Weekly Report from the Board Meeting at Holman Prison 12.11.24
There is no denying that this has been a very difficult year for us and it is not over yet as we are expecting more bad news. We are doing our best to cope and be supportive of each other and also focus on what we do have. Many of you have been reaching out to us and we want you to know how heartwarming that is. An example of that is in the next paragraph and we want you to know in whatever way you do it you are making a difference in our lives!
A very loud shout out all the way to Birmingham to our Advisory Board Member Shelley Douglass who used her birthday as a fund raiser on Facebook for us and wrote: "This is the only group I know of made up of men on death row who support each other and work to abolish the death penalty for everyone. With the help of one "outmate" the men make all decisions, write and publish a newsletter, and educate themselves and the public." Thank you, Shelley for this and so much more and yes, Happy Birthday!
And then of course there are the Christmas cards and this year’s Christmas card list is up on our website. We have already received some beautiful cards and we can’t say enough how much we appreciate them! https://www.phadp.org/christmas-card-list-2024/
We appreciate the article by Brian Lyman Alabama’s death penalty depends on darkness and we quote: “ I want to believe that the brutality of Alabama’s death penalty will arouse opposition to it. But we live in a state with judges and elected officials who will not grapple with what’s happening in the Atmore death chamber. They can’t let light break in. For executions to continue, the gurney must be shrouded in darkness.”
Also of note many voices, including our partner Death Penalty Action, are calling for the commutation of the Federal and Military death penalty sentences: "Pope Francis: May sentences of US federal death row inmates be commuted."
“Pope Francis asks for prayers for inmates awaiting execution on federal death row in the United States, appealing that their sentences be commuted.”
We thank all who are working so hard and diligently to stop all killing in Alabama! And as always in closing, we thank all our generous donors who either gave by going to our website and using the “donate” button or who gave directly. Thank you also to all who took the time to read our notes, commented, liked and shared them on Facebook. Stay safe and be kind to each other!
Esther
