Weekly Report from the Board Meeting at Holman Prison 2.8.23

It is Black History Month and we discussed how it relates to the death penalty. As we stated last week it is well documented that racism and the death penalty are intimate bedfellows and always have been. Taking a look at any enlightened anti death penalty bills that have been introduced we think of Senator Hank Sanders ret, and Representative Chris England, both African American. We thank them!

We read the article by Austin Sarat The Death Penalty’s Problems Are Forcing One of America’s Execution Capitals to Reform and appreciated the following quote: “What is happening in Oklahoma, which sits right in the middle of this country’s “death belt,” is another sign, as the journalist David Von Drehle puts it, that Americans everywhere are coming to terms with the fact that “our balky system of state-sanctioned killing simply isn’t fixable.” What makes these reforms especially noteworthy is that it is a Republican attorney general in a deep red state who is reckoning with capital punishment’s injustices and deficiencies. And we certainly have those two components. We are a deep red state and we have a Republican attorney general!

The letter from Alabama Faith leaders requesting an independent review of how Alabama carries out the death penalty was delivered to Governor Ivey yesterday. More than a 170 leaders from more than a dozen religious denominations signed on. We thank them!

We received an uplifting email from Advisory Board Member and Senior Litigator at the Federal Defenders Kacey Keeton letting us know that for now the fundraiser for us with its goal of getting the word out about the injustices in Rocky Meyers’ case has concluded. The closing lines of the email are too special not to quote: “We appreciate you and the guys at Project Hope. They mean a lot to Rocky and hope this small donation is a help in some way to y’all.” And yes, Rocky means a lot to the men and if we can help, that is what we see as part of our mission.

On THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2023 AT 6:00 PM CT at the Sanctuary, 432 S. Goldthwaite St in Montgomery there will be a documentary “Rocky Myers: A Documentary from Alabama's Death Row”. Robin “Rocky” Myers is a 62 intellectually disabled black man who was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 1993 for a crime he did not commit.

.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!

                                                            Esther