Weekly Report from the Board Meeting at Holman Prison 9.13.23

The very bad, shocking and outrageous news that the Alabama attorney general’s office asked the state Supreme Court to set an execution date for death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith continues to fill the airways and not just in the U.S. We received a   “Media enquiry from the UK's Sunday Times” from Alistair Dawber, were pleased to speak with Alistair, and much more importantly to connect him with Kenneth.

We read and discussed The Alabama Reflector’s article” Doctors, ethicists skeptical that nitrogen executions will be humane:  Alabama plans to execute a death row inmate through the untried method.”

We also discussed the article in the Huffpost “America Will Have to Face Death in 2024” and we quote:” The death penalty has long been the “dirty secret” of America. Politicians have steered away from addressing the topic publicly while using it behind the scenes to advance agendas. According to The Associated Press, capital punishment has not been a major campaign issue in a presidential election in 30 years. The 2024 election cycle is shaping up differently, as capital punishment is rising to the forefront of GOP politics. In the 2024 cycle, American voters will have to address the death penalty.”

Many thanks to Jim Bradley of the Social Action Committee of  the Auburn UU Fellowship, and to Advisory board member Judy Collins who made it happen,  for his email to their group lifting up phadp for information on Kenny Smith.

The State has also asked for an execution date for Casey McWhorter. We are reaching out to Casey and he is very appreciative. We will keep you posted.

We were glad to add our organization to the Sign-on Letter initiated by EJUSA Urging DOJ not to seek the death penalty in the Buffalo, NY case against Payton Gendron.

And yes, our quarterly newsletter Wings of Hope is on line and the hard copy will soon be on its way to you.

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