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WORKING TO MAINTAIN AND IMPROVE LIVING
CONDITIONS FOR
DEATH ROW IN FLORIDA
NEWSLETTER, AUGUST 2003
| July 18, 2003 New Standards in Death Penalty Cases Predicted
Marcia Coyle, A new era of tougher scrutiny of defense lawyers' work
in death penalty trials is expected as the result of an end-of-term
U.S. Supreme Court ruling. In a case that was largely overshadowed
by rulings on affirmative action and gay rights, the Court took a
major step toward dealing with the pervasive and persistent problem
of inadequate representation for indigent capital murder defendants.
Wiggins v. Smith, 02-311. A 7-2 majority led by Justice Sandra Day
O'Connor held that the performance of public defenders representing
Kevin Wiggins in the sentencing phase of his capital murder trial
violated his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of
counsel. Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.
Wiggins is only the second case in nearly 20 years in which the
justices found a death row inmate had received ineffective
assistance of counsel under standards announced in Strickland v.
Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984). The first case was three years ago,
Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362 (2000). The promise of Williams --
to put teeth into the Strickland standards -- has not been
fulfilled, according to some scholars and litigators. But Wiggins,
they added, will not be so easily ignored by lower courts. The
striking elements of the latest case: It did not involve
extraordinarily egregious representation by a sleeping or drunk
lawyer. Wiggins probably received better representation than many
death row inmates, experts said. But the justices still found that
inadequate under Strickland. The ruling should lay to rest the near
sacrosanct quality of a lawyer's "tactical" decision to make no
effort, or only a half-hearted one, to present a jury with
mitigating factors that would offset aspects of the crime that could
result in a death sentence. A typical mitigating factor is childhood
abuse of the defendant that must be established through
investigation by the defence. After being sentenced to death,
Wiggins brought a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel for
failure to present a mitigation case. The Maryland Court of Appeals
ruled that his trial counsel made "a deliberate, tactical decision
to concentrate their effort at convincing the jury" that Wiggins was
not directly responsible for the murder. Writing for the majority,
O'Connor, who also wrote Strickland in 1984, said Wiggins' counsel's
decision not to look beyond a presentencing report and certain
social services records fell short of professional standards in
Maryland in 1989. She noted that public defenders had funds
available to commission a social history report, but Wiggins'
counsel did not use them. She also found their conduct fell short of
the standards for capital defence work set by the American Bar
Association. Strickland, O'Connor said, does not require attorneys
to investigate every conceivable line of mitigating evidence and
does not require them to present mitigating evidence in every case.
But a decision not to investigate, she said, "must be directly
assessed for reasonableness in all the circumstances." "I think
Wiggins is extremely important, almost more important than you can
glean from the opinion," said death penalty scholar James Liebman of
Columbia University Law School. "There has been this broad set of
courts -- both federal and state -- that has reached the conclusion
under Strickland that if the trial attorney gave a strategic or
tactical explanation for failing to do something, that was
essentially impenetrable. "The Supreme Court says very explicitly
that no strategic judgment will trump the basic Strickland test, so
any strategic judgment on which you are relying also has to be
rational. It removes a very important barrier." Capital litigator
Eric Freedman of Hofstra University School of Law agreed, adding, "I
do expect to see lower courts interpreting Strickland in light of
Wiggins, and obviously they are at serious risk of being reversed if
they don't. That's the realistic outlook." ABA GUIDELINES'
IMPORTANCE: Freedman noted O'Connor's reliance on the ABA
guidelines. A new set that came out in February, he said, are more
stringent and require the use of mitigation specialists. "O'Connor
is correctly positioning the court in the center of where the
consensus is," said Freedman who serves as the ABA's reporter on the
guidelines. "These new guidelines passed with well over 90 percent
of the vote -- a higher percentage on the floor of the House of
Delegates than a pay raise for judges." Wiggins' potential impact is
broad also because of the facts of his case, said Freedman and
others. "One of the things that is encouraging about this case is
it's precisely the sort of routine level of ineffective assistance
in capital cases rather than the headline-grabbing type of case,"
Freedman said. "The statistical norm is what's illustrated here: the
lawyers simply don't go far enough, dig hard enough, pursue leads
aggressively enough to come up with the total picture that's
critical to saving the client's life." Not everyone reads Wiggins so
broadly. Kent Scheidegger of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation,
which filed an amicus brief supporting Maryland in the case, called
the decision "pretty fact-intensive." "It is still the law that if
the lawyer has the evidence, evaluates it and decides not to use it,
that is close to unreviewable," he said. He noted that the high
court last term also rejected an ineffective-assistance claim in a
death case in which the 9th Circuit granted relief. "If you consider
them as a pair, you can see the court is telling circuits not to
wander off too far in either direction," Scheidegger said. But Bruck
countered, "It's true every ineffectiveness case is fact-laden, but
I sense there is a shift that has taken place with Wiggins. The
growing recognition that this country has failed to provide fair
trials in so many capital cases has reached the Supreme Court."
Wiggins is also important as a habeas case, said habeas scholar Ira
Robbins of American University Washington College of Law. In the
1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, Congress crafted
a standard for federal review of state prisoners' claims that is
extremely deferential to state courts in order to hasten
post-conviction appeals. That standard is a major obstacle to
prisoners -- death row or otherwise -- who want federal courts to
hear their claims. Despite that high bar, the Supreme Court in
Williams, Wiggins and another death case last term involving
race-based peremptory jury challenges, has granted habeas relief,
Robbins noted. "They are soberingly giving scrutiny to death cases
from states that have not gotten this level of federal review in the
past," he said. "Clearly what's going on, and maybe contrary to what
Congress intended, they have to allow some room, some nondeference,
some true federal review, in order for them to pierce the veil of
these death penalty judgments."
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News from the inside
Wow. Sorry we are so late this month. We had a few setbacks with people
having to leave the group and rearranging ourselves to fit the empty
spots. Lynne has left and will be missed greatly. Hopefully she has just
left for a season, time will tell. More about the new people in the next
issue. Art and poetry can still be sent to FDRAG's address and will be
handled as usual.
We have also heard a lot about the pen pal situation,
but still no one knows exactly what is going on, or how it is going to be
implemented. The DOC has informed the press that the rule took effect
august 5th, but nothing has been in writing yet, as far as we know. We do
know that people are fighting to prevent it from happening, the ACLU and
the Florida Justice Institute + plus we also received this email when
asking some pen pal organizations:
We are already in the process of
filing an immediate injunction for the rule in federal court. It is
unconstitutional, and we expect to triumph in the courts. Best
wishes.Sincerely,Ben…Support at WriteAPrisoner.com.
If it gets to a
point where the DOC expect for you to get your pen pal adds removed, and
you have problems with it- let us know and we will do our best to help
you.
There is also a lot going on with some of you on the legal front,
partly due to the closing of CCRC-N - hopefully we have an update on that
next month.
And here is a message we received from the inside, which might be
useful:
" If you see Miss Wylie, she needs to tell you before you begin
the "session" that she is obliged to tell the institution if one of the
following is the topic: "suicide attempt, escape attempt, discussions
involving your crime."
Apparently she tends to tell people after the
session that there are certain issues she has to report and cannot keep
confidential.
Please all - do help us get material for the web page. It
is for the public only, and meant to give people a change to see and sense
what you have to live every day. We need your contributions to make it
work. Diary-like input, poetry, and art - whatever you can think of to
give people a sense of your reality. This page cannot come to live without
you, and we know how much talent there is hidden behind those walls. Share
it! And tell your families about it too. Maybe they have something on
their hearts to share?
That's it from here, for now. If you still
haven't gotten a response to your letter -we apologize and are working on
it. Thanks to all of you who do write with encouragements and useful
information. You are not forgotten. None of you!
God
bless
Hannah
| A little more legal news: This covers July 21 to August 3, 2003,
with two cases of special note. The first is the Fifth Circuit's
decision in Bigby v. Cockrell. In a highly unusual move, the Fifth
Circuit has granted relief to a Texas death row inmate. The Bigby
Court grants relief on a Penry II claim dealing with mitigation in
relation to the Texas special questions & in so doing lays out a
solid example of what counsel must do in order to get relief under
this type of claim in that Court. The other decision is an equal
surprise. In an unusual move the Sixth Circuit in Cooey II v.
Bradshaw has granted petitioner's request for initial hearing en
banc during a stay proceeding. At issue appears to be a claim that
habeas counsel incompetence impacted on the integrity of the initial
habeas proceedings. This unusual move and unusual issue will
undoubtedly lead to further analysis here once the final decision of
the court sitting en banc is handed down. Finally, three other
positive outcomes are noted. In Pickens v. Oklahoma, the Oklahoma
Court of Criminal Appeals has ordered a remand in light of Atkins v.
Virginia for a mental retardation hearing. In Pennsylvania v.
Williams the state supreme court has ordered a remand in light the
court below's apparent mishandling of petitioner's claimed attempts
to fire counsel & amend his PCRA petition. Finally, in Idaho v.
Lovelace a remand was ordered for a new sentencing in light of Ring
v. Arizona. Of additional note is that Darnell Williams in Indiana
has won a stay to permit DNA testing. Joseph Amrine, who has spent
the past 17 years on Missouri's death row, has had all charges
dropped and walked out of jail. In Pennsylvania counsel for Nicholas
James Yarris announced in a press conference that three separate DNA
tests exclude Yarris from the rape and murder for which he was
convicted and sent to death row. Source: Capital Defense Weekly
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| MESSAGE FROM ABE BONOWITZ, FADP
Greetings Friends,
I hope you are hanging in there OK. If
it is any consolation, we're on the downhill side of summer. While I
know it can never compare to the heat you are dealing with, I wanted
to share with you that when we were in Washington, DC for the annual
Fast & Vigil at the US Supreme Court, the air conditioning was
broken. (We always stay at the Community for Creative Nonviolence,
which is part of a huge homeless shelter that was founded in the
1980's by Mitch Snyder.) The heat was stifling. Many of us couldn't
sleep. Johnny put it all in perspective for us - reminding us that
it could be a lot worse. At least we could leave!
People in the
streets are starting to get sick of the Bush Regime. On my car I
have a bumper sticker (actually, four in total - one on each of the
rear side windows, one on the back window, and one on the bumper)
that reads, "There's Dirt Under Every Bu$h." Back before the most
recent war got started, I was getting a lot of one-finger salutes.
These days people have figured out what a friggin liar George Bush
is, and now all I get is thumbs up, smiles, and people rolling down
their window to say they it, and "Where can I get one?" The reason I
mention this is because while that sticker is not specifically about
the death penalty, in my book, being anti-Bush is much the same as
being anti-death penalty.
Now Jeb! Is going to martyr Paul Hill.
As you probably know, Hill wanted to be executed from before he even
committed the crime that put him on death row. That's right - he
murdered a doctor who worked at a women's health clinic that
provided abortions among other services. This is one of those cases
where it is very clear that the death penalty actually inspires
murder, and now the evil MF Jeb Bush is going to give Paul Hill a
platform to encourage others to commit the same crime. It really
makes you wonder why they call Jeb "the smart one."
Puerto Rican Johnny (AKA Juan Melendez - released Jan 2002) and
Shabaka WaQlimi (AKA Joseph Green Brown - released 1987)
participated in "Starvin' for Justice '03," the 10th Annual Fast
& Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty at the US Supreme Court in
Washington, DC.
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty will be out in
force protesting against that killing, and we are working to get
some new voices to the table on this one. We'll see just how
consistent the "Pro-Life" movement really is.... We do want to get a
big crowd outside the prison for this one. If you know anyone who
might join the protest, please write to them right away and tell
them to be there, across from the prison, by 5:15 on September 3. We
will also have street demonstrations in most major cities - so if
you have people in Florida but they can't make it to Starke, have
them look at our web page at www.FADP.org, or call us at
800-973-6548, for the details.
The play, "The Exonerated" will be
in Ft. Lauderdale in October. This play is based on interviews with
a number of exonerated death row prisoners, including Floridians
Robert Hayes, Sunny Jacobs, and Delbert Tibbs. Its quite fitting
that it will play in Broward County, where they seem to have a
problem with wrongful convictions. Jesse Tafero, Sunny Jacobs, Frank
Lee Smith and others were railroaded there.... FADP hopes to
participate in some way....
What else? Juan Melendez and I are
going on another road trip. We'll be in Ohio for the Ohio Journey of
Hope from September 26 to Oct. 12. The next weekend is the National
Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty conference in Nashville, TN.
And THEN we'll be back in Florida, raising awareness at schools,
churches, and in the media - as much as we can.... As with the
demonstrations, if you know people who have a school or a church or
somewhere that Juan can tell his story, please ask them to be in
touch with me as soon as possible at 800-973-6548. Finally, I was
interviewed today (7/30/03) for a news article about the new rules
about soliciting for pen pals. You should know that the reporter was
Scoffing at the DOC. They are just trying to get at you in any way
that they can. Don't let them! We will be litigating this, and the
first amendment will prevail!
Stay cool, and stay strong. And
feel free to drop me a note to let me know what's on your
mind.
Yours in the Struggle,
-Abe
FADP-177 U.S. highway #
1. Tequesta, FL 3346
Members of the board of the Journey of Hope... From Violence to
Healing, including Juan Melendez and Abe's dog Governor, in front of
the offices of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
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| More
News About the Heat Lawsuit
On July 2nd, Elliot Scherker, Karen Gottlieb, Randall Berg and
Peter Siegel filed a brief with the 11th Circuit challenging Judge
Nimmons' earlier ruling that the extreme temperatures on Florida's
death row during the summer months do not violate the cruel and
unusual punishment clause of the 8th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution. The brief primarily argues that the court applied the
wrong legal standard.
Peter Siegel and Randall Berg of the Florida Justice Institute,
Miami, tried the case before U.S. District Court Judge Nimmons last
July in Jacksonville. Berg and Siegel decided to enlist seasoned
appellate counsel from the Greenberg Traurig law firm to draft the
brief and handle oral argument. "After living with and trying a
case, it often helps to have new talent take a fresh look at the
issue for the appeal," said Berg. "And Elliot and Karen are the best
in the business." Greenberg Traurig is one of the largest firms in
Florida and the country. The firm gained national recognition during
its successful representation of George W. Bush in the Presidential
Election battle in Florida. Karen is now in private practice in
Coconut Grove. Highly regarded appellate counsel Elliot Scherker and
Karen Gottlieb are to be commended.
Elliot and Karen are husband and wife. They met as appellate
attorneys in the Miami Public Defenders Office. They were in the
trenches for years successfully handling capital and other appeals.
They are wonderful attorneys. We thank them and attorneys at the
Institute for their fine work. The Department will file its brief
around the first of September as they were granted an extension. The
11th Circuit has not set a date for oral argument.
This information has been provided by the Florida Justice
Institute.
After we received this information and a copy of the brief, we
mailed a copy to each wing. If you have not yet seen it, we can try
to provide some more copies, but please ask your wing before sending
out a request. It is quite lengthy and fairly expensive to print and
mail. We ask that you please enclose at least the stamps to cover
the postage. (5 stamps per brief as we can only send five
back-to-back printed pages at
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| The
Ten Commandments of True Love
1. Be honest: always be honourable in principles, intentions and
actions; not disposed to lie, cheat, or steal; showing uprightness
and fairness, always being sincere, respectable, frank, humble and
virtuous.
2. Be Loyal: Always show faithfulness to one's oaths and
obligations, showing unadulterated commitment to any person
conceived as deserving fidelity.
3. Be forgiving: always ready and willing to forgive, offering
the chance to recover from one's mistakes, showing reasonable
tolerance at all times.
4. Be kind: always reflecting a good and benevolent nature that
is loving, affectionate, considerate, and helpful.
5. Be gentle: always polite and courteous, chivalrous, noble;
demonstrating dignity without pretence.
6. Be giving: always willing to present voluntarily and
unselfishly without expecting compensation.
7. Be joyful: always showing and expressing joy, happiness, and
jubilance, thereby causing joy and happiness to others.
8. Be patient: always bearing provocation, annoyance, pain and
disappointment without complaints or anger.
9. Be Amorous: always ready to dispense with one's love,
especially with one's mate, sexual love.
10. Be yourself: always revealing the true fruits of the heart
freely, and generously sharing your best with every one.
By Mark Asay. UCI- (cat fish)
Britta's Poetry Corner
Between the lines
When I read between the lines...
I see your fears,
worries
And insecurities.
When I read between the lines...
I see the tears you´ve shed
over people
Who have hurt and misunderstood you.
When I read between the lines...
I see a void that has left
you wanting,
Needing and Yearning for something better.
When I read between the lines...
I see the wall you've built
around your heart
For protection.
When I read between the lines...
I see a mind that's weary
from trying to answer
So many unanswerable questions.
When I read between the lines...
I see the loneliness,
frustration and anxiety
That imprisons you.
When I read between the lines...
I pause...
And imagine how
wonderful it would be
If you would just let me in.
By Bill Clark, San Quentin 2003
Joachim's Art Corner
William Bouguereau (1825-1905)
Madonna of the Roses (1903)
The French painter William Bouguereau creates a painting with
Madonna, which is in my opinion very untypical. Most paintings with
Madonna showing Maria suffering, because Jesus is dead (the so
called "Pieta") or the paintings are showing Madonna in a kind of
mystical ecstasy during the annunciation.
Here we can see Maria - neither suffering nor ecstatic. When I
look at the painting, I have the feeling, that Maria is very strong
and she knows her destiny. She looks into the future, but she's also
in the present. Also untypical is, that she doesn't look to the
observer, but the little Jesus does it. Unfortunately I have no
explanation for this difference.
In this painting you can see a lot of mystical symbols - the
roses, the blue robe and the white cape for example. More about all
this in the next art corner
These drawings kindly submitted by:
Daryl Moody (Short Dogg)
UCI William Reaves - UCI
 
Spiritual Corner
Within each of us, is a spark of Light, which
connects us to our Creator. This "corner", is not about religion or
conversion. It is about each of us...our humanity... how we each at
times, lose our direction and personal power, and how we may find
them again. Our purpose for this segment is to encourage
empowerment, discernment, hope, Oneness and the integration of
spirituality into daily life, regardless of the name by which we
call the One in the darkest nights of our souls. We welcome both
comments and suggestions.
The Most Beautiful Heart
One day a young man was standing
in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful
heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered and they all
admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw
in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart
they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and boasted more
loudly about his beautiful heart.
Suddenly, an old man appeared
at the front of the crowd and said, "Why your heart is not nearly as
beautiful as mine." The crowd and the young man looked at the old
man's heart. It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had
places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but
they didn't fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. In
fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were
missing. The people stared -- how can he say his heart is more
beautiful, they thought?
The young man looked at the old man's
heart and saw its state and laughed. "You must be joking," he said.
"Compare your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess
of scars and tears." "Yes," said the old man, "yours is perfect
looking but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar
represents a person to whom I have given my love - I tear out a
piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a
piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart,
but because the pieces aren't exact, I have some rough edges, which
I cherish, because they remind me of the love we
shared.
Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the
other person hasn't returned a piece of his heart to me. These are
the empty gouges -- giving love is taking a chance. Although these
gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have
for these people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill
the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty
is?"
The young man stood silently with tears running down his
cheeks. He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young
and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the
old man with trembling hands. The old man took his offering, placed
it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and
placed it in the wound in the young man's heart. It fit, but not
perfectly, as there were some jagged edges. The young man looked at
his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since
love from the old man's heart flowed into his. They embraced and
walked away side by side.
Author Unknown
Those who cannot forgive others, break the bridge over which they
themselves must pass. Confucius
A Hopi Elder Speaks
Oraibi,
Arizona
"You have been telling the people that this is the eleventh hour,
now you must go back and tell the people that this is the hour. And
there are things to be considered. Where are you living? What are
you doing? What are your relationships? Are you in right relation?
Where is your water? Know your garden. It is time to speak your
Truth. Create your community. Be good to each other. And do not look
outside yourself for the leader".
And then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, "This
could be a good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. It is
so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They
will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn
apart and will suffer greatly.
"Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let
go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our
eyes open, and our heads above the water. "And I say, see who is in
there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to
take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For the moment that
we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt. "The time
of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! "Banish the word
struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now
must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
"We are the ones we have been waiting for."
All the darkness in the world cannot put out the light of one
small candle. Anonymous
The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending
spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of
diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder
the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth.
Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder
hate, In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning
violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to
a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness:
only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do
that." Martin Luther King
This might be a bit of an unusual Christian input this month, but
maybe one that will benefit you more in the long run. This county,
or the nearest town rather, have some - not many- but some, very
nice, and very loving and caring churches- and having lived here for
quite some years now and participating very actively in the church
life, I think I have a pretty good sense of which churches would be
reachable in terms of having love and compassion enough to actually
come to you, and do some serious ministry. Not "scoring points with
God and the Pastor" ministry, but the real stuff.
I have a
feeling that letters from you guys to these churches, telling about
the need for some true outreach would be much more effective than me
walking around trying to make people listen. If anyone can explain
the need - you can! And maybe it is about time that people around
here get a wake up call - Make them aware you are just down the
road…
Ezekiel 33:11; Say to them… as I live, says the Lord God, I
have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked
turn from his ways and live. -
Hebrew 13:3 remember the prisoners as if chained with
them.
Anyway…It is just a suggestion…. here are the
addresses:
Harvest Christian Fellowship. (Pastor Kyle, cool guy) cool
church - mixed races….
238 S Walnut Street, Starke Fl.
32091
Or: 18933 US Highway 301 N, Starke Fl. 32091
True Vine Outreach Ministry -wonderful pastor- have done jail
ministry for ages… mostly black church
422 St Clair Street.
Starke Fl. 32091
Grace Community Fellowship- the best Pastor- mineJ mostly white
church.
P.O.box 1072. Starke Fl. 32091
First Christian Church- real nice young pastor- my youngest love
him…
507 W Call Street, Starke, Fl. 32091
Or: 215 N Broadway
Street, Starke Fl, 32091
If you would like information about a specific denomination I
will be happy to help you… just let me know….My favourite bible
quote as I end this: Numbers: 6: 24-26 May the Lord bless you and
keep you, May the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious
to you; may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and GIVE YOU
PEACE
Hannah
USA: It's time for the AMA to Act on Lethal Injection The
American Medical Association (AMA), known for its loud, clear voice
on issues pertaining to its members' financial well-being (like
Medicare physician payments or "liability reform"), has been
considerably less articulate when it comes to their moral welfare.
For example, on the subject of physician participation in
executions, the AMA's stance is complex and usually articulated in a
whisper. The AMA's policy E-2.06 asserts that "an individual's
opinion on capital punishment is the personal moral decision of the
individual" but, nevertheless, admonishes that "a physician, as a
member of a profession dedicated to preserving life when there is
hope of doing so, should not be a participant in a legally
authorized execution." When the execution method is lethal
injection, the AMA further states that "selecting injection sites;
starting intravenous lines as a port for a lethal injection device;
prescribing, preparing, administering, or supervising injection
drugs or their doses or types; inspecting, testing, or maintaining
lethal injection devices; and consulting with or supervising lethal
injection personnel" all constitute participation and are there
forbidden. The definition of "participation" is itself ambiguous.
"Pronouncing" death (which involves monitoring an electrocardiogram
and examining the "patient") is considered participation and is
forbidden but "certifying" death is permitted. Attending or
observing an execution as a physician is forbidden, but witnessing
an execution in a totally nonprofessional capacity is allowed. It is
forbidden for physicians to determine legal competence to be
executed, but "testifying as to medical history and diagnoses or
mental state as they relate to competence to stand trial" is
permissible. The AMA's stance on capital punishment is so muted that
a survey of 1000 physicians published in 2001 demonstrated that over
40% of respondents would willingly participate in at least one act
that is forbidden by the AMA, and 25% would perform multiple
forbidden actions. Only 3% of the respondents were even aware that
the AMA (or anyone else) had published any ethical guidelines on
this issue. Given these findings, is it surprising that physicians
are frequent, and sometimes essential, participants in executions?
Several states have made doctors integral to the killing process.
Three doctors administered the first lethal injection in Illinois, a
state that currently has a moratorium on capital punishment. In
Nevada, a doctor examines each condemned prisoner to determine a
site for venous access and prescribes the doses of the lethal drugs.
In Ohio, a physician pronounces the inmate dead. In several past
executions, doctors have provided advice about intravenous lines
and, on one occasion, a surgeon inserted the intravenous catheter
into a condemned man after the "execution team" was unable to. In
Georgia, doctors from the Medical College of Georgia have been
present (as physicians) at several executions. Another physician is
present to help with intravenous lines. In one case, this physician
performed a central venous catheterization (a sophisticated
procedure usually performed only in intensive care units or
operating rooms) in order to allow the execution to proceed. Lethal
injection is a stain on the face of medicine. It defiles not only
the doctor-participants, but it also corrupts all physicians,
because the healing profession becomes a charade for murder.
Physicians have an obligation to provide society with moral
protection. Until capital punishment is abolished, doctors will be
executioners. Therefore, in a loud, clear voice, AMA members should
call for the abolition of capital punishment when its House of
Delegates meets in Chicago on June 14-19,2003.
(Source: Jonathan
I.Groner MD; Trauma Medical Director, Children's Hospital, Columbus,
Ohio and Associate Professor, Clinical Surgery, The OSU College of
Medicine and Public Health)
Announcements, birthday's and……
August Birthdays
Edward James
Jack Ferrell
Derrick
Smith
Ernest Stuggs
Gregory Capehart
Merit Sims
Ernest
Downs
Burley Gilliam
Meryl McDonald
George
Hodges
Marshall Gore
Elmer Carroll
Guy Gamble
David
Gore
Jim Chandler
Rossiny St Clair
Joe Nixon
Tony
Watts
Kenneth Steward
Timothy Robinson
Joel
Wright
Dominick Occhicone
Guillermo Arbelaez
Angel Diaz
Garfield is so Lazy That:
...He takes a coffee
break between naps.
...He has a doorman open the refrigerator for
him.
...He makes Jon buy pre-shredded drapes.
...He only
chases dead mice.
...He hired another cat to shed for
him.
...He thinks yawning is an exercise.
Dedications
This song is a dedication of love
from Marc James Asay to Valerie Ann Asay.
Shameless
Well I'm shameless when it comes to
loving you
I'll do anything you want me to
I'll do anything at
all
And I'm standing here for all the world to see
Oh baby,
that's what's left of me
Don't have very far to fall
You know
now I'm not a man who's ever been
Insecure about the world I've
been living in
I don't break easy, I have my pride
But if you
need to be satisfied
I'm shameless, oh honey, I don't have a
prayer
Every time I see you standin' there
I go down upon my
knees
And I'm changing, swore I'd never compromise
Oh, but you
convinced me otherwise
I'll do anything you please
You see in
all my life I've never found
What I couldn't resist, what I
couldn't turn down
I could walk away from anyone I ever
knew
But I can't walk away from you
I have never let anything
have this much control over me
I work too hard to call my life my
own
I have never let anything have this much control over me
I
work too hard to call my life my own
And I've made myself a world
and it's worked so perfectly
But it's your world now, I can't
refuse
I've never had so much to lose
Oh, I'm shameless
You
know it should be easy for a man who's strong
To say he's sorry
or admit when he's wrong
I've never lost anything I've ever
missed
But I've never been in love like this
It's out of my
hands
I'm shameless, I don't have the power now
I don't want
it anyhow
So I got to let it go
Oh, I'm shameless, shameless
as a man can be
You make a total fool of me
I just wanted to
you to know
Oh, I'm shameless, I just wanted you to know
Oh,
I'm shameless, Oh, I'm down on my knees... shameless
(Written by
Billy Joel-performed by Garth Brooks)
It is with sadness that we have to inform those of you who have
been writing to CHRISTINE MARIE HARDIE OF BRANTFORD ONTARIO CANADA,
that Christine passed away Saturday JULY 5th 2003.
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