Weekly Report from the Board Meeting at Holman Prison 6.18.25
Today we discussed some of the goodness that is still reaching us via Greg due to the outreach of friends and people of goodwill. It would be impossible to name all, and all are important and so we will confine ourselves to a few. The furthest away came from our Amnesty International group in the south of Wales who believe as do we, that it is at times like these that we must stand together across boundaries and oceans. And then Esther was copied on a letter to Governor Ivey by Dr. David Lemley, Religion and Philosophy Division at Pepperdine University which included a document “Ethical Treatment of Death Row Inmates” “on what is represented in the use of nitrogen hypoxia by the State of Alabama, through the lens of federal protocols for treatment of human subjects.” Attached!
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether and how courts can consider multiple IQ tests when considering whether a death row inmate is intellectually disabled and ineligible for execution. The 11th Circuit cited Atkins v. Virginia, which held that state executions of people with intellectual disabilities is a violation of the Eighth Amendment and the 14th Amendment. A later Supreme Court ruling said intellectual disability can be demonstrated by a low IQ and problematic adaptive skills that manifest before age 18, the 11th Circuit said. The 11th had ruled in favor but Alabama appealed because it apparently has no understanding of adaptive functioning which is important to measure whether someone is intellectually disabled.
We discussed a bill which has been introduced by state Rep. Matt Simpson, a Daphne Republican, that would broaden the use of the death penalty to include those who “knowingly create a great risk of death” to multiple people. The reason given was to reassure people who attend public events ignoring the fact that the death penalty has been proven not to be a deterrent as the individual who “ knowingly creates a great risk of death” is obviously not a balanced individual. Of course it makes for good publicity here in Alabama whereas getting guns off the streets does not!
We have left the best news for last so that we can close on a positive note. Herman Lindsey, the Executive Director of Witness to Innocence reached out to us offering his help to us here in Alabama. Herman recently moved to Columbus GA which is not very far away and there is no doubt that because of his multi-faceted experience his help and input will be invaluable. We are very grateful!
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
