"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

Thursday, September 28, 2006

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

Please print this and send to addresses below


Governor Jeb Bush
The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee
Florida 32399


September 28th, 2006.



Dear Governor Bush,


As a citizen of this world, I can’t help but being concerned about the developments in the USA and particularly in the State of Florida regarding the Death Penalty.
I have been watching the case of Mr. Clarence E. Hill and his requests for details about the chemicals and procedures that were used during executions.
I was shocked when I heard that, even though the appeals he pursued were still in process, the US Supreme Court overruled the Court of Appeals and denied mr. Hill his right to appeal. Despite the fact that the same Court allowed him to pursue the appeals in the first place, in January of this year.


In my opinion the US Supreme Court has denied Mr. Hill his civil rights to appeal to the lethal injection process. Even though the issue is still not cleared and many other States are questioning the humanity of this method of execution. At this moment California is questioning these same methods in Court. Executions have been halted in Missouri, New Jersey and Delaware because of this issue. Moratoriums are in place, for several reasons in Illinois, South Dakota and New York.


I have been reading many reports about the Lethal Injections, from organisations which were either in favour or against the Death Penalty. Both sides came to the same conclusion: the Lethal Injection is a cruel and unusual punishment. There is evidence that prisoners have experienced excruciating pain during their execution. The sequence of drugs used and the method of administration were created with minimal expertise over 3 decades ago. Which were adopted unquestionably by state officials with no medical or scientific background. Prisoners in the US are executed by means that the American Veterinary Medical Association regards too cruel to use on dogs and cats. In the case of Mr. Stanley Tookie Williams, investigation has proven that Mr Williams has died a slow and painful death. All these facts raise questions under the 8th Amendment.

The Human Rights Law is predicated on recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all people, including even those who have committed terrible crimes. It prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. These rights are being denied when using the lethal injection. Therefore I urge you to ensure the execution methods that will be used to execute an inmate, will be pain and suffering free. I also urge you to halt executions until a panel of aneasthesiologists, pharmacologists, doctors, correction officials,
procecutors, defense attorneys and judges have determined whether or not the lethal injections as currently practiced are indeed the most humane form of execution.

Respectfully yours,




Addresses :

Governor Jeb Bush
The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee
Florida 32399

President Bush,
The White House,
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20500

Mr. Larry Cox - Executive Director,
Amnesty International USA,
5 Penn Plaza, NY 10001
USA

Mr. Bob Gremillion - President
Sun Sentinel,
200 E. Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
USA