ACCEPTANCE SPEECH OF JUSTICE FIGHTER AWARD FROM ALABAMA NEW SOUTH COALITION

I dedicate this award to my very dear friend, the Chairman of PHADP, Darrell B. Grayson.

Greetings from the Editor's desk:
April 25th, 2007 

We thank the Capital Survey Research Center for so graciously responding to our request for a death penalty survey in Alabama and we thank all who contributed to this survey. It confirms that a solid majority of the people of Alabama believe that the time has come for a moratorium on executions while an independent study is conducted into the fairness of the application of the death penalty. It also confirms that most Alabamians do believe in justice and that candidates running for election can embrace it and win.

"Of all the actions carried out by the state, none warrants more cautious implementation and stringent review than the imposition of the death penalty. Yet in Alabama,this most solemn responsibility remains fraught with inconsistencies and inequities. The structure of the state's criminal justice system and the power given to its trial and appellate judges compromise and limit the ability of capital defendants to get a fair trial and appropriate sentencing."