Weekly Report from the Board Meeting at Holman Prison 8.7.19

Weekly Report from the Board Meeting at Holman Prison 8.7.19

Last week the Board mailed a well researched and articulate letter to the Alabama Media Group inviting them to file a law suit under the freedom of information act about the cost of the death penalty. We are one of the few states which refuse to release the cost. We believe that if the Alabama tax payer knew how much more the death penalty costs than a life without the possibility of parole sentence he/she might well become an abolitionist. We are planning on publishing the letter in our next newsletter just to give you insight into the quality and expertise of our Chairman and our Board.

We once more want to give a shout out of thanks to our wonderful Federal Defenders for the Middle District of Alabama who will represent our issue at the Annual Alabama Arise Conference. Who better than they, who know more about why we need at least a moratorium than this valiant group? Please mark your calendar and plan to be there and vote Saturday, September 7, 2019 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.n. at Aldersgate United Methodist Church (6610 Vaughn Rd, Montgomery.)

This month the Episcopalian Bishop of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, Bishop Russell “will be sending a letter to all churches, in which he will invite our 62 church families to work with our Commission to consider how the repeal of the Death Penalty may serve an opportunity for us to abide by the promise we make whenever we baptize someone in our church:  "To strive for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of human being." This great news comes from Wayne Verry head of the Prison Commission with whom we are fortunate enough to work.

This is from Dr. Katie Owens-Murphy: “Darrell Grayson, former chairman of Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty, and who was refused DNA testing by the state of Alabama to prove his innocence, as executed in 2007. He was an incredible poet-one of the best I have ever read.” His poem Ghosts over the Boiler was accepted to Poetry Magazine, one of the oldest and most prestigious poetry journals in the nation and will appear in their special issue, Poetry in the Age of Mass Incarceration. A recording of Darrell reading this poem up on our website will be part of Dr. Katie Owens-Murphy exhibition.

The Board is getting ready to assemble the next copy of our newsletter Wings of Hope. They would like to invite our friends to submit articles if they so choose for possible publication. They cannot guarantee publication, which also holds true of articles submitted at Holman, but would do their best to do so. If interested you can either email them to Esther or mail them directly to Holman. We look forward to hearing from you!

We continue to thank anonymous donors who gave by going to our website and using the “donate” button and of course also those who gave directly. We thank all who believe in what we do and stand with us. You make a difference!

                                                                 Esther