A message to the Governor on the death penalty - in memory of Da'rryl Durr
by Julie
On April 20th 2011 a year will have passed since the state of Ohio took the life of Da'rryl Durr. He had spent 22 years on Death Row. In that time he wrote to many people and if you are reading this then you may well have been someone who enjoyed hearing from Da'rryl and being challenged by his views and outlook on life despite the dreadful life he had lived on Death Row for so many years.
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Durr's last wish from death row
by Wil Groesz-Held
[Editor's Note: Da'rryl Durr was executed this year at the maximum security facility in Lucasville, Ohio. During the two decades he spent on death row, Durr maintained that he was innocent of the murder which put him there. His conviction was tainted by a lack of physical evidence and the appearance of racial bias. To the end, he claimed further DNA testing would absolve him of guilt. His requests were denied.
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Swear to Tell the Truth
by Alichia Woods
With the events of the past and present, I find myself in the same predicament as Woody Guthrie, asking myself “Is this land made for you and me?” For as long as I can remember there has been politically related music in existence -- artists such as Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye and Tupac Shakur, who are only a few of the massive group, have expressed there concern with society and government decisions. To this day other talented artist like Wyclef Jean, Alicia Keys, Eminem and so many others still take a crack at releasing the truth to our ears with the hope that it sinks into our minds and becomes empowered with our voices.
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New Mexico Repeal Bill passed in the state Senate!
by National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
Just a few minutes ago, the New Mexico Senate passed the death penalty repeal measure, by a vote of 24 to 18. Upon being signed into law, capital offenders will be punished with life without parole. Congratulations to everyone in New Mexico and supporters everywhere who worked tirelessly to get the bill passed. Now we wait for the signing. Stay tuned!
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Fair and impartial aggravated murder
by Staughton Lynd
On Friday, March 16, Governor Strickland denied clemency to Kenneth Biros.
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It looks like medicine
by Daniel Sturm
In this Walruss interview, Jonathan Groner, an associate professor of surgery at the Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health, describes parallels between lethal injection in America and the Nazi Germany "euthanasia" program. As in Nazi Germany, Groner says that in America doctors are today being asked to hold the lethal syringe.
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Is lethal injection barbaric? Ohio revisits the ethics of execution
by Daniel Sturm
When Jonathan Groner put his dog to sleep, he knew the procedure would be quick and painless. He said he trusted the veterinarian because she euthanized dogs daily, and thought the procedure would be humane since dogs lacked a perception of time. On the other hand, he said there was no humane way to kill a human.
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Travesties of Justice: An interview with Siddique Abdullah Hasan
by Daniel Sturm
As Siddique Abdullah Hasan prepared answers for this interview from his supermaximum security cell block, in Youngstown, Ohio,  news broke that Philadelphia courts had agreed to hear arguments from Mumia Abu-Jamal's legal council.  Abu-Jamal's lawyers argue  that the outcome of Mumia's 1982 trial and later appeal were  tainted by constitutional violations.  Few can empathize with the former Black Panther as well as Hasan, a respected Sunni Muslim prison Imam who has been sentenced to death for his alleged leadership in the 1993 Lucasville prison rebellion. Hasan maintains his innocence and is appealing his case. After hearing of Mumia's good news, he wrote that it "brought tears of joy to my heart, because I immediately recognized it was a positive development which could ultimately lead to his long-overdue release from captivity."
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Eulogy for Stanley "Tookie" Williams
by Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
Memorial Service for Stanley Williams
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Los Angeles, California
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The road to redemption
by Billy Wayne Sinclair
The decision to execute of Tookie Williams makes me think of another murderer who redeemed his life, and in the process the lives of many others, Louisiana inmate Billy Wayne Sinclair, has been in that state's prison system for 40 years. Sinclair reminds us that all efforts to change the world-or, more realistically, small parts of it-spring from a fundamental respect for the dignity of human beings, starting with our own sense of self, then expanding to encompass everyone else.
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Recent Death Penalty Articles

Lethal Injection Speech: Physician Participation in Capital Punishment
  October 12, 2003
  Jonathan I. Groner MD

OCSJ Anti-Violence News 5/4/2003
  May 4, 2003
  Ohio Center for Social Justice

Why Is Richard Fox the One We Execute?
  January 15, 2003
  Professor Howard Tolley, Jr.

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