These court justices are quick
to sentence others for
'obstruction of justice' while
they are guilty of wholesale
obstruction of mercy.
posted last week before Billy's suicide::
When a state murders a prisoner
it doubles
the murders.
Only love can conquer hate.
Only light
can eliminate
darkness.
Footnote:
Please ask Governor Kasich
to end Ohio's role as the only
executing northern state and
to cancel the execution
of Billy Slagle.
Governor John Kasich
Riffe Center, 30th Floor
77 South High Street
Columbus, OH 43215-6117
Phone: (614) 466-3555
http://www.governor.ohio.gov/Contact/ContacttheGovernor.aspx 88% of the world's countries have no government murder.
Rhode Island
deathpenaltyinfo.org
"The federal death penalty is controversial because it can be applied even in the 18 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico that have elected not to have capital punishment in their own law. Out of respect for the people of Rhode Island--a non-death penalty state--the governor, Lincoln Chafee (pictured), resisted turning over a defendant in 2011 to face the federal death penalty. The defendant, Jason Pleau, agreed to plead guilty to a series of charges including murder if he could be tried in state court. The federal government resisted this offer, and it eventually prevailed in a court challenge by the governor regarding custody of Pleau. Now the federal government has announced that it will accept a plea in federal court in exchange for not seeking a death sentence. Following the agreement, Gov. Chafee said, "The case today has reached a conclusion, and [the victim's] family can begin the long healing process. A life sentence is the appropriate punishment for this brutal crime and respects Rhode Island's longstanding opposition to the death penalty.""
Florida Again deathpenaltyinfo.org
"Florida has set an August 5 execution date for John Ferguson, a death row inmate who has suffered from severe mental illness for more than four decades. As far back as 1965, Ferguson was found to experience visual hallucinations. He was sent to mental institutions and was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic, delusional, and aggressive. In 1975, a mental health doctor described Ferguson as “dangerous and cannot be released under any circumstances.” Nevertheless, he was released less than a year later. Ferguson believes he is the "Prince of God" and is being executed so can save the world. Ferguson's attorneys recently filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, asserting that Florida courts have applied the wrong standard for mental competency, ignoring the current interpretation of this issue by the High Court, which requires that an inmate have a rational understanding of why he is being executed. An earlier editorial in the Tampa Bay Times opposing Ferguson's execution, agreed, “Florida is embracing an interpretation of competency for execution so pinched that it would virtually extinguish limits on executing the severely mentally ill. The state says Ferguson is aware that he is being put to death and that he committed murder, and is therefore competent to be executed.”
See also:
http://prejean.org http://amnesty.org
