Quoting from an article by Beth Shelburne: “The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has ruled against Toforest Johnson on a claim of prosecutorial misconduct, affirming a capital murder conviction questioned by an extraordinary array of leaders from Alabama’s legal community.” From the same article we were glad to read that “Johnson’s legal team is optimistic despite the appellate court’s decision. “We remain hopeful that Mr. Johnson will receive a new trial in this case. All we are asking for is for the court to do what both the district attorney and the original trial prosecutor have requested, which is to grant us a new trial,” said Ty Alper, one of Johnson’s attorneys." This road has been too long!

If the number of university affiliated surveys one is invited to participate in is an indication of respect for who we are and what we do then we would have to say that we are doing well. We certainly appreciate being seen and always do our best to be factual, accurate and on point! There is no doubt that as the only death row founded and facilitated organization in the country we do have a special perspective.

It goes without saying that we are very concerned by what seems like a deluge of executions and execution dates set by death penalty states around the country. Is it to make up for the slow down during the height of Covid or is it a reflection of the mood in this country? Very noticeable is also the number of inmates affected who either have a psychiatric diagnosis or are developmentally delayed. And are U.S. Supreme Court Justices really qualified to rule on either issue? Sure they go by findings of doctors, doctors who are paid by the state! We wish you would ask us who see these men every day and see how they function or not.

A great big thank you to Browder Ministries for treating us to a delicious lunch! You have been with us for a long, long time and we appreciate so much all you do and have done for us over the years!

We have begun work on the next edition of our quarterly newsletter Wings of Hope. As always it presents us with challenges but ones we are ready to meet.

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