A "Catch-up" Page From JOH FB

Hello:

I'm so grateful that there is such an active FaceBook page and discussion blog going on here for JOH and my plans are to find better ways to interconnect with the folk participating there in a few weeks as well as to upgrade my own technical abilities as blogger and would-be more of a helper to the JOH website/movement.

Meantime here are a few excerpts BUT best to go directly to that LINK I just gave you above to read the rest and get the other links directly. Plz add your comments to BOTH those discussions as well as here at the JOH blogsite.

See info on The Ella Bella Butterfly Foundation
A 501(c)3 (pending) dedicated to the prevention of violence through criminal justice reform and victim advocacy efforts. (Page: ‎194 people indicated they liked this) which was just posted 23 hours ago TOP of the JOH FB page for Friday

Also see Bill Pelke's post on NC restorative Justice Conference before that entry see Lisa Rea's posting via Bill and find link there to "listen in" to crime victims along with Bill, Lisa, Debbie and others - the post is entitled:
Listening to crime victims: North Carolina restorative justice conference — RJ Online - This concerns what happens "When crime victims speak about the effect violent crime has had on their lives"

I was glad to see Hooman Hedayati and others liked this one:
"Iranian Woman Forgives" posted both on this blogsite below in our July Archives and on the JOH FB page...While not usual post, this one certainly speaks to one of our major themes: forgiveness. Iranian blinded by acid pardons her attacker.

I was also grateful to the current "host" on the FB page discussion - Debbie Kearns -who carefully followed the story about the victims and victim families who forgave the man recently executed in Texas and tried to stop his execution:

GO see that interesting set of excerpts, video and comments:

Debbie Kearns comment here condenses the jist to this saga:

"So far, Rais Bhuiyan and the families of Patel and Hasan are crying because nobody in Texas listened to their pleas for clemency for Mark Stroman, whose evidence of child abuse and of his sister who got killed by 9/11 went TOTALLY ignored by the Texas courts...

'Somewhere, these death penalty-supporting yahoos (including Brian the death penalty-supporter) are saluting Texas' and Georgia's cruel governors for "a job well done in sending these monsters to hell and ensuring that justice is served for victims' families", which is, in fact ...justice is NEVER SERVED FOR VICTIMS' FAMILIES AT ALL ... At least both Mark and Andrew made their peace with God and are now with their deceased family members in heaven. May they and their victims rest in the peace and justice that were totally denied for them on earth." (Gilles Denizot left a note that "The Georgia execution of Andrew Grant DeYoung has been rescheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m.")

Stroman's last words reflect Bhuiyan's campaign message: "Hate is going on in this world and it has to stop. Hate causes a lifetime of pain." (Director of the SMU Embrey Human Rights Program and former Amnesty International, Chair, Rick Halperin, Ph.D., became involved in Bhuiyan's campaign...)

Crime victims’ rights “essentially” symbolic, says Governor By Patricia BohEmail: pboh@smu.edu Published: Friday, July 22, 2011

"Arab slayer" turned peace seeker, Mark Stroman...See More here on this blogsite in the July Archives for 2011-07-23 21:07:00 GMT

Debbie Kearns added: "...Gov. Perry claims that he supports crime victims' rights, yet he TOTALLY ignored the rights of Bhuiyan and of the families of Patel and Hasan! He's just so arrogant that he only supports the rights of victims who support the death penalty!"

(Note: Rais Bhuiyan, Victim of Post-9/11 Shooting, was said to try to sue the State of Texas, evidently, to Try to Spare Attacker's Life By Anna Merlan posted Thu., Jul. 14 2011 @ 9:31AM - ​At 10 this morning on the steps of the Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse, Rais Bhuiyan, who was shot in the face by white supremacist Mark Stroman as part of a post-September 11, 2001 shooting spree, was to announce that he's filing suit today against Gov")

Also see blogs.dallasobserver.com or GO here

Then there's this story I missed here which got attention from both Debbie and Bill Pelke since the case relates to one we at JOH know well: Va. judge throws out drug dealer’s death sentence in slaying which was at The Washingtonpost (Hope Bill or Terri S will write up something more fully on this case soon for our JOH blog!) The jist was that Veteran Prince William County prosecutors withheld or ignored crucial evidence and potential testimony in the capital murder case, a federal judge rules...
Samir Bouzid liked this and Bill Pelke said: "Debbie, thank you for your post. This is a very special case to all of the Journey of Hope family. Terri Steinberg is one of us."

Thanx, JOH Family, for remaining true to our principles of forgiveness, compassion and seeking a better way.

Continue to support Journey of Hope with your Comments, Suggestions and in other ways.