We plan to keep 1.27.22,, the execution date for Matthew Reeves as the heading of our Weekly Report. Mr. Reeves has an IQ in the 60s and is intellectually disabled. Mr. Reeves was 18 years old at the time of the crime. You can find the Talking Points on our website http://www.phadp.org/?q=alerts and the petition at: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-the-execution-of-matthew-reeves-in-alabama?fbclid=IwAR36piPfuSAwcNU9CmBKO1io7FKugiOr7eVKpqzt_Do-2z1AdI84E7_39hM
Last week extremely important AZ cases were argued before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding state appointed ineffective legal representation and whether one can raise issues which were not raised by these court appointed attorneys at a later stage in federal court. Speaking for AL we know from our own experience just how ineffective and inexperienced in capital law these attorneys can be. There is no doubt that “indigent defendants are disproportionately sentenced to death because their lawyers (who were often court-appointed) were under-resourced, ill-prepared, and failed at the most basic levels in their duty to represent their clients.” Are we as a nation that speaks about “justice for all” comfortable with that? A decision is expected by July.
An affiliate group tipped us off to the draft of a report by East Central University which had been commissioned by the State of Oklahoma “Nitrogen Induced Hypoxia as a Form of Capital Punishment”. It is interesting to note that there is NO qualified medical person on this study that Oklahoma State Representative Mike Christian requested so it is not too surprising that it finds this form of Capital Punishment acceptable and humane. In sharp contrast, and we thank our friend Carol Rogan for brining to our attention the American Veterinary Medical Associations guide to euthanasia. “One of the people on the team is on the ethics board of a federal children's research hospital. They follow AVMA guide for euthanasia of animals they've tested on (for life saving treatment testing). The guidelines state that "Hypoxia resulting from exposure to these gases(N2 and Ar) is aversive to rats, mice, and mink." The guidelines also state: "With N₂ flowing at a rate of 39% of chamber volume/min ( t = 2 minutes), rats collapsed in approximately 3 minutes and stopped breathing in 5 to 6 minutes; regardless of flow rate, signs of panic and distress were evident before the rats collapsed and died."
Your Christmas cards are arriving and we thank you. Here is the link to the list http://www.phadp.org/?q=node/915 . We receive copies of the cards and appreciate the great job the mail room is dong with these.
In closing and as always, we continue to 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. You encourage us and make all the difference. Stay safe and wear a mask!
Esther
