I’m not going to let them close her casket … They’re going to have to look at what the police did to my child.Martha Mae Williams, whose daughter was killed in Cleveland when police fired 137 shots into the vehicle she was in after the driver led police on a 25-minute car chase. Both Williams’ daughter and the driver were killed. According to Mansfield Frazier (see article at the link), records released after the incident suggest that police personnel violated numerous protocols, including department rules against involving more than two police cruisers in a chase, and ignoring direct orders to terminate pursuit of the vehicle. (via letterstomycountry)
The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty is taking to Twitter to urge Oklahoma’s Governor Mary Fallin to follow the recommendation of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board to grant clemency to Garry T. Allen:
It is very rare for the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board to recommend clemency for a person facing execution, but they did exactly that by a vote of 4 to 1 in the case of Garry T. Allen, who is scheduled to be executed by the State of Oklahoma on Thursday, April 12, 2012 for his murder of Gail Titsworth. The many reasons for granting clemency that attracted four votes of the pardon and parole board, including that of a former prosecutor who consistently votes to deny clemency in almost all cases, have only grown over time.
Governor Fallin has stated that she won’t grant clemency to Mr. Allen. NCADP is urging people to sign this petition that urges her to reconsider and then to tweet this to their Twitter followers:
#Oklahoma P&P Board rarely recommends mercy, but it did for 4/12 execution of Garry Allen. http://bit.ly/GZ4H2w 2 take action! #deathpenalty
More information about the case, along with the petition to Governor Fallin, can be found here.
Clemency has been recommended for Allen already; the governor doesn’t want to follow through however. Think this is a mistake on the governor’s part? Get involved.
A lot of people have been mobilized by the Troy Davis case, especially in the past few days. You called and emailed elected officials; you petitioned political appointees; you demanded that people be held accountable for a decision that put proper procedure ahead of anything else. But what will all of you do tomorrow? Will you dedicate yourselves to putting an end to the system whose flaws became so apparent to so many tonight? Or will you forget about the continued injustice of the death penalty until the next Troy Davis is moved to the death house? You have many other legitimate concerns in your daily lives and many other important issues that demand your attention. But you cared so much this time; do you think you can continue to care about the brokenness of our justice system as you do right now, tonight?
FIxing a broken system requires much thought and consideration and hard work. All this organizing is easy when the emotion is there, but what happens when it comes to the hard work of social change? Ari’s words should be heeded.
Copyright 2009-2013 Ernie Smith • Ask us stuff! • E-mail us • Follow us on Twitter • Follow us on Facebook
