Please contact Governor Riley and ask him to stop all executions

Michael Jeffrey Land,  August 12, 2010

Holly Wood, September 9, 2010 ( I.Q. less than 70, classified mentally retarded; this issue was not raised by incompetent attorney at initial trial and therefore barred on appeal.)

Here are other officials and newspapers you may wish to contact with your thoughts:

Suggested Talking Points for the upcoming  Execution

1. Alabama ought to delay all executions to allow for a thorough study of its capital punishment process as recommended by the House Judiciary subcommittee and consider the serious objections raised as to how it administers the death penalty.

2. Alabama executed three people in 2007 and saw its murder rate rise from 8.3 per 100,000 population to 8.9. It has steadily increased since 2005, when the murder rate for Alabama rose from 5.6 per 100,000 to 8.2. There were four executions that year.  Six last year!

3. According to Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, capital punishment is growing more infrequent nationally, but Alabama sends more people to death row than any other state! 

4. Alabama is notorious for its unique law that allows a judge to override without limitations the recommendations of a jury for life in a capital case and order death instead of life without parole.

5. Alabama is also notorious for failing to guarantee legal representation for inmates appealing their capital convictions. The effectiveness of attorneys assigned to indigent suspects is questionable. Holly Wood's case is a glaring example of this!

6. Income and race are factors and a number of caveats in recent post conviction DNA legislation limits accesibility to DNA testing.

The Alabama Supreme Court  set the following execution dates for 2010

Thomas Whisenhant  May 27 executed

John Forrest Parker June 10 executed

ALABAMA AREA VIGILS FOR DAY OF EXECUTION: 

MOBILE: PRAYER VIGIL IN FRONT OF THE CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DAUPHIN AT CLAIBORNE ST. 4:30-5:30 p.m.

MONTGOMERY: ON THE STEPS OF THE STATE CAPITOL AT 5:30 p.m. PRAYER SERVICE AND CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL. CONTACT: 334 328 9122

BIRMINGHAM:

VIGIL CORNER OF RICHARD ARRINGTON Jr. BLVD. AND 8TH AVE NORTH ACROSS FROM THE JEFFERSON COUNTY COURT BUILDING, ON THE CORNER AT THE EAST END OF THE BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM OF ART. 11:30 A.M.- 1:00 P.M., sponsored by JAM and a group of local Catholics. All invited! "Watch with Me One Hour."

 PRAYER VIGIL IN KELLY INGRAM PARK, OPPOSITE THE KING STATUE AT 5:45 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM FRIENDS MEETING HANGS A BLACK FLAG FROM AN UPSTAIRS WINDOW FACING THE STREET ON ALL EXECUTION DATES IN THIS COUNTRY STATING: TODAY WE MOURN THE DEATH OF A FELLOW HUMAN BEING

HOLMAN PRISON: THE MEN SHOW THEIR RESPECT AND SOLIDARITY BY REFRAINING FROM SPORTS AND WEARING THEIR DRESS WHITES FOR YARD WHERE THEY OBSERVE MOMENTS OF SILENCE AND  PRAYER ON TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY.