[WCADP-list] Dec. 3: Vigil Marks 1,000th U.S. Execution

[wcadp-list at lists.drizzle.com]

Saturday, Dec. 3, 5:00 to 7:00PM 

Vigil marks the 1,000th U.S. execution
since 1976 death penalty reinstatement

A candlelight vigil at the Washington State Capitol will commemorate the
1,000th person to be executed in the U.S. since the death penalty was
reinstated in 1976.  The vigil will be held on Saturday, December 3rd from
5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in Olympia on the western half of the State Capitol steps.

We invite you to participate for the full two hours, or for as much of this
time as you can.  You may stand, sit on the steps, or bring chairs.

The vigil's organizers will provide 1,000 small candles in clear plastic
cups and will arrange them so as to protect the marble steps from any wax
drippings.  Please use the candles provided; do not bring your own.

In the 1972 Furman v. Georgia case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the
death penalty was being applied in such arbitrary and capricious ways that
racial disparities and other injustices had become rampant.  States
(including Washington) rewrote their laws to tighten up the sentencing
criteria and procedures.  In the 1976 Gregg v. Georgia case, the U.S.
Supreme Court approved the new methods.  Although death penalty cases have
become much more complex and expensive since then, so many inconsistencies
and biases are still inherent in the death penalty process that racial and
other injustices persist.  The Supreme Court has accepted many of these
injustices as routine aspects of our nation's criminal justice system.

The vigil is sponsored by the Washington Coalition to Abolish the Death
Penalty (WCADP), P.O. Box 3045, Seattle WA  98114, (206) 622-8952
(info at abolishdeathpenalty.org or www.abolishdeathpenalty.org) and the
Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation's (FOR) Committee for Alternatives to
the Death Penalty.

For additional information contact Glen Anderson at (260) 491-9093, or
glen at olywa.net. 

Time is short!  Please spread the word quickly! 

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We welcome all feedback about how we are doing. Please send any comments or
criticism to info at abolishdeathpenalty.org. 

The Washington Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
P. O. Box 3045
Seattle, WA 98114
(206) 622-8952
www.abolishdeathpenalty.org
 
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