The Journey of Hope begins in Texas

This just in, from Connie Nash, who is participating in the current Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing:

Report #1 on the Texas Journey 2007

From Houston on Thursday afternoon...

Hello, this is a quickly pulled-together report right before some of us take off for San Antonio, Dallas, etc. Not yet sure in what order. Sound familiar?(smiles)

We have had a rich & wondrous week in Houston. Of course we are all cry-babies and huggers and so there were lots of the same this morning as some of this Journey's group took off for various & sundry places.

To start more-or-less at the beginning:
Most of us stayed at the Dominican Sisters place on Almeda. Later, we want to tell you about their beautiful mission so in keeping with our own. Of course, their welcoming us with open arms wasn't hurt at all by the fact that Sister Helen was with us for several days and spoke in their chapel.

The first real gathering with all of us began with a bang! We saw together the DVD of the '98 Journey of Hope which is just now completed & in process of release to several venues. Quite a few of us were in that film. Of course watching this, we felt the presence of many other Journey folk and abolitionists as we teared up and laughed together.

Highlights:

"We plan to be on the road 'til the death penalty is abolished..."

Ron Carlson "The hardest thing I ever did was to forgive (Carla Faye Tucker)...I took the time to get to know Carla Faye. She was the firmest believer I've ever met."

"It wasn't hate that sustained me, it was love."

Ken & Louis Robinson "Texas is 50th in the nation for (not) taking care of mentally ill...cutting mental health (funding) to build more prisons."

"(Folk) don't want babies killed...(they) just want adults killed."

Execution "dehumanizes the (criminal) just as they dehumanize their victim."

George "We're not on different sides... you can't restore something that you kill."

"Hatred is simply not healthy." Sister Helen or Marietta?

From an angry bystander right after a state killing: "They should be tortured & let everyone see it."

Bill Pelke "To forgive is not condoning. Forgiving Paula (Cooper) did more for me than it did for Paula."

After the film, we got acquainted & reacquainted...
Here is just a wee bit from this sharing...

CeCe McWee "My son first asked me not to witness his execution but I refused and went. We were asked by the prison officials not to express emotions. I didn't cry but later in the shower I felt the salt more than the water. I still keep trying to ask myself 'what more could I have done for my son?'" (CeCe also lost a daughter to murder)

Dave Atwood "We are here in the Belly of the Beast--(or maybe) the Belly of the Belly of the Beast. We still have politicians to change--it's a political animal here."

A group of Koreans were with us. Father Li who ministers to death row inmates and other prisoners and certain sacred remembrances, washes the feet of these inmates. Mr. Ko lost three family members to a murder and forgives the serial killer. Much more on this group later.

Read about others here on this site and I will tell you more about each later.

Well, I'm gonna go quickly through the rest of the week because I know any moment the cars will roll out of here...

HIGHLIGHTS

Concert with Nancy G. and Charlie King. Presentations by Mr. Ko, Father Li and Sister Helen. This night was so well-received although the collection barely paid the expenses.

We gathered the next evening...

Sister Helen to Bill P. "Was it tense for you last night?"

Bill "It's been tense the last six months."

Lisa "I'm a Johnny Appleseed but I never see the apples." (Lisa does Restorative Justice work since '89. She has been a key player in the release of an
inmate.)

We all got to talk with Abe B. and Susan B. by phone and felt so connected and close to them.

Ron talked about how "People show up like tulips" one of many fresh metaphors and phrases were were to hear throughout this week.

One of the "vindicated" (new term for exoneree) thanked the activist and supporters for being with us.

Greg P. Audel, a local lawyer who was a close friend of Karla Faye and is a close friend of Sister Helen said, "We're here to lift all of society up--that's why we're here."

Well there's ever so much more about this week to tell. These are only a few of the highlights. More nd tidbits from Dallas on Houston part #2 soon. Look forward to an amazing scenario at a youth center in a challenging neighborhood--the way they connected with Terri and her deep concerns for her son who's on death row for a crime he didn't do--and their connections also with the "vindicated" guys--

Find out soon how to download or hear online a radio program with Greg and Shujaa that you won't believe, there was an incredibly polished and moving set-up on screen with many profound quotes silently presented as Sister Helen and Terri's told their stories at St.
Pius X High School. The students were the leaders and warm receivers. There was a couple in the audience who have a brother on Texas Death Row--friends of Monica (of Sweden) and Robin who've been with us on the Journey. They are all family in supporting Roger on Texas Death Row.

In closing, part #1 from Jim U who helped edit and write a book with a Texas death row inmate, Carter Flores' son.

"Taking my first Journey (not my last) has deepened and motivated me as an actrivist and a whole person.
It was a privelege to bring the Journey's hope within the razorwire. Those who've forgiven the most atrocious crimes imaginable embrace ;you with a powerful spirit of compassion. I got the read Bill P.'s powerful book in the days I got to know him and in the days that others purchased Charle's own books.
Sitting to hear Charlie King sing a new song is like encountering Phil Ochs all over again. It's a wonderful journey."

More soon from us all--excuse any typos--you know how much we have to keep movin' on this Journey! Please keep the Atwoods, Bill and Kathy and all of us in The Light as we do for you--

Your Journey Scribe (as Sister Helen calls me) from the Carolinas, Connie Nash

More Journey updates

Above: Journey of Hope participant Robert Hoelscher, who has been bringing us regular updates on the progress of the Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing, talks to law students at the College of William and Mary.

The latest dispatch (actually, three dispatches) from Robert:

On Tuesday, October 24, Tracy Spirko and I visited two criminology classes at University of Mary Washington taught by Dr. Joan Olson (thank you Joan!). About two of every three students signed the petitions asking for a death penalty moratorium in Virginia. The students (even those at the 8 a.m. class) were very attentive and respectful and asked lots of questions. These classes don't offer a huge block of time to talk. And it would be unreasonable to expect anyone to fully comprehend all sides of a topic they may not have given much thought to. So the best measure I can think of regarding our discussion is simply to ask the class if our information was helpful. Most nod their heads and say it was. To me, that's a successful event. Our host Debbie Simpson arranged dinner for me and Tracy with some very nice members of her church. Again, we are so grateful for the hospitality extended to us.

On Monday, October 23, Tracy Spirko (family member of death row prisoner) and I visited a group of law school students at the William & Mary Law School in Williamsburg. This was a real treat for me because these law students were also forming an innocence project to investigate suspected cases of wrongful conviction. I had worked for five years for innocence projects in Louisiana and Texas. And Tracy's husband John has been claiming his innocence for every day of his 24 years on Ohio's death row. On top of that, to my pleasant surprise, Virginia exoneree Beverly Monroe attended. I met Beverly two years ago at the National Innocence Network Conference in Austin, Texas where she participated in a panel discussion that I organized. Bottom line, a grand time was had by all. After this event, Tracy and I continued on to Fredericksburg, where we would be speaking on Tuesday and Wednesday. We were greeted in Fredericksburg by local activist Debbie Simpson, who served as our host for the next two days. I cannot say enough about the kindness and generosity of Journey activists and volunteers who, like Debbie, have been so important in making this adventure possible.

Sunday, October 22 was another caravan day. We checked out of Richmond and headed to Williamsburg and a noon event with Sister Helen at the William and Mary Catholic Campus Ministry. It was a great crowd (over 150). Sister Helen was introduced by William and Mary President Gene R. Nichol. She gave another rousing performance. Then on we went to Norfolk and our last event with Sister Helen at the Church of the Ascension in Virginia Beach. This was our largest audience (over 400) on the Journey. After this event, we gathered in our hospitality room at the hotel for some personal time with Sister Helen. She regaled us with a few "Boudreaux" jokes from Louisiana. It was a hoot. Time flies when you're having fun. Most of us didn't hit the sack until the wee hours of the morning.

Above: Activist Abe Bonowitz gets a much-needed massage from Journey of Hope participant SueZann Bosler (with an assist from little Isaac Bonowitz!)

Here's the latest posting from Robert Hoelscher as the Journey prepares for its final week:

Saturday, Oct. 21 was rest day. Clothes got washed. And several of us received hairdressing services from family member SueZann Bosler. Mine included an all purpose touch up which left me confident that I was free of unsightly nose hair.

Tonight we gathered at St. Edward's Catholic Church in Richmond for our first major event with Sister Helen Prejean. Before Sister Helen spoke, each JOH participant placed a rose dedicated to a loved one in a vase. This ritual was very powerful and emotional for both the audience and the JOH folks. Tears were in abundance.

Sister Helen was her usual sassy self. The thing about Sister Helen is that she is as
authentic as it gets. Her passion to abolish the death penalty comes from the
depths of her faith and her up close and personal relationships with those affected by the capital punishment. When we were driving back to the hotel, activist Claire (sorry Claire, forgot your last name) recalled the first time she met Sister Helen. "I fell in love with her in about eight seconds." That, indeed, is Sister Helen.

The Ridge Baptist Church is right down the street from our hotel. The sermon tomorrow is "Finding Strength in Broken Places." That is what the Journey of Hope is all about. And from this strength we will defeat the broken death
penalty.

Halfway home!

Above: Some of the journey crew pose for a group shot after dinner at the Super King buffet.

The Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing continues. Here's the latest report from Robert Hoelscher, Journey participant and campaign coordinator for Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation:

Friday, Oct. 20 was the halfway point of the Journey. We have been to Northern Virginia, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Roanoke, and now Richmond. At this point we have spoken at over 50 events, to hundreds and hundreds of people, about how the death penalty fails America and doesn't serve victims.

During my morning jog, I ran through a nearby neighborhood. It was a modest, older middle-class enclave of homogeneous brick homes hugged by a forest of towering trees. There were no storm sewers, no curbs, no garages or paved driveways. Flags (Old Glory, Washington Redskins, Virginia Tech) and Halloween pumpkins animated porch fronts. A fellow drove by and waved to me, probably thinking I was a local. I found myself thinking that the fate of the death penalty will be decided in neighborhoods like this one. Maybe we'll see one of these residents this weekend.

At noon a number of us went into downtown Richmond for a Burma Shave/Visibility event. For about an hour, we stood on the sidewalk inviting honks of support from
passing drivers. The honks came steadily. Our informal survey concluded that
most of the responses came from people of color and young people. No real surprise. But maybe our other supporters were just too shy to honk.

Many new family members and others have joined the Journey this weekend. And of course our special friend Sister Helen Prejean will be with us tomorrow for a major event at St. Edwards Catholic Church here in Richmond.

A big pack of us caravaned to dinner at the Super King Buffet. The best damn buffet I've ever been to. We pigged out on an assortment of delightful dishes that included seafood, sushi, and Asian offerings. I did take a pass on the chicken legs, however.

After a week as part of the Journey, I am comforted by the warmth and spirit of this
unique tribe of individuals. This is like an instant family. You meet someone for the first time and you know you are connected in a special way. It's spontaneous friendship. And the joy that these folks express, the affection they have for laughter in spite of the wounds they carry with them, is truly a wonder to behold. If we could bottle what these people have, we really could have peace on earth. And end the death penalty while we're at it.

Kicking it up a notch

Above: Isaac Bonowitz -- Never too young for the Journey of Hope!

Today's Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing blogging continues with Robert Hoelscher's latest report from the road:

Thursday began with most folks moving from Roanoke to Richmond (state capital). Once again, I was privileged to ride with our JOH mascot Isaac Bonowitz and activist mother Beth. Once in Richmond, family member Bud Welch and I headed over to Randolph-Macon College to speak. It was a small but attentive group. Bud's tender story about his daughter Julie, who was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing attack, just gets better with age. His relationship with the father of Timothy McVeigh is a wonderful testimony to the power of forgiveness.

The rest of the JOH brood attended events in Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Roanoke, and Lexington, spreading words of love and reconciliation.

Inside sources tell me that JOH storytellers/family members SueZann Bosler and Christina Lawson are getting JOH tattoos tonight. I have confirmed that each will be
in a region permitting photographs, for which I have exclusive rights.

I must also report that Virginia is an absolutely beautiful state. Just about every road we've been on has offered breathtaking scenery. The trees are thick across the countryside and ablaze in their fall glory.

Tomorrow begins our weekend with Sister Helen Prejean. The JOH is about to "kick it up a notch."

The Journey continues

Above: Robert poses with the high school youth group at Salem Presbyterian Church

Here's the daily Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing installment from Robert Hoelscher, Journey participant and campaign coordinator for Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation:

On Wednesday we packed up in Harrisonburg and set out for Roanoke. I caravaned in the abolitionmobile with JOH co-founder George White, family member Aba Gayle, activist Beth Wood-Bonowitz and her JOH mascot son Isaac (son of Abe
Bonowitz), family member Christina Lawson, and activist Steve "I Sell Music on E-Bay" Louis. We had lunch on the road at the Whistle Stop Cafe. Yes, I had fried green tomatoes. They was yummy.

After we got set up in Roanoke, local VDAP activist Gene Edmunds (thank you Gene!) escorted me to the Salem Presbyterian Church where I visited with a high school youth group. We talked for about an hour in a "living room" setting. I told the story of losing my father at age 7. And how my mother had called the offender's parents just two days after the murder to offer forgiveness. At the end, I asked if our discussion had helped. They all seemed to think it had. One student mentioned
that the most she had really thought about the death penalty was through the
humor of comedian Ron "Tater Salad" White who has a joke about Texas using the
"express lane" for its death penalty. I tried to encourage them always to look
deeply at issues where fellow human beings are involved. I believe they will.

We're having a "debriefing" of the days events in a few minutes. I'm off to check it out.

Cool T-shirt, huh?

Here's the latest installation from Robert Hoelscher, campaign coordinator for Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation and a participant in the ongoing Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing:

Yesterday (Monday, October 16) teams fanned out into Northern Virginia for events at a high school, prison, university, a Catholic church, and on Capital Hill in Washington, DC. I pulled out about 3 p.m. with family member Vera Crutcher and death row family member Tracy Spirko to head to Charlottesville for the night, where we stayed at the home of Democratic activists and JOH supporters Tom and Betty Gallagher (thank you Tom and Betty!). As the evening wound down, I talked for awhile with Tracy, who was on the computer cruising the internet trying to find out whether Gov. Taft of Ohio had issued a reprieve for her husband John, who has an execution date. She went to bed with no answer.

This morning (Tuesday, October 17) Vera, Tracy, Betty and I met with Virginia state delegate David Toscano. David is a staunch abolitionist and spent a gracious hour with us discussing legislative strategies to advance death penalty related issues. It was a good meeting. While we were meeting with David in Charlottesville, the rest of the group "broke camp" in Falls Church and headed to Harrisonburg for the next
phase of the Journey. We drove over to Harrisonburg after our meeting.

This afternoon in our hotel we were treated to massage services donated by a local JOH supporter. One after the other, Journey participants filed into Room 151 for a genuine "ahhhhh" refresher. Boy, did it hit the spot. As I write this, the crew is out doing evening events at James Madison University here inHarrisonburg, the Central United Methodist Church in Staunton, and the Augusta Coalition for Peace and Justice in Waynesboro.

Tomorrow (Wednesday, October 18) looks like a very full day, at the end of which we'll go to Roanoke. I still await my "inaugural" JOH storytelling event, what with group events on Saturday, the cancelled event on Sunday due to bad directions, travel yesterday, and a one-on-one meeting today. I'm looking forward to finally sharing the experience the others are having. Stories are starting to trickle back of tears shed, changing hearts and minds, and other special moments.

Above: Journey of Hope participants kick it off with a march and rally!

Here's the latest update from Robert Hoelscher:

This afternoon, we drove an hour to Manassas in Prince William County, the jurisdiction that produces the most death sentences in Virginia. On the way, we passed a service station with regular at $1.91 a gallon. We observed a moment of silence in celebration of sub-two dollar gas. In Manassas, our group of about 75 marched from the All Saints Catholic Church to the Manassas Peace Pole, where VADP executive director Jack Payton-Travers thrashed the death penalty in Virginia, urging the state to enact a moratorium on capital punishment. Following Jack, Pennsylvania death row exoneree and now Manassas resident Harold Wilson and murder victim family member SueZann Bosler shared their stories and joined in the call for a moratorium. It wasn't the Million Man March, but it was nonetheless a fine start for the Journey of Hope. The good people of All Saints Catholic Church hosted an after-march meal (my third straight with a pasta entree, but hey, I'm not
complaining).

Day One: Journey of Hope

Pictured above: During an orientation for Journey of Hope participants, Jack Payden-Travers and Connie Watts point to the route the entourage will travel as they make their way across the state.


This is the second in what will be a series of posts from Robert Hoelscher, campaign coordinator for Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation and a participant in the Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing.

Last night I dreamt that I kept going into the wrong rooms - naked - at the hotel where we are staying these first four nights. Five bucks to any shrink (amateur or otherwise) that can translate that piece of "too much information."

This morning while out on a run I was looking for a store to grab some orange juice and a snack bar. No surprise, I find a neighborhood 7/11. There's a million of them of course. But there were only a few dozen in 1961 when my father, the manager of a suburban Houston 7/11, was murdered during a robbery. I've gone into 7/11's a million times since then and rarely associate the visits with my father. But today it felt different. Today I was remembering.

This morning we had our orientation and training session. We started out by being led in song, "break 'em on down these walls between us, break 'em on down."

Then everyone introduced themselves and I saw a glimpse of the power and poignancy of these stories. We not only have murder victim family members, but also family members of death row inmates, and former prisoners who were exonerated from death row. Along with the dedicated activists who are the logistical backbone of this great project. I can sense the magic about to be unleashed.

We leave in about an hour for the kick-off march and rally. I have my Journey of Hope t-shirt and I'm good to go.

Journey of Hope 2006 launches!

The picture above is a bit dark -- it shows Connie Watts, organizer for the Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing. But if you look closely at the table in front of Connie, you can see that Journey participants have their media kits, notebooks, pens, clipboards and other materials they need to take Virginia by storm.

Because tomorrow is Day One of a two-week journey that will culminate with the annual conference of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

From the front lines, Robert Hoelscher, a Journey participant and campaign coordinator for Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, reports:

Today, I'm on my way to the Virginia Journey of Hope 2006. Every day for the next two weeks, starting tomorrow, murder victim family members opposed to the death penalty will tell our stories at over 100 events across the state. My flight from Austin to Virginia went through Chicago. It was a picture perfect day, bright sun and few clouds. As the plane turned to land at Midway Airport, something caught my eye on the ground below. It was a cemetery. The sun was bouncing off the marble headstones, creating a festival of flickering light. I think of these next two weeks. And how our stories will chronicle a graveyard of death. The thought sits heavy in my chest.

Keep an eye on this space. We'll be blogging the Journey "live," just as often as Robert (and possibly others) can access a computer and send in the stories of their journey.

Tuesday's Focus: Vicki Schieber

We apologize for being a day late with the latest installment in our Tuesday's Focus series. Today we look at the journey of Vicki Schieber:

Vicki Schieber’s daughter, Shannon, was raped and murdered on May 7, 1998 while finishing her first year of graduate school on a full scholarship at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Shannon’s killer was not arrested until 2002. He is serving several life sentences without parole in Colorado and Pennsylvania not only for Shannon’s rape and murder but for 13 other sexual assaults as well.

Vicki and her husband, Sylvester, both Maryland residents, testified in support of a Maryland bill that would extend that state’s moratorium on executions and create a commission to study the way the death penalty is imposed. She also testified in Pennsylvania for the abolition of the death penalty alongside former Illinois governor George Ryan and exonerated former death row inmates, including Kirk Bloodsworth.

She has taught many high school and university classes on abolition, run workshops at state conferences, and published op-ed pieces in newspapers including the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Washington Post. She also has met with and testified before state legislators in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Vicki was vocal in her opposition to the death penalty long before Shannon’s murderer was apprehended. The Schiebers fought the district attorney and the prosecutors to keep the death penalty from being applied to their daughter’s killer.

“The death penalty is against our religion, a belief system in which life is held to be sacred,” she says. “We know that there are many inequities in how the states apply the death penalty. Therefore I believe MVFHR must focus on abolition in the context of its being a human rights issue and work hard to bring the world community of murder victims together to oppose the death penalty in the U.S. I have traveled in many parts of the world and citizens in other countries are appalled at the inequitable application of this sentence in our homeland.”

Vicki, who has spent her career in a variety of financial marketing and management roles, was profiled on “Dateline NBC”, a show which also aired multiple times on Court TV. Her story is part of an NBC film on the death penalty sponsored by the Robert Kennedy Foundation.

She has long been active in leadership positions in non-profits dedicated to literacy and programs for elderly, disabled and low-income residents of Washington, D.C.

Vicki is the recipient of the Fannie Mae Foundation Good Neighbor Award, the Courage in Community Award of the McAuley Institute Board of Trustees and the Exceptional Community Spirit Award from Rebuilding Together of Washington, D.C.

Links to Vicki's journey:

Vickie’s Story: Go to MVFHR Board of Directors for more of Vicki’s story
May Brings Relief for Vicki Schieber: Having suspect in Shannon's killing eases pain this Mother's Day
…Vicki Schieber said: "I have forgiven him
"It would be an insult to our daughter's memory to put another person to death," Vicki Schieber said, "even the murderer of our daughter."
What happened when one state governor declared a moratorium on capital punishment?
Testimony of MVFHR's Vicki Schieber to the U.S. Senate

Tuesday's Focus: Ruth Andrews

The latest installment of our continuing Tuesday's Focus series examines the journey of Ruth Andrews:


Ruth Andrews is an ethnic Mennonite. She has always believed the death penalty is immoral.
Ruth’s mother's murder (when she was 16) didn't change that, although it changed everything else. Since the crime was never solved, Ruth couldn't take her anger out on anyone. Instead, she took it out on herself. For the next ten years she lived recklessly and was dangerously self-destructive. It wasn't until Ruth became pregnant that she began to care for herself again.

Another turning point in her healing occurred at a conference on forgiveness, when Ruth asked a murderer to pray for her. On the Journey of Hope in Georgia in 1994, Ruth was paired with a woman who had a son on death row, “The similarities in our experiences were remarkable. I felt closer to her than to the "good" people I'd known all my life. I'm very grateful to belong to the Journey of Hope.“

Links to Ruth’s Journey:

Slaying victim's daughter fights death penalty
Cassopolis woman in Houston in effort to abolish death penalty
Peacemaking, Terrorism and Art: By Ruth Andrews

Tuesday's Focus: Rev. Walt Everett

Today, as the latest in our Tuesday's Focus installment we bring you the story of Rev. Walt Everett of Connecticut:

In 1987 Walt Everett’s son, Scott, was shot and killed at the age of 24. For almost a year afterwards, Walt’s emotional state moved from rage to depression. He found it difficult to even go through the motions of his work as pastor of a United Methodist Church.

It was only at the sentencing when he heard Mike Carlucci express remorse for killing Scott that Walt felt God nudging him towards forgiveness. Walt describes this journey as the most difficult thing he has ever had to do.

He wrote to Mike on the first anniversary of Scott’s death. Thus began a correspondence, which led to visits and finally to Walt’s testifying on Mike’s behalf at a parole hearing. Based on this testimony, Mike obtained an early release and went to work for a trucking firm where his boss described him as “the best supervisor I ever had.”

Walt and Mike often speak together at universities, churches and community groups about the healing power of forgiveness, healing for both the forgiven and forgiver.

Walt is a pastor of United Methodist Church of Hartford, Connecticut. He met his wife at a bereavement group and between them they have six children, four of whom are still living, and eight grandchildren.

Walt is an ardent advocate of the anti-death penalty movement and is active in numerous abolition and restorative justice organizations. His story has been told in numerous publications including an extensive profile in Rolling Stone.

Links to Walt’s Journey:

Father Forgives the Man Who Murdered His Son
The Transformative Power of Forgiveness
The Mercy Minute: Unconditional Love
Yesterday, I drove Walt Everett and his wife Nancy to an event at a Catholic church in McKinney, Texas.
Sermon: One Hand Clapping
State Counts Down to Killers Death
Speakers on Capital Punishment audio file

Tuesday's Focus: Shujaa Graham

Our Tuesday's Focus series continues today with a look at California death row exonoree Shujaa Graham:

Shujaa Graham was born in Lake Providence, LA, where he grew up on a plantation. His family worked as share-croppers, in the segregated South of the 50s. In 1961, he moved to join his family who had moved to South Central Los Angeles, to try to build a more stable life. As a teenager, Shujaa lived through the Watts riot and experienced the police occupation of his community. In and out of trouble, he spent much of his adolescent life in juvenile institutions, until at age 18, he was sent to Soledad Prison.

Within the prison walls, Shujaa came of age, mentored by the leadership of the Black Prison movement. Shujaa taught himself to read and write, he studied history and world affairs, and became a leader of the growing movement within the California prison system, as the Black Panther Party expanded in the community.

In 1973, Shujaa was framed in the murder of a prison guard at the Deul Vocational Institute, Stockton, California. As a recognized leader within and without the prison, the community became involved in his defense, and supported him through 4 trials. Shujaa and his co-defendant, Eugene Allen, were sent to San Quentin's death row in 1976, after a second trial in San Francisco. The DA systematically excluded all African American jurors, and in 1979, the California Supreme Court overturned the death conviction.

After spending three years on death row, Shujaa and Eugene Allen, continued to fight for their innocence. A third trial ended in a hung jury, and after a fourth trial, they were found innocent. As Shujaa often says, he won his freedom and affirmed his innocence in spite of the system.
Shujaa was released in March, 1981, and continued to organize in the Bay area, building community support for the prison movement, as well as protest in the neighborhoods against police brutality.

In the following years, Shujaa moved away from the Bay area. Shujaa learned landscaping, and created his own business. He and his wife raised three children, and became part of a progressive community in Maryland.

In 1999, Shujaa was invited to speak about his experiences on Death Row at fund raiser for the Alabama Death Penalty project, sponsored by the New York Legal Aid Foundation. This was a new beginning, and provided Shujaa the opportunity to begin to tell his story, his experiences and grow through work with other death penalty opponents.

Links to Shujaa’s Journey:
Shujaa’s web site
Campaign to End The Death Penalty
Faces of Wrongful Conviction
Death penalty debated The Post and Courier
The New Abolitionist: I See This Struggle As A New Challenge
Former Inmate Condemns Capital Punishment
A Life’s Sentence
STOP The Death Penalty

Shujaa Graham Quotes:

"I was framed because of my beliefs and because I was outspoken about prison conditions."

"We need a government that would be so sensitive to the needs of the people that its every endeavor would be towards building peace and happiness and not preying on the misery of people. And that’s really how the death penalty goes--it preys upon people’s fears"

"I've tried to integrate the prison issue with other movements. My politics go far beyond prison itself, but because I’ve been in prison, I felt a responsibility to try to expose the conditions of prison life, to fight against new prisons, to address how the disenfranchised will be tomorrow’s victims of the prison system.

“I stand here wounded by the blows of the death penalty of racism, trying to end this awful reality”

Tuesday's Focus: Abe Bonowitz

(blogger's note: the above photo was taken by Scott Langley. You can see more of Scott's outstanding work here.)

The latest installment of the Tuesday's Focus series takes a look at anti-death penalty activist Abe Bonowitz. In his own words, Abe explains how participation in the Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing affected him. Remember, the Journey will visit Virginia this October. You can learn more and find out how to get involved by going here.

Here is Abe's message:

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, I have not always opposed the death penalty. When I tell the story of my transition, I say, "The facts changed my mind, and the people I met on the Journey changed my heart."

By 1993, I had become a fairly active anti-death penalty activist through my involvement with Amnesty International, but I would still say things like, "IF we could make it fair and equal, I would pull the switch myself." But when I went on the Indiana Journey of Hope ...From Violence to Healing, I met and learned first hand the stories of people who have been "in the fire," as Sister Helen would say. It was certainly inspiring to meet and work with people like Bill Pelke, Marietta Jaeger, Marie Deans and SueZann Bosler and so many others who have lost loved ones to murder and forgiven the perpetrator. But what touched my heart -- what *changed* my heart -- was learning the stories of people like George White (with the double whammy of seeing his wife murdered and then being wrongly convicted of the killing) and Sunny Jacobs (with the double whammy of being wrongly convicted *with* her husband, who was also wrongly executed!), and others, including Randall Dale Adams, who was wrongly convicted and was nearly Texecuted. What changed my heart even more, was meeting people like Shirley Dicks, Ken & Lois Robison, Jill Fratta, Catherine Forbes, and so many others who have had a loved one convicted of murder - rightly or wrongly - and who themselves have been put through the wringer by a society that condemns killing but ignores the collateral damage created in the process of exacting revenge through execution.

Being on the Journey allowed me to not only meet these people and hear their stories. I got to know them. And by hearing their stories several times in front of different audiences as we spent 17 days traversing a state, I got to *know* their stories. Ever since that 1993 Journey, whenever someone attempts to dismiss me by saying I'd "feel different if my loved one was murdered," I respond with, "Maybe you are right, but let me tell you about my friend Bill (or Sunny or Sam or Marietta). And I share the stories I learned on the Journey. And it works!
ALSO on the Journey, I got plenty of practice talking about the death penalty as an activist. I learned how to lead marches, how to better convey our message through the media, how to handle hate-filled opposition with a loving response, and how important it is to provide a hug for a person who has just relived the most painful experience in their life over and over again.
The Journey made me the activist I am today. There is no better training ground for abolitionists. Period.

paz!

Links to Abe’s Journey:
Biography of Abe Bonowitz
Death Penalty Opponents Gather
Protesters Converge on Prison
Journey of Hope in Monterey
Journey Of Hope ...From Violence to Healing, Inc.
Seven Arrested on 25th Gilmore Anniversary
Opponents of the death penalty speak out
Marchers Spotlight Growing Scrutiny of Florida Death Penalty
A Discussion with Jeb Bush on the Death Penalty
Execution May Only Spur More Killing: Reflections on the "Martyrdom" of Paul Hill

Tuesday's Focus: Ray Krone

The latest Tuesday's Focus examines the story of Ray Krone, death row exonoree:


In April 2002 Ray Krone became the 100th innocent person released from prison after having been sentenced to death. Ray spent ten years in prison, including two years on Arizona’s death row, for the murder of a female bartender.

He was freed when DNA testing proved he was not the killer and identified a man serving a sentence for an unrelated crime as the murderer. Ray believes in the U.S. system of justice but feels the death penalty system is broken.

He has been profiled in “Parade Magazine” and has spoken widely since his release

Links to Ray’s Journey:
DNA Frees Arizona Inmate after 10 Years in Prison
The Ray Krone Story
Bill Kurtis and Ray Krone Hold Court in York
Sister Helen and Journey of Hope
Conference Addresses the Death Penalty Page 3
Journey Update - The Final Weekend
The Daily News
The Innocence Project: Ray Krone
R.E.M. Fan Forums - Ray Krone
From Death Row to TV ‘Makeover’
Phoenix to pay $3 million for framing Ray Krone for murder and jailing him 10 years

Tuesday's Focus: Bud Welch

Our continuing Tuesday's Focus series examines the journey of Bud Welch:

On April 19, 1995, Bud Welch’s 23-year old daughter, Julie, and 167 others were killed in the bomb blast that destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City.

Bud had always opposed the death penalty but Julie’s death prompted bouts of anger, pain, hatred and revenge. He longed to see Timothy McVeigh (who was eventually tried and convicted of the bombing and executed) dead.

After months of agony Bud began to question his desire for revenge. He realized that nothing positive would arise from McVeigh’s execution. “It was hatred and revenge that made me want to see him dead and those two things were the very reason that Julie and 167 others were dead,” he says. He also remembered Julie’s comments that executions were only “teaching children to hate.”

Bud spent the next several years speaking out against the death penalty in general and McVeigh’s execution in particular. He met Bill McVeigh, Tim’s father, and the two formed a friendship that is being documented in an upcoming film.

As an ardent abolitionist he has addressed the Russian Duma, the British and the European Parliaments, and universities and groups across Europe. He has testified twice before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, once in opposition to the habeas corpus reforms that were being proposed and later passed as part of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.

He has testified before 22 state legislative bodies including the Illinois house judiciary committee on that state’s death penalty moratorium bill. His speeches at scores of universities and law schools center on his hard-won stance against the death penalty. He is a board member of the National Coalition Against the Death Penalty. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation and met with President Clinton at the White House to present the plans for the national memorial.

He has been interviewed with Larry King and Bill Moyers and appeared on “Good Morning America,” the “Today Show,” CBS’s “60 Minutes” and “Dateline NBC.” He has written pieces for both Time and Newsweek. Profiles of Bud have appeared in numerous magazines including Guideposts and Parade.

Bud received the “Abolitionist of the Year” award from the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. He also received of the “Abolitionist of the Year Award” in 1998 from the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty; the “Felton Humanitarian Award” from Death Penalty Focus; the “Spirit of Compassion” award of the Prison Action Committee in Buffalo, New York; and the ACLU Oklahoma Foundation “Anti-Death penalty/Prison Project Award.” He is also the recipient of the "2003 Reconciliation Award" from California People of Faith Working Against the Death Penalty; the "Frederick Douglass Equal Justice Award" from the Southern Center for Human Rights in 2001; the "2001 Abolitionist of the Year Award" from Coloradoans Against the Death Penalty; the "Golden K" of the Kiwanis Club in Decatur, IL in 2002; and he was presented with the Key to the City of Buffalo, NY in 1998 by Mayor Anthony Masiello. He has participated in the “Journey of Hope” and many other anti-death penalty activities and organizations.

Reprinted with permission from "Not In Our Name: Murder Victims Families Speak Out Against the Death Penalty," a publication of Murder Victims Families For Reconciliation,
Barbara Hood & Rachel King, Editors.

Links to Bud's Journey:

Oklahoma City Bombing: Two Fathers and Forgiveness
Dad finds solace in mercy, not revenge
Journey Toward Forgiveness Video
A Campaign for Forgiveness Research
A Long Healing Process
Revenge and Hate is what Resulted in the Death of 167 People
The Death Penalty and the Catholic Church
Florida Moratorium Tour: Journey of Hope
Choosing Forgiveness – from Opposite Places
Hero Award

Bud Welch Quote:

"I was opposed to the death penalty all my life until my daughter Julie Marie was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing. For many months after the bombing I could have killed Timothy McVeigh myself. Temporary insanity is real, and I have lived it. You can’t think of enough adjectives to describe the rage, revenge, and hate I felt. But after time, I was able to examine my conscience, and I realized that if McVeigh is put to death, it won’t help me in the healing process. People talk about executions bringing closure. But how can there be closure when my little girl is never coming back. I finally realized that the death penalty is all about revenge and hate, and revenge and hate are why Julie Marie and 167 others are dead."

Tuesday's Focus: Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins

The latest in our installment of the Tuesday's Focus series looks at the story of Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins. In addition to being involved with The Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing, Jennifer serves on the Board of Directors both for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and for our affiliate, Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights.

Here is Jennifer's story:

Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins
Northfield, Illinois

Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins’ sister Nancy Bishop Langert was shot to death along with her husband, Richard Langert, and their unborn child in suburban Chicago in 1990. Their killer was 16 years old at the time and a local politician running for re-election proposed lowering the age of death penalty eligibility in Illinois to 16 to “honor your sister.”

Jennifer vowed to oppose him publicly if her sister’s murder was used as the rationale for this proposal. “Nancy loved children and this is not what she would have wanted,” she says. Since that time she has worked to end the death penalty both in Illinois and nationwide.

She serves on the board of the Illinois Coalition Against the Death Penalty, is the state president for the Million Mom March /Brady Campaign and volunteers with the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence. She was a featured speaker on the steps of the U.S. Capital for the Halt the Assault Million Mom March on Mother’s Day 2004.

She has testified before the Illinois Governor’s Commission on Capital Punishment and in death penalty clemency hearings before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. She has spoken before state legislative committees and the Chicago City Council on issues of gun violence, crime prevention, and criminal justice reform.

She appeared in the documentary on the death penalty, “Too Flawed To Fix” and was profiled in a Chicago Tribune Magazine cover story. Her story and abolition work are included in the book Don’t Kill In Our Names by Rachel King. Jennifer, who first visited Illinois’ death row in 1994, is on a mercy committee for former death row inmate Renaldo Hudson. She wrote the foreword for the recently published book of prisoners’ essays on personal responsibility and transformation entitled Lockdown Prison Heart.

Jennifer and her sister, Jeanne Bishop, were co-recipients of the Brigid Award given by Concern Worldwide in recognition of their reconciliation work. She has taught high school and college for more than 20 years and has received several outstanding teacher awards. She is the Field Director for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence for Illinois and Minnesota.

Links to Jennifer ’s Journey:

Not in Our Name: by Rachel King
A Long Healing Process -- Murder victims' families describe their struggle to rebuild lives, By Stephen Gawlik
The Million Mom March - working against gun violence
A Peace Conference: Giving Witness to Non-Violence: Saturday Morning
Speakers Examine Death Penalty
Lecture on Death Penalty Sparks Contemplation
Victim Impact Teaches Juvenile Offenders Consequences of Their Actions
The Choices Program
Mamie Till Mobley, Mother of Lynched Teen Obituary

Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins Quotes:

"Our sister Nancy and her husband Richard were a young couple expecting their first child when they were shot to death in their home. They loved and valued life; our sister was carrying life within her when she died a terrifying and brutal death. Her last act as she was dying was to write a message of love in her blood. We can’t imagine making the death of another human being her memorial."

Tuesday's Focus: Renny Cushing

The continuing Tuesday's Focus series today looks at the story of Renny Cushing:

Renny Cushing is the founder and Executive Director of Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights. His father’s murder in 1988 has shaped his work as an advocate for crime victims and as an opponent of capital punishment.

As a victim-abolitionist Renny has been a pioneer in the effort to bridge death penalty abolition groups and the victims’ rights movement. He travels throughout the U.S. and the world speaking with and on behalf of victims who oppose capital punishment.

He has testified before the U.S. Congress and several state legislatures on victims’ issues and the death penalty, articulating policies that promote violence prevention, meet the needs of crime victims, and end state killings. He has written and lectured extensively and is the co-author of Dignity Denied: The Experience of Murder Victims' Family Members Who Oppose the Death Penalty, and I Don’t Want Another Kid to Die, a collection of homicide family members' voices against the juvenile death penalty. He also appears, along with many other MVFHR founding members, in Not In Our Name, a collection of profiles of murder victims’ families who oppose executions.

A lifelong social justice activist, Renny has been a Justice of the Peace for the past 25 years. He served two terms in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, where he was involved in victims’ issues and sponsored a measure that would have abolished the death penalty in that state. Renny wrote the Whistleblower’s Protection Act, a groundbreaking law providing assistance to victims of domestic violence. He also supported the passage of laws establishing a victims’ bill of rights, victims’ advocate programs, and a victims’ compensation fund. In 2001, as plaintiff in Cushing v. McLaughlin, he was successful in a landmark state court case brought to enforce New Hampshire’s Victims Bill of Rights law.

Links to Renny’s Journey
Breaking the Cycle of Violence from Amnesty Now, 1999
Forgiving the Unforgivable, the story of the murder of Robert Cushing, Sr.
Not in Our Name, homicide survivors Renny Cushing and Bud Welch speak out against the death penalty at Harvard University, 1999
Statement of Renny Cushing Central Prison Raleigh, North Carolina December 1, 2005 Eve of the 1000th Execution in the US since 1976
The Good Fight
Renny Cushing to Visit Alaska in March
Poster Boy For Abolition – McVeigh

Renny Cushing Quotes:
"A man come up to me after my father was murdered and said, "I hope they fry those people. I hope they fry them so you and your family can get some peace." I know that man meant to comfort me, but it was the most horrible thing he could possibly have said.
If we let murderers turn us to murder, we give them too much power. They succeed in bringing us to their way of thinking and acting, and we become what we say we abhor."

Today's Focus: Christina Lawson

With apologies for being a day late, we bring you the latest Tuesday's Focus. Today we examine the story of Christina Lawson.

Christina Lawson was nine years old when her father was murdered on a jogging trail. She experienced pain, anger, loneliness, and hatred towards his killers.

She was twenty when her husband was sentenced to death for the murder of a twenty four year old woman, on a jogging trail.

On that day, looking at the victim’s family members she recognized their pain. She saw herself. She realized that when her father was murdered, so was she. She began her journey towards reconciliation.

Seven years later she witnessed the execution of her husband and the father of their two children. Their youngest child was nine years old. “That was the day I realized that the death penalty only created more victims. That was the day I stopped supporting the death penalty.”

When asked what she does now, she replies “I am surviving the cycle.”
Links to Christina’s Journey:
Victims of Texas: Supporting the Forgotten Survivors (VOT)
MtvU wants to turn Spring Breakers into action-makers
Journey of Hope -- Interview of Christina Lawson
13TH Annual Fast and Vigil
Alternative Spring Break
Bring Friends who are Ambivalent About the Death Penalty