Dear Friends,
Last week, in the span of seven days, five men in five states were executed. It was the worst state killing spree in over thirty years.
- Marcellus Williams in Missouri was perhaps the highest profile of the five men facing execution because of his compelling claim of innocence. Even the local prosecutor objected because he believed the state would be executing an innocent man. Celebrities, religious leaders, and advocates opposed his killing. Missouri executed him anyway.
- In Alabama, Alan Miller was put to death by nitrogen gas — a method likened by many to torture. Even worse, he was subjected to the execution process twice because he survived a botched execution attempt years earlier.
- Travis Mullis in Texas is known as a death penalty volunteer; he waived his right to appeal in order to expedite his execution.
- Freddie Owens in South Carolina was the first person executed in that state in over thirteen years.
- Emmanuel Littlejohn was executed in Oklahoma even though the Governor’s Parole and Pardon’s Board recommended that his life be spared.
It was a brutal, blood-soaked week that raised issues of what accountability in our criminal legal system should look like. I guarantee you; it doesn’t need to look like this.
The death penalty is fundamentally wrong. We run the risk of killing the innocent (and we have). And it’s used in ways that are racist and almost exclusively against the poor.
Most of all, the death penalty is the opposite of second chances. It’s the opposite of hope and redemption. It says that people can never change, and that they are the sum total of the worst thing they’ve ever done.
I don’t believe that. I never have, and I never will.
(I’m in the center with the stylish(?) hat). Photo Credit: NY Times
There are more executions scheduled for October. I’m keeping my eye on Robert Roberson in particular, an almost certainly innocent man facing death in Texas for a crime that never happened and for a conviction that’s based on junk science. You can learn more about his case and take action here. Maybe the courts or the Governor will intervene. If not, another innocent man will be wrongly executed in a needless and avoidable tragedy.
We can do better.
It’s easy these days to feel hopeless. But there’s an art to finding hope in the face of hopelessness. I asked Bobby Bostic on Just Justice how he stayed hopeful while serving a prison sentence that was never supposed to end. You can hear his words of inspiration here. LISTEN TO BOBBY HERE
If you’ve liked what you’ve heard on Just Justice, please tell a friend! And if you haven’t yet had a chance to listen, there are four amazing episodes for you to tune into wherever you get your podcasts (links below), with new episodes released twice a month on Tuesdays.
On a final note, Banned Book Week was September 22-28. This year, to honor the fight for access to all books, I bought a copy of That Librarian by Amanda Jones, which tells the true story of a small town librarian thrust into the national spotlight as she fights against book bans. Buy a banned book, or a book about book banning, and let me know what you choose!
Stay safe and well,
Jessica