We Grow These in Texas...and Washington, too.

 

Jon Langford & Co Arrive--Leaving a Trail of Abolition in Their Wake

Jon Langford and his amazingly talented band performed "The Executioner's Last Songs" before a capacity house at the Triple Door on March 5.

Best known as the front man for the Mekons, Jon Langford created and performed a mordantly beautiful performance work--a compelling collection of tales and songs on the themes of murder, mob law, and cruel, cruel punishment. Langford took us on a twisting and witty autobiographical ride that looked unflinchingly at the promises of life and the penalty of death. The performance combined live music, spoken word, his own visual art, and recordings of American roots music.

Prior to his appearance in Seattle, Langford and his mates produced an series of two CD's raising money for the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, while simultaneously raising awareness around the globe. Within a year, Gov. Ryan cleared death row in Illinois.

Just before arriving in Seattle, Langford performed the show and spoke to Montana law-makers. While he was there, the Montana senate voted to abolish the death penalty.

A Welsh-born, country music playing punk rocker convincing the Montana senate to abolish the death penalty after rubbing the nose of the Lt. Gov's stuffed buffalo head? I honestly never thought I'd write those words, but maybe it is high time for a change to come.

The Demise of our Bills

Remember "I'm Just a Bill" from Schoolhouse Rock:

Well, it's a long, long journey

To the capital city.

It's a long, long waitWhile I'm sitting in committee,

But I know I'll be a law some dayAt least I hope and pray that I will

But today I am still just a bill.

Well, we waited and waited, but never got out of committee--we actually made it out of the first committees on our study bill, but then couldn't get out of Ways and Means and Appropriations. Our modest proposal to ban the execution of individuals who are severely mentally ill never made it out of the judiciary committees, despite the overwhelming show of support.

On the other hand, thre were more important things for the Legislature to consider than preventing the execution of individuals who suffer from the most serious of mental illnesses or taking the time and spending the money to discover whether our death penalty laws are in greater need of repair than the Seattle Viaduct. Like, creating a state climatologist or setting up a gift shop in the legislative building---and, no, I am not making this up. And, let's not forget the important debate on the future of the viaduct.

Tell you what, while we are tearing down that structure why don't we dismantle the machinery of death. I think the view will be better--for all our citizens.

We will be back, no reference to The Terminator intended. Our passion for justice runs very, very deep.

Political Courage--Calling Gov. Gregoire

The following was written by Michael Tackett published in PostBulletin.com.:

While Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were engaged in the first official hissy fit (the technical term) of the 2008 presidential campaign, another Democrat was actually engaged in a matter of important public policy.

Just to recap: Clinton was furious because Hollywood mogul David Geffen ridiculed her and former President Bill Clinton in an interview with Maureen Dowd of The New York Times on the very day that Geffen was hosting a fundraiser for Obama that reportedly brought $1.3 million to his campaign. Before his conversion to Obama, Geffen had raised about $18 million for the former president.

The spat led to several days of coverage in a not-so-deep search for deeper meaning about the state of the race and the state of the Clintons, which, by the way, undoubtedly will be the campaign's ongoing soap opera subtext.

Meanwhile, across the country in Annapolis, Md., another public drama was playing out, and in this case, the stakes were not money, but life and death.

Martin O'Malley, the youthful new governor, made an emotional plea to a state Senate committee to repeal the death penalty in Maryland.

That is one long march from the scene at a 1988 presidential debate when Michael Dukakis was pilloried for giving a lawyerly answer to a hypothetical question about whether he would impose the death penalty on a man who had raped and murdered his wife. Dukakis' dispassionate rejection of capital punishment became a ready emblem for the Republican narrative that Democrats were soft on crime.

From that point on, most Democrats with higher ambitions rushed to be seen as state-sanctioned Grim Reapers. None did it with as much flourish as then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, who jetted back to his state just before the New Hampshire primary to preside over the execution of Ricky Ray Rector, a brain-damaged man who told prison officials he wanted to save the dessert from his last meal until after his execution.

Few Democrats since have been willing to take forceful public action that would make it appear as if they were not tough on criminals. In fact, it was not until a Republican, former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, imposed a moratorium on the death penalty that any movement to repeal capital punishment statutes gained significant traction. In fact, O'Malley cited during his testimony the 18 Death Row inmates who have been released in Illinois after their innocence was proved.
O'Malley has been on the short list of rising Democratic stars for several years. Telegenic, smart and the leader of his own Irish band, O'Malley's March, he was mayor of Baltimore before being elected governor last November. Before that, he had been chosen to speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 and fortunately for him, in a very forgettable time slot, given a delivery that dripped with emotion far more than sincerity.

His push to repeal the death penalty is perhaps his highest-profile move since taking office, and one that carries abundant political risk, particularly because he is seen as a politician with national ambitions.

But on this issue, O'Malley is resolutely righteous, making a moral and theological argument as much as a political or legal one to support his thesis that the death penalty is neither a "just punishment" nor an "effective deterrent" to murder.

"Notwithstanding the executions of the rightly convicted, can the death penalty ever be justified, then, as public policy when it inherently necessitates the occasional taking of a wrongly convicted and innocent life?" he said. "Is any one of us willing to sacrifice a member of our own family -- wrongly convicted, sentenced and executed -- in order to secure the execution of five rightly convicted murderers? And even if we were, could that public policy be called 'just'? I believe it cannot."

He was just getting wound up.

"Individual human dignity is the concept that leads brave individuals to sacrifice their own lives for the lives of strangers," O'Malley said. "Individual human dignity is the truth universal that is the basis of all ethics. Individual human dignity is the fundamental belief upon which all laws of this state and this republic are founded. And absent a deterrent value, I truly believe that the damage done by our conscious communal use of the death penalty to the concept of human dignity is greater than the benefit of even a justly drawn retribution."

It was a gutsy approach, even in a heavily Democratic state. And O'Malley will find out if his risk is rewarded. Maybe Geffen would bankroll the movie.

Action People take to Your Phones!!

From Coalition Member Amy Luftig:

Hello! It is with great excitement that I report that BOTH of our Task Force Study Bills (HB 1518 and SB 5786) have **passed out of their respective Judiciary Committees in both Houses!** In both houses, all Democrats voted yes and all Republicans voted no.

Unfortunately, neither of the mental illness bills will be voted on this year (committee cutoff is tomorrow). In the Senate, this is because we did not have the votes to pass it (all Repubilcans and Senator Hargrove (D-24) did not support.) We DO believe that we had the votes to pass it in the House Committee. However, it is our understanding that leadership in the House did not want this bill to move this year. Such is way of politics. We are well-poised to introduce it again next year (and we will). Do not despair - remember that it takes about 5 years for bills like this to pass. Much work and education needs to be done, member by member. We'll get this one done.

NEXT STEP FOR THE TASK FORCE BILLS:THESE BILLS MUST BE HEARD AND VOTED OUT OF THE SENATE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE/HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE by MONDAY, MARCH 5TH.

Please call AND email the Chairs of these Committees and Urge a Heairng and a Vote by Monday. Chair of Senate Ways and Means: Senator Margarita Prentice. prentice.margarita@leg.wa.gov. 360-786- 7616. (Bill Number: 5786) Chair of House Appropriations: Rep. Helen Sommers. sommers.helen@leg.wa.gov. 360-786-7814.(Bill Number: HB 1518). It is very important that we call the chairs of these committees (even if you already have!)

Here are a couple of quick talking points: *Very significant questions about the application in the death penalty in Washington were raised by the Washington Supreme Court in the July 2006 Washington Davya Cross Case. Four dissenting justices said that the death penalty in Washington was as random as lightning striking -- defying rational explanation. * It is the responsibility of the legislature to pass laws and ensure that they are applied fairly. * This bill has a small fiscal note - $122,000 -- but could have an enormous positive fiscal impact in terms of ensuring that the death penalty does not unecessarily waste taxpayer dollars.

GOOD LUCK AND PLEASE CALL SOON!

AP Story on Hearings in the House

By Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Bill Babbitt held up photos of his decorated Vietnam War veteran brother Wednesday as he asked lawmakers to pass a bill that would allow defendants to avoid the death penalty by showing they were severely mentally impaired.Babbitt's brother Manny was executed in California in 1999 for the 1980 murder of 78-year-old Leah Schendel. Babbitt was sentenced to death for breaking into Schendel's apartment and beating her. She died of a heart attack.Babbitt said his brother, who received a Purple Heart in prison for wounds suffered at the siege of Khe Sanh, suffered from mental illness and had spent time in a mental hospital."I supported the death penalty until 1980 when it came knocking on my door," Bill Babbitt, who traveled from Elk Grove, Calif., told members of the House Judiciary Committee. "My brother went to Vietnam and came back severely mentally ill, he never would have killed without the war wounds that tormented him."

The bill would bar the state from executing mentally ill defendants whose appreciation for their acts is "significantly impaired." Mentally retarded defendants already are barred from execution. Under the measure "severe mental disorder" does not include mental illness or defects due to alcohol or drug abuse, or repeated criminal conduct.Rep. Brendan Williams, D-Olympia and the bill's sponsor, said that the bill would make a "necessary change to the law.""If someone lacks the full capacity to make the conscious choice to do wrong, I believe that in a just society, they should not be subjected to the retribution of the death penalty."Under the measure, the defendant must prove that he does indeed have a severe mental disorder, and if a judge or jury agrees, the defendant must be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of release.

But Tom McBride, executive secretary of the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, said that the definition is too broad, and that if the bill passes as worded, "It's close to an effective repeal of the death penalty."Won't the average juror say, 'of course there's something wrong with this person because a normal person doesn't do that?"' he asked. "This is the broadest definition you could pick. It's going to be wide open."The committee also heard testimony on another measure sponsored by Williams that would put a moratorium on executions until July 2008 - though none are expected by then - while a task force studies the application of the death penalty in Washington.

The task force bills in the House and Senate call for a 14-member commission to review the application of the death penalty, including whether race, gender or economic status play roles in who gets it, and whether prosecutors uniformly charge aggravated first-degree murder, the only crime that can carry the death penalty in this state. The proposed commission would also review the costs associated with trials and appeals, and whether the death penalty is applied randomly, as four dissenting state Supreme Court justices have said.Williams said it's important for the Legislature to take up the death penalty issue, since the state Supreme Court upheld Washington's capital punishment law 5-4 last year and invited lawmakers to reconsider the death penalty's fairness in light of King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng's decision in 2003 to spare the life of the Green River Killer, Gary Ridgway. Ridgway pleaded guilty to killing 48 women, and helped authorities find remains, in exchange for life in prison without release."There is no other branch of government to whom we can in turn delegate this task to," Williams said. "The buck stops here."

The appointment of such a commission was called for by the state bar association's death penalty subcommittee following an 18-month study that concluded last December.The subcommittee's report raised questions about the wisdom of continuing to seek execution, given the exorbitant costs of such trials and the overwhelming likelihood of reversal by appeals courts. The state has spent millions of dollars pursuing death in 79 cases over the last 25 years, with four executions to show for it. Three of the convicts executed had waived their appeals and volunteered to be killed.

McBride said the state doesn't need another study on the death penalty.He said the main problem with the task force proposal is that it "avoids the moral and ethical question about the death penalty."He said the recent Supreme Court ruling said that the moral question was up to the Legislature."If you want to debate the moral question, we would welcome that," he said. "Because quite frankly prosecutors are not unanimous on that issue. The problem with this study is it avoids the moral question.""It's disappointing to me that this is more of the same of what we've done for 25 years," he said. "Really what we need to talk about is, is it moral to impose the death penalty or not?"Last month, Maleng announced he would seek the death penalty in the slaying of a soldier's family, the first case in which he has sought the death penalty since Ridgway.The Senate Judiciary Committee also heard public testimony on the bills Wednesday.Rep. Pat Lantz, D-Gig Harbor and chairwoman of the House committee, said she wasn't certain sure that either measure would have the votes to pass her committee.

A National Legislative Update

From our Friends at Capital Defense Weekly:
Theme of the week? Politics & the death penalty
Some weeks there are there are themes or trends that seem to develop or are highlighted. This week, amidst what appears to be a relatively slow week for new appellate case law, it seems that seems to be politics and the death penalty.
For example a “state lawmaker filed a bill Thursday that would protect doctors who take part in executions, joining a debate that has effectively shut down capital punishment in North Carolina. The bill filed by state Sen. Phil Berger came a day after a longtime death penalty opponent in the chamber asked for a moratorium while the lethal injection process is studied.” Press accounts here. ODPI is keeping up with developments, & People of Faith Against the Death Penalty is helping advocatea for many of those change in the Tar Heel state.
In the midwest, as DPIC notes, “Missouri Rep. Bill Deeken, a Republican death penalty proponent, has introduced legislation that would halt executions in the state until 2011 and would create a capital punishment commission to examine the fairness and accuracy of Missouri’s death penalty. Deeken stated that his motivation for the bill came after realizing that the state’s death penalty has not been implemented fairly in all cases and it does not adequately prevent wrongful convictions. He noted, ‘ am not against the death penalty. But what I am for is to make sure that any person that is sentenced to death is the right person. If I was on a jury, and I found out that I had put someone to death that was not guilty, it would bother me for the rest of my life’.”
Further west, “[f]or the first time in nearly two decades, members of the Nebraska’s unicameral legislature will have an opportunity to debate a bill that would repeal the state’s death penalty and replace it with a sentence of life without parole and an order of restitution. Members of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee unanimously advanced the bill, noting that their colleagues in the full senate should have a chance to debate the measure. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Ernie Chambers, introduced similar measure in 1979 that won approval by the legislature, but was vetoed by then-Governor Charles Thorne.” DPIC, from which the quote is taken, has more.
In Colorado, the AP notes a key committee vote of 7-4 to abolish the death penalty in Colorado and use the money from death penalty cases to try to solve cold case files.
In Montana, press accounts note, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard from proponents of a billl, that would make life in prison without parole the “the most severe punishment available to prosecutors and juries in the state.”

Before It's Too Late....

This is Bill Babbitt. He is holding a picture of his brother, Manny.

Bill Babbitt was present at San Quentin prison when at one minute after midnight on May 4th, 1999 the state of California executed his brother, Manny Babbitt.

Manny, the recipient of a Purple Heart for his service in Vietnam, was a paranoid schizophrenic who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. He had been tried and convicted for the murder of an elderly woman who had died of a heart attack after a break-in and beating.

When Bill realized that his brother could possibly be involved in the woman’s death, he contacted the police and helped them arrest his brother. In return, the police promised Bill that Manny would receive the psychological help that he needed and that they would help see that Manny would not receive the death penalty. Bill felt certain that when confronted with the reality of Manny’s mental illness, the justice system would hand down a fair sentence but avoid death. He was wrong.

Manny was sentenced to death and then executed, despite his severe mental illness and despite the promises made to Bill.

A death sentence for someone like Manny is exactly what we seek to prevent by HB 1707 and SB 5787. Bill Babbitt is travelling from California to Olympia to tell his and his brother's story. Please join us on February 14th. We need to act now, before its too late for someone else's brother.