Weekly Report from the Board Meeting at Holman Prison 6.9.21

We discussed that Arizona has been making headlines with its plan to execute prisoners with a lethal gas the Nazis used at Auschwitz. It is well documented that this method led to botched executions in the past in AZ but to that its answer is that it is “prepared to perform its legal obligation and commence the execution process as part of the legally imposed sentence, regardless of method selected.” We are grateful to all who are lifting up this issue here and nationally and plan on adding our voices as best we can from where we are.

We spent some time focusing on the topic of Death Row Representation. There are many aspects to this beginning with state appointed attorneys who often either lack experience in capital representation and mitigation or are unwilling perhaps because of poor reimbursement by the state to do all they should. And then of course for us in Alabama no representation is provided after the initial appeals so that many of us have to rely on out of state pro-bono attorneys and at times no representation. Unfortunately this situation is not widely understood outside of our immediate circle and so we hope to be able to get the word out to a broader audience.

We appreciate when we can be of help to each other and so we welcome the opportunity of being able to provide whatever legal insights we have when men turn to us after being turned down in a court. We share issues from our own experience and the experience of others which we feel would be important to raise with their attorney.

  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