatedly hospitalized for what was called “agitated depression.” At 18 Hart attempted to kill himself with a rifle. The barrel of the gun slipped enough to spare his life, but the bullet blasted through his face leaving him permanently disfigured. From then on, Hart wore a towel wrapped around his face to hide the scars, which he never removed, choosing even to leave the room to eat or drink rather than expose his face to his family.
Five years, and several unsuccessful treatments, later, Hart slit his wrists. He was hospitalized and treated for an impulse disorder. Hart was discharged then readmitted pursuant to court order, diagnosed as having a major depressive disorder and personality disorder, and prescribed Prozac. Hart’s Prozac dosage was quickly doubled. Then Hart was again released, reported “feeling so good,” and defied orders to attend outpatient appointments. His mania deepened. Hart acted erratic and impulsive, and even stripped off all his clothes (and his face-shrouding towel) and danced in a local bar. Six weeks after his release, Hart, who had no prior criminal history, shot and killed Everett Curry and Eddie Brooks, in an irrational and impulsive crime. Hart, dressed in his tell-tale face towel and thus immediately recognizable to the residents of his small Mississippi town, was well-off financially after his father’s death and had no particular reason to commit the robberies and homicides.
Hart was immediately arrested and tried for capital murder. The jury deciding Hart’s fate heard simply that he was depressed, that his depression was “well-controlled” at the time of the murders, so the killings could only be explained by the fact that Hart simply “lacked moral brakes.”
In the 17 years since Hart’s trial, legal technicalities have blocked the courts from taking evidence and squarely deciding the question of whether Hart suffered from a mental disorder which impacted his capacity for judgment and/or was able to control his conduct at the time of the crime. At the same time it scheduled Hart Turner for execution, the Supreme Court refused to order an official medical exam to determine his mental condition and report to the Court.
Numerous mental health experts have reviewed the case and have reached the conclusion that Hart was suffering from a severe mental disorder at the time of the crimes which would have impacted his moral and legal culpability. These experts agree that at the very minimum, Hart’s history demonstrates the need for a searching mental health review. They point to a laundry list of facts that merit further inquiry:
* Hart’s own documented history of mental disturbances, bizarre behavior leading up to the offense, and repeated hospitalizations throughout adolescence for impulsiveness, agitated depression, and suicidal thinking and actions.
* Hart’s family history of mental illness, including a grandmother and a great-grandmother who were institutionalized with diagnoses of schizophrenia, prevalent addiction in the family, and suicide attempts from both parents.
* Hart’s documented history indicative of traumatic brain injury, including being unresponsive and potentially anoxic at birth, hospital treatment on at least three occasions for head injuries, battles with substance abuse including gasoline huffing as a young teenager, a shotgun blast to the face and head, and an 18-point drop in performance IQ (from 108 to 90). At the time of his offense, neither PET scans nor fMRI were in wide use, or used on Hart.
* Hart’s exposure to traumatic events during childhood, including witnessing intense physical fights between his parents, his father’s horrifying death and his mother’s threats to beat him if he cried about it. Hart has never been evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder.
* Developments in the treatment of mental illness since 1995 which demonstrate the danger that anti-depressants (like Prozac) may actually compound mania when prescribed to individuals with bipolar disorder.
Without intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court or by the Governor of Mississippi, Hart Turner, a man suffering from a life-long, hereditary and crippling mental illness, will be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday, February 8, 2012. Please help!
| For more information, please contact: Jim Craig, Louisiana Capital Assistance Center 636 Baronne Street, New Orleans, LA 70113(504) 558-9867 jimc@thejusticecenter.org | Contact the Governor:The Hon. Phil BryantGovernor of Mississippi Phone: 601.359.3150Camp.Murphy@governor.ms.gov |
At the request of Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, the MS Supreme Court has set the execution of Edwin Hart Turner for 6 pm on February 8. Hart is on death row for killing two men at a Mississippi gas station in 1995. He had no prior criminal history.
Just six weeks before the crime, Hart was released from a three-month stay at a mental institution after his second suicide attempt in five years. Upon release Hart felt “upbeat” and those around him were hopeful that he was finally recovering from the mental disturbances which had plagued him since childhood.
He wasn’t. Hart’s behavior grew increasingly bizarre and manic. He attributed his new energy to the Prozac prescribed by the hospital but said that he “could not sleep because his mind was going too fast” and that he “couldn’t think right” or “make a complete sentence in his head.” A few days before the crimes, Hart broke down and sobbed uncontrollably for hours – “shift[ing] back and forth many times from ‘I am not a bad person’ to ‘I am a bad person,’” before eventually falling asleep fully clothed, awaking the next morning with no memory of what happened.
Hart’s mental disturbance wasn’t surprising given his background. Though Hart was a “considerate and affectionate boy” who would “hug you when he saw you,” he was raised in an environment of abuse and trauma. His family tree was littered with mental illness – his grandmother and great-grandmother were each committed to the State Hospital at Whitfield on numerous occasions. Hart was raised by alcoholics who fought in his presence and threw furniture at each other constantly. Hart’s mother attempted suicide twice, and when Hart was twelve his father was killed in a dynamite explosion that his family has come to believe was actually suicide.
Hart’s own struggles with mental illness began early – his mother took Hart to the hospital on two occasions when Hart was fifteen, reporting that he was “acting funny,” and Hart told doctors he was having trouble sleeping and his generally good grades were falling. Throughout adolescence, Hart was repeatedly hospitalized for what was called “agitated depression.” At 18 Hart attempted to kill himself with a rifle. The barrel of the gun slipped enough to spare his life, but the bullet blasted through his face leaving him permanently disfigured. From then on, Hart wore a towel wrapped around his face to hide the scars, which he never removed, choosing even to leave the room to eat or drink rather than expose his face to his family.
Five years, and several unsuccessful treatments, later, Hart slit his wrists. He was hospitalized and treated for an impulse disorder. Hart was discharged then readmitted pursuant to court order, diagnosed as having a major depressive disorder and personality disorder, and prescribed Prozac. Hart’s Prozac dosage was quickly doubled. Then Hart was again released, reported “feeling so good,” and defied orders to attend outpatient appointments. His mania deepened. Hart acted erratic and impulsive, and even stripped off all his clothes (and his face-shrouding towel) and danced in a local bar. Six weeks after his release, Hart, who had no prior criminal history, shot and killed Everett Curry and Eddie Brooks, in an irrational and impulsive crime. Hart, dressed in his tell-tale face towel and thus immediately recognizable to the residents of his small Mississippi town, was well-off financially after his father’s death and had no particular reason to commit the robberies and homicides.
Hart was immediately arrested and tried for capital murder. The jury deciding Hart’s fate heard simply that he was depressed, that his depression was “well-controlled” at the time of the murders, so the killings could only be explained by the fact that Hart simply “lacked moral brakes.”
In the 17 years since Hart’s trial, legal technicalities have blocked the courts from taking evidence and squarely deciding the question of whether Hart suffered from a mental disorder which impacted his capacity for judgment and/or was able to control his conduct at the time of the crime. At the same time it scheduled Hart Turner for execution, the Supreme Court refused to order an official medical exam to determine his mental condition and report to the Court.
Numerous mental health experts have reviewed the case and have reached the conclusion that Hart was suffering from a severe mental disorder at the time of the crimes which would have impacted his moral and legal culpability. These experts agree that at the very minimum, Hart’s history demonstrates the need for a searching mental health review. They point to a laundry list of facts that merit further inquiry:
* Hart’s own documented history of mental disturbances, bizarre behavior leading up to the offense, and repeated hospitalizations throughout adolescence for impulsiveness, agitated depression, and suicidal thinking and actions.
* Hart’s family history of mental illness, including a grandmother and a great-grandmother who were institutionalized with diagnoses of schizophrenia, prevalent addiction in the family, and suicide attempts from both parents.
* Hart’s documented history indicative of traumatic brain injury, including being unresponsive and potentially anoxic at birth, hospital treatment on at least three occasions for head injuries, battles with substance abuse including gasoline huffing as a young teenager, a shotgun blast to the face and head, and an 18-point drop in performance IQ (from 108 to 90). At the time of his offense, neither PET scans nor fMRI were in wide use, or used on Hart.
* Hart’s exposure to traumatic events during childhood, including witnessing intense physical fights between his parents, his father’s horrifying death and his mother’s threats to beat him if he cried about it. Hart has never been evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder.
* Developments in the treatment of mental illness since 1995 which demonstrate the danger that anti-depressants (like Prozac) may actually compound mania when prescribed to individuals with bipolar disorder.
Without intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court or by the Governor of Mississippi, Hart Turner, a man suffering from a life-long, hereditary and crippling mental illness, will be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday, February 8, 2012. Please help!
A very moving description of a recent visit with Mumia Abu-Jamal who is now in general population
To contact us Click HERE
By Johanna Fernandez.
Comrades, Brothers and Sisters:
Heidi Boghosian and I just returned from a very moving visit with Mumia. We visited yesterday, Thursday, February 2. This was Mumia's second contact visit in over 30 years, since his transfer to General Population last Friday, Jan 27. His first contact visit was with his wife, Wadiya, on Monday, January 30.
Unlike our previous visits to Death Row at SCI Greene and to solitary confinement at SCI Mahanoy, our visit yesterday took place in a large visitor's area, amidst numerous circles of families and spouses who were visiting other inmates. Compared to the intense and focused conversations we had had with Mumia in a small, isolated visiting cell on Death Row, behind sterile plexiglass, this exchange was more relaxed and informal and more unpredictably interactive with the people around us...it was more human. There were so many scenes of affection around us, of children jumping on top of and pulling at their fathers, of entire families talking intimately around small tables, of couples sitting and quietly holding each other, and of girlfriends and wives stealing a forbidden kiss from the men they were there to visit (kisses are only allowed at the start and at the end of visits). These scenes were touching and beautiful, and markedly different from the images of prisoners presented to us by those in power. Our collective work could benefit greatly from these humane, intimate images.
When we entered, we immediately saw Mumia standing across the room. We walked toward each other and he hugged both of us simultaneously. We were both stunned that he would embrace us so warmly and share his personal space so generously after so many years in isolation.
He looked young, and we told him as much. He responded, "Black don't crack!" We laughed.
He talked to us about the newness of every step he has taken since his release to general population a week ago. So much of what we take for granted daily is new to him, from the microwave in the visiting room to the tremor he felt when, for the first time in 30 years, he kissed his wife. As he said in his own words, "the only thing more drastically different than what I'm experiencing now would be freedom." He also noted that everyone in the room was watching him.
The experience of breaking bread with our friend and comrade was emotional. It was wonderful to be able to talk and share grilled cheese sandwiches, apple danishes, cookies and hot chocolate from the visiting room vending machines.
One of the highlights of the visit came with the opportunity to take a photo. This was one of the first such opportunities for Mumia in decades, and we had a ball! Primping the hair, making sure that we didn't have food in our teeth, and nervously getting ready for the big photo moment was such a laugh! And Mumia was openly tickled by every second of it.
When the time came to leave, we all hugged and were promptly instructed to line up against the wall and walk out with the other visitors. As we were exiting the prison, one sister pulled us aside and told us that she couldn't stop singing Kelly Clarkson's line "some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this." She shared that she and her parents had followed Mumia's case since 1981 and that she was overjoyed that Mumia was alive and in general population despite Pennsylvania's bloodthirsty pursuit of his execution. We told her that on April 24 we were going to launch the fight that would win Mumia's release: that on that day we were going to Occupy the Justice Department in Washington DC. She told us that because she recently survived cancer she now believed in possibility, and that since Mumia was now in general population she could see how we could win. She sent us off with the line from Laverne and Shirley's theme song - "never heard the word impossible!"- gave us her number, and asked us to sign her up for the fight.
We're still taking it all in. The journey has been humbling and humanizing, and we are re-energized and re-inspired!!
In the words of City Lights editor, Greg Ruggiero:"
"Long Term Goal: End Mass Incarceration.
Short Term Goal: Free Mumia Abu-Jamal!"
--Johanna Fernandez
Comrades, Brothers and Sisters:
Heidi Boghosian and I just returned from a very moving visit with Mumia. We visited yesterday, Thursday, February 2. This was Mumia's second contact visit in over 30 years, since his transfer to General Population last Friday, Jan 27. His first contact visit was with his wife, Wadiya, on Monday, January 30.
Unlike our previous visits to Death Row at SCI Greene and to solitary confinement at SCI Mahanoy, our visit yesterday took place in a large visitor's area, amidst numerous circles of families and spouses who were visiting other inmates. Compared to the intense and focused conversations we had had with Mumia in a small, isolated visiting cell on Death Row, behind sterile plexiglass, this exchange was more relaxed and informal and more unpredictably interactive with the people around us...it was more human. There were so many scenes of affection around us, of children jumping on top of and pulling at their fathers, of entire families talking intimately around small tables, of couples sitting and quietly holding each other, and of girlfriends and wives stealing a forbidden kiss from the men they were there to visit (kisses are only allowed at the start and at the end of visits). These scenes were touching and beautiful, and markedly different from the images of prisoners presented to us by those in power. Our collective work could benefit greatly from these humane, intimate images.
When we entered, we immediately saw Mumia standing across the room. We walked toward each other and he hugged both of us simultaneously. We were both stunned that he would embrace us so warmly and share his personal space so generously after so many years in isolation.
He looked young, and we told him as much. He responded, "Black don't crack!" We laughed.
He talked to us about the newness of every step he has taken since his release to general population a week ago. So much of what we take for granted daily is new to him, from the microwave in the visiting room to the tremor he felt when, for the first time in 30 years, he kissed his wife. As he said in his own words, "the only thing more drastically different than what I'm experiencing now would be freedom." He also noted that everyone in the room was watching him.
The experience of breaking bread with our friend and comrade was emotional. It was wonderful to be able to talk and share grilled cheese sandwiches, apple danishes, cookies and hot chocolate from the visiting room vending machines.
One of the highlights of the visit came with the opportunity to take a photo. This was one of the first such opportunities for Mumia in decades, and we had a ball! Primping the hair, making sure that we didn't have food in our teeth, and nervously getting ready for the big photo moment was such a laugh! And Mumia was openly tickled by every second of it.
When the time came to leave, we all hugged and were promptly instructed to line up against the wall and walk out with the other visitors. As we were exiting the prison, one sister pulled us aside and told us that she couldn't stop singing Kelly Clarkson's line "some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this." She shared that she and her parents had followed Mumia's case since 1981 and that she was overjoyed that Mumia was alive and in general population despite Pennsylvania's bloodthirsty pursuit of his execution. We told her that on April 24 we were going to launch the fight that would win Mumia's release: that on that day we were going to Occupy the Justice Department in Washington DC. She told us that because she recently survived cancer she now believed in possibility, and that since Mumia was now in general population she could see how we could win. She sent us off with the line from Laverne and Shirley's theme song - "never heard the word impossible!"- gave us her number, and asked us to sign her up for the fight.
We're still taking it all in. The journey has been humbling and humanizing, and we are re-energized and re-inspired!!
In the words of City Lights editor, Greg Ruggiero:"
"Long Term Goal: End Mass Incarceration.
Short Term Goal: Free Mumia Abu-Jamal!"
--Johanna Fernandez
13 Mayıs 2012 Pazar
Beccaria - A Poetry project in Philadelphia, PA
To contact us Click HERE
The Leeway Foundation site states the intention of the chapbook "is to make a powerful artistic statement that could potentially encourage those that read it to consider whether the death penalty truly serves the needs of victims or the community at large."
Read a review of Beccaria here
Beccaria contributers:
Delbert Tibbs, David Keaton, Mary DeWitt, Reginald Lewis, Jan Williams, Devon Williams, Elizabeth Johnson, Hasan Shakur, Aja Beech
About this project
Beccaria is a chapbook of poetry which brings awareness to the death penalty in Pennsylvania. The chapbook is a compilation of the art and poetry of murder victims' family members, current death row inmates and exonerated death row prisoners. The first printing of the chapbook was funded through a Leeway Art and Change Grant. This project is to fund the second printing and will be available for purchase and available for the first time to prison inmates by May 2012.The Leeway Foundation site states the intention of the chapbook "is to make a powerful artistic statement that could potentially encourage those that read it to consider whether the death penalty truly serves the needs of victims or the community at large."
Read a review of Beccaria here
Beccaria contributers:
Delbert Tibbs, David Keaton, Mary DeWitt, Reginald Lewis, Jan Williams, Devon Williams, Elizabeth Johnson, Hasan Shakur, Aja Beech
US online video viewing hits all-time high
To contact us Click HERE
During the month of October, the total US internet audience viewed 42.6 billion videos, representing an all-time high.
184 million US Internet users watched online video content in October for an average of 21.1 hours per viewer, according to comScore. This equals to 86.2% of the total number of internet users in the country.
Google sites, driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube.com, ranked as the top online video content property in October with 161 million unique viewers and reached a record high of 20.9 billion videos viewed.
Facebook.com ranked second with 59.8 million viewers, followed by VEVO with 57 million, Microsoft sites with 49.1 million and Viacom Digital with 48.2 million.
More than 42 billion videos were viewed during the month, with the average viewer watching a record 21.1 hours. Google sites demonstrated the highest engagement with 7.1 hours per viewer.
The October 2011 YouTube partner data revealed that video music channels Vevo (54.2 million viewers) and Warner Music (30.4 million viewers) maintained the top two positions.
Gaming channel Machinima ranked third with 17.7 million viewers, followed by Schmooru with 9.9 million, Maker Studios with 9.4 million and Demand Media with 7.4 million.
Within the top 10 partners, Machinima demonstrated the highest engagement with 65.1 minutes per viewer on average, while accounting for the second highest number of videos viewed (277 million) after VEVO.
Other notable findings from October 2011 include: the duration of the average online content video was 5.5 minutes, while the average online video ad was 0.4 minutes. Video ads accounted for 14.9 percent of all videos viewed and 1.4 percent of all minutes spent viewing video online.
Source is
http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2011/11/28/us-online-video-viewing-hits-all-time-high/
184 million US Internet users watched online video content in October for an average of 21.1 hours per viewer, according to comScore. This equals to 86.2% of the total number of internet users in the country.
Google sites, driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube.com, ranked as the top online video content property in October with 161 million unique viewers and reached a record high of 20.9 billion videos viewed.
Facebook.com ranked second with 59.8 million viewers, followed by VEVO with 57 million, Microsoft sites with 49.1 million and Viacom Digital with 48.2 million.
More than 42 billion videos were viewed during the month, with the average viewer watching a record 21.1 hours. Google sites demonstrated the highest engagement with 7.1 hours per viewer.
The October 2011 YouTube partner data revealed that video music channels Vevo (54.2 million viewers) and Warner Music (30.4 million viewers) maintained the top two positions.
Gaming channel Machinima ranked third with 17.7 million viewers, followed by Schmooru with 9.9 million, Maker Studios with 9.4 million and Demand Media with 7.4 million.
Within the top 10 partners, Machinima demonstrated the highest engagement with 65.1 minutes per viewer on average, while accounting for the second highest number of videos viewed (277 million) after VEVO.
Other notable findings from October 2011 include: the duration of the average online content video was 5.5 minutes, while the average online video ad was 0.4 minutes. Video ads accounted for 14.9 percent of all videos viewed and 1.4 percent of all minutes spent viewing video online.
Source is
http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2011/11/28/us-online-video-viewing-hits-all-time-high/
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