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softheart · #1 05-23-2004, 09:07 PM

May 23

FLORIDA:

There is no proof that capital punishment, which cannot be administered
evenly nor accurately, is a deterrent to murder.

For 4 years there was no death penalty in America. The U.S. Supreme Court
abolished capital punishment in 1972, ruling in Furman v. Georgia that
executions were carried out in an inconsistent and discriminatory manner.

In 1976, the court approved new death penalty guidelines in Gregg v.
Georgia, and the states stepped up to the plate and rewrote their death
penalty statues to fit the new guidelines.

We in Florida were number one in the dubious category of carrying out the
first involuntary execution after the reinstatement. (Gary Gilmore had
demanded to have his sentence meted out quickly before a Utah firing squad
on January 17, 1977.)

Florida Gov. Bob Graham signed John Spenkelink's death warrant in 1976.
Spenkelink, 30 years old, was convicted of killing a man who had sodomized
him and forced him to play Russian roulette with a loaded pistol. His 1st
death warrant was stayed 3 days before his scheduled execution.

Graham issued a new death warrant to be carried out on May 22. On that
date a group of us began what became a tradition, standing in silent vigil
outside the Florida State Prison when executions were scheduled. It was a
disorganized affair made up of tired, dirty, sometimes hysterical, other
times angry, and often shouting people. I found myself wishing they would
maintain as much dignity as Spenkelink himself.

At the vigil, different speakers crowded around a bullhorn. One who stood
out was Rev. Joe Ingle of the Southern Coalition of Jails and Prisons.
After he said a few words, someone asked him to lead a prayer. Joe looked
around rather reluctantly and then prayed for John's life. Even prayer
seemed hopeless.

At 12:30 a.m. word came that the Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
had issued a stay. This was followed by another longer stay from the
Federal Circuit Court. We all took prayer, persistence and presence more
seriously. If the execution was not carried out by Friday noon, the
warrant would expire and the process would have to be redone. Where there
was life, we remembered, there was hope.

Back then we thought that perhaps we could hold back the tide and prevent
this and other executions from ever coming back to Florida. Looking back
from the perspective of 57 executions later in Florida alone, I realize
how naive we were.

On Friday, May 25 at 2:00 a.m. I was awakened by a call from my friend
John Talbird, one of the organizers of Citizens Against the Death Penalty.
The warrant had been vacated and the execution was scheduled for 10 a.m.
that day.

My wife, Sandy, and I drove to Raiford for our third vigil. Our confused
band of protestors was still leaderless. Some beat on oil drums and
shouted. One small group seemed overly emotional until I realized they
were the mothers, sisters, and wives of men on death row.

An African American minister, Greg Thomas, managed to gather most of the
crowd into a circle. We sang, prayed, and read scripture. Outside the
circle they watched. At ten o'clock we fell silent.

We heard nothing until 10:20, when Spenkelink's brother-in-law walked by
the fence saying, "He's dead but they won't let us in." Then the witnesses
to the execution were driven by in the unmarked white van. We knew it was
over.

The Rev. Tom Feamster, an Episcopal priest from a nearby parish who had
ministered to John Spenkelink for the past three years, came by to talk
with us. Tom had not been allowed to be with Spenkelink during his last
hours. Florida statue at that time did not allow a death-watch prisoner to
have clergy of choice with him. It only allowed clergy of choice to
witness the execution. So Tom, at Spenkelink's request, witnessed John's
death, reading the Beatitudes in the final minutes of life.

Tom said that John's wishes were that we not pray for him but rather that
we pray for ourselves, our state and our nation, which could do such a
thing as this.

Nobody knew back then if Florida would be successful in beginning
executions again. Florida Attorney General Jim Smith said that
Spenkelink's lawyers would probably keep finding sympathetic judges to
beat the death warrant. Smith, however, beat the lawyers.

This is what the death penalty came down to and where it remains. The last
lawyer to get the last judge in the last hour wins. John Spenkelink lost
this race.

No one knows why Spenkelink was chosen out of the then 134 prisoners on
death row. He was poor. He was a drifter. He was from out of state, all of
which are typical for those executed in Florida. As Spenkelink said, "Them
without the capital get the punishment."

Florida has executed 58 people since 1979. Today there are 367 people on
Florida's death row and about 3,600 people on death row nationally.

I still visit death row. I work with and for the victims of violence. I
continue to stand in silent vigil when the state executes its inmates,
because I do not want it ever said that the state killed its own citizens
without anyone standing in protest.

I do believe that one day the United States will join most of the
civilized world and rid itself of the death penalty. There is no proof
that capital punishment is a deterrent to murder. It has become clear that
it cannot be administered evenly let alone accurately.

Its mistakes cannot be undone. It is expensive, costing much more with its
prerequisite trials and appeals than housing an inmate for life without
parole. It dehumanizes us all.

Shortly after Spenkelink's execution, Jacksonville police officers made up
20,000 T-shirts with a picture of the electric chair and the caption "1
down, 133 to go." The shirts sold out in a week.

I believe with Martin Luther King Jr. that "the arc of the moral universe
is long but it bends toward justice." I know that capital punishment is
not justice. I don't know how long before we figure that out.

(source: Editorial--Larry Reimer, who is minister of the United Church of
Gainesville; Gainesville Sun)

jcwalker3usa · #2 05-24-2004, 06:13 AM

It is truly sad to think that a Pastor of a Church believes the death penality is not justified. What of the victums and their familys or most important what does the Holy Word of God say? Our Lord Jesus came to fulfill the law not to do away with it or have you strayed from the truth?
Num 35:30
30 Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.
(KJV)
I Jn 3:15
15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. (KJV)
I do agree with one thing you said about even justice so there should be much more scrutiny applied in any death penality case. This country has strayed so far to the left that darkness is overshadowing it. Stick to the Word of God Mr. Reimer unless you can say that the Holy Ghost instructed you in this matter.
In Jesus' Love
Robert Moorman

Quote:

Originally Posted by softheart

May 23

FLORIDA:

There is no proof that capital punishment, which cannot be administered
evenly nor accurately, is a deterrent to murder.

For 4 years there was no death penalty in America. The U.S. Supreme Court
abolished capital punishment in 1972, ruling in Furman v. Georgia that
executions were carried out in an inconsistent and discriminatory manner.

In 1976, the court approved new death penalty guidelines in Gregg v.
Georgia, and the states stepped up to the plate and rewrote their death
penalty statues to fit the new guidelines.

We in Florida were number one in the dubious category of carrying out the
first involuntary execution after the reinstatement. (Gary Gilmore had
demanded to have his sentence meted out quickly before a Utah firing squad
on January 17, 1977.)

Florida Gov. Bob Graham signed John Spenkelink's death warrant in 1976.
Spenkelink, 30 years old, was convicted of killing a man who had sodomized
him and forced him to play Russian roulette with a loaded pistol. His 1st
death warrant was stayed 3 days before his scheduled execution.

Graham issued a new death warrant to be carried out on May 22. On that
date a group of us began what became a tradition, standing in silent vigil
outside the Florida State Prison when executions were scheduled. It was a
disorganized affair made up of tired, dirty, sometimes hysterical, other
times angry, and often shouting people. I found myself wishing they would
maintain as much dignity as Spenkelink himself.

At the vigil, different speakers crowded around a bullhorn. One who stood
out was Rev. Joe Ingle of the Southern Coalition of Jails and Prisons.
After he said a few words, someone asked him to lead a prayer. Joe looked
around rather reluctantly and then prayed for John's life. Even prayer
seemed hopeless.

At 12:30 a.m. word came that the Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
had issued a stay. This was followed by another longer stay from the
Federal Circuit Court. We all took prayer, persistence and presence more
seriously. If the execution was not carried out by Friday noon, the
warrant would expire and the process would have to be redone. Where there
was life, we remembered, there was hope.

Back then we thought that perhaps we could hold back the tide and prevent
this and other executions from ever coming back to Florida. Looking back
from the perspective of 57 executions later in Florida alone, I realize
how naive we were.

On Friday, May 25 at 2:00 a.m. I was awakened by a call from my friend
John Talbird, one of the organizers of Citizens Against the Death Penalty.
The warrant had been vacated and the execution was scheduled for 10 a.m.
that day.

My wife, Sandy, and I drove to Raiford for our third vigil. Our confused
band of protestors was still leaderless. Some beat on oil drums and
shouted. One small group seemed overly emotional until I realized they
were the mothers, sisters, and wives of men on death row.

An African American minister, Greg Thomas, managed to gather most of the
crowd into a circle. We sang, prayed, and read scripture. Outside the
circle they watched. At ten o'clock we fell silent.

We heard nothing until 10:20, when Spenkelink's brother-in-law walked by
the fence saying, "He's dead but they won't let us in." Then the witnesses
to the execution were driven by in the unmarked white van. We knew it was
over.

The Rev. Tom Feamster, an Episcopal priest from a nearby parish who had
ministered to John Spenkelink for the past three years, came by to talk
with us. Tom had not been allowed to be with Spenkelink during his last
hours. Florida statue at that time did not allow a death-watch prisoner to
have clergy of choice with him. It only allowed clergy of choice to
witness the execution. So Tom, at Spenkelink's request, witnessed John's
death, reading the Beatitudes in the final minutes of life.

Tom said that John's wishes were that we not pray for him but rather that
we pray for ourselves, our state and our nation, which could do such a
thing as this.

Nobody knew back then if Florida would be successful in beginning
executions again. Florida Attorney General Jim Smith said that
Spenkelink's lawyers would probably keep finding sympathetic judges to
beat the death warrant. Smith, however, beat the lawyers.

This is what the death penalty came down to and where it remains. The last
lawyer to get the last judge in the last hour wins. John Spenkelink lost
this race.

No one knows why Spenkelink was chosen out of the then 134 prisoners on
death row. He was poor. He was a drifter. He was from out of state, all of
which are typical for those executed in Florida. As Spenkelink said, "Them
without the capital get the punishment."

Florida has executed 58 people since 1979. Today there are 367 people on
Florida's death row and about 3,600 people on death row nationally.

I still visit death row. I work with and for the victims of violence. I
continue to stand in silent vigil when the state executes its inmates,
because I do not want it ever said that the state killed its own citizens
without anyone standing in protest.

I do believe that one day the United States will join most of the
civilized world and rid itself of the death penalty. There is no proof
that capital punishment is a deterrent to murder. It has become clear that
it cannot be administered evenly let alone accurately.

Its mistakes cannot be undone. It is expensive, costing much more with its
prerequisite trials and appeals than housing an inmate for life without
parole. It dehumanizes us all.

Shortly after Spenkelink's execution, Jacksonville police officers made up
20,000 T-shirts with a picture of the electric chair and the caption "1
down, 133 to go." The shirts sold out in a week.

I believe with Martin Luther King Jr. that "the arc of the moral universe
is long but it bends toward justice." I know that capital punishment is
not justice. I don't know how long before we figure that out.

(source: Editorial--Larry Reimer, who is minister of the United Church of
Gainesville; Gainesville Sun)

deb · #3 05-24-2004, 07:06 AM

Bravo to Larry Reimer for writing this... I continue to hope that at some point our country will wake up and become more humane and quit killing people in it's citizen's names...

Deb

lulu · #4 05-24-2004, 07:08 AM

can i share this please?

rosita · #5 05-24-2004, 02:42 PM

The Bible also says "Thou shall not kill". I am a Christian & a Catholic. I would not be much of a Christian if I believed in any form of killing. Most denominations have statements denouncing the DP. However, they don't actually do much about it. That is one of the upteenth million reasons nothing ever changes in regards to abolition of the DP.

Also I have heard the argument "an eye for an eye." Well there are wrongly convicted defendants on DR. There are also defendants convicted under accomplice laws. So why execute (kill) someone that did not kill anyone? This is morally wrong.

Kyla · #6 05-24-2004, 06:15 PM

The death penalty is morally wrong, no matter what way we interpret it, its just really cruel.
That was a very good article, I held onto everyword. I always feel sad after reading about any execution. It really just tears me up inside.

scburr88 · #7 05-24-2004, 06:19 PM

I am also a Catholic and have much contact with members and clergy from other faiths as well. It is sad that the majority of Christian supporters of Capital Punishment choose to use quotes from the Bible to give justification for this punishment but even sadder that the quotes are predominately from the OLD TESTAMANT. It is the NEW TESTAMANT that the modern Christian faiths are based on and in that book Jesus forgave even the people who EXECUTED him. He also made the statement "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" ................. Execution has always been WRONG.

softheart · #8 05-24-2004, 07:46 PM

No Matter where it is I do not see anywhere in the Bible that murder is ok as long as it is done by the State.
Also the old eye for an eye doesn't wash, because if it did then if you poked out my eye I should be able to poke out your eye. Or if you slap me, then I should be able to slap you, and so on.
It continues to amaze me how people will use the Bible in what ever context they see fit.
Mr. Moorman I don't know where in the article or anywhere else I have I heard anyone say the victims aren't important, that is a stupid assumption on your part.
How many victims are we going to produce for one crime? We have the original victims, then we have the inmate, his Mom, Dad, his loved one,his children, their children and so on. they all become victims. Even the men and women who must carry out the executions become victims.
I would suggest before you come and slap everyone upside of the head with your beliefs, I would make sure you know what you are talking about. because in my beliefs you have NO right to speak for Jesus or God.

PTO is a support site for loved ones of inmates and I will defend your right to your opinion on anything. But I will not defend your right to come here and disrespect people who have loved ones on Death Row.

softie