Last week U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Alabama Terry F. Moorer issued an order saying that he is considering a preliminary injunction in the case of Joe Nathan James Jr., who has filed several lawsuits against government officials, including Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. If approved, the injunction would delay James’ execution until the cases have been fully heard. We quote from the Montgomery Advertiser: “James has five civil rights complaints in federal court since Alabama’s Supreme Court on June 7 scheduled James’ execution. Moorer is considering preliminary injunctions in three of James’ lawsuits.
In his complaint filed June 22, James claims that the state attorney general violated his rights to equal protection and due process under the 14th Amendment by not giving him the option to choose nitrogen hypoxia, an untested execution method authorized by the state in 2018.” The Attorney General has filed a motion to dismiss and Mr. James has until July 15th to respond.
As things are very much up in the air at this point we ask our supporters to continue to contact the Governor and to sign a petition on behalf of Mr. Joe N. James Jr. You will find the Talking Points for Mr. James on our website http://www.phadp.org/?q=alerts as well as the contact for Governor Ivey who stated “that all life is sacred”. Many thanks to those of you who have already contacted the Governor and to those who have shared the Talking Points! We are grateful for your help in getting the word out and could not do it without you!
A shout out to Executive Director Scott Douglas of Greater Birmingham Ministries, a sponsor of the World Games in Birmingham, who brought attention to our death penalty on behalf of Toforest Johnson, innocent on death row, with a 21 x 6 ft sign reading: “It is not too late to fix this mistake.” The sign is right across the entrance to the stadium and can’t be missed!
JAM is planning a workshop on the death penalty and we will forward the details so that those who are interested can attend.
We discussed and we quote from the Death Penalty Information Center “The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has set execution dates for 25 of the state’s 43 death-row prisoners, scheduling nearly an execution a month from August 2022 through December 2024. If carried out, the execution schedule, unprecedented in the state’s history, would put to death 58% of the state’s death row, including multiple prisoners with severe mental illness, brain damage, and claims of innocence.”
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