Weekly Report from the Board Meeting at Holman Prison 8.23.23

The State has asked for an execution date for Casey McWhorter. We are reaching out to Casey and he is very appreciative. His biggest concern is not for himself but for his mother. We will keep you posted.

We are grateful to be able to report that we were able to submit the names of 6 dedicated friends as our designated voters for the Alabama Arise annual meeting where we vote on next year’s priorities. Reform of the Death Penalty has been an Alabama Arise issue for years and we hope that with your help it will continue to be that in 2024.

We participated in the Alabama People of Faith Death Penalty Coalition zoom call organized by Sam Heath of EJUSA. One of the main speakers was Advisory Board Member Dr. Katie Owens-Murphy who spoke about reaching out to the women on death row at Tutwiler and some of the difficulties she had encountered. As our organization had also attempted to reach out in the past we were not surprised but were glad that the group came up with suggestions for what else could be tried. Dr. Katie Owens- Murphy also spoke about the Traveling Art Project and about the grant for which they are applying from the Alabama State Council on the Arts which would allow for greater exposure. It was good to see the support from participants on both issues presented.

Our very special friend, and we are proud to say our new Advisory Board Member, Sarah Gregory sent us the following link to her latest article:

https://www.letterstoyou.net/post/grabbed-my-pen-and-bowed-my-head-how-letter-to-you-inspired-healing-and-forgiveness  At the end of the article the editor wrote:”Sarah also would like readers to know that she has chosen to become active in supporting the work of the Alabama-based organization Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty, and would like to encourage others to consider joining/supporting this organization and/or similar groups in their communities.” All we can say is “thank you, Sarah!

As happens four times a year we are working on the next edition of our newsletter Wings of Hope. We discuss the theme of the newsletter and as nearly always find that there is a recurring one, not too surprising when one considers that we are all so to speak neighbors.

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. And if you would like to order our book “Ghosts Over the Boiler” you can do so at Amazon.com. Stay well and be kind to each other,

                                                                 Esther