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Dispatches from the FrontREPORT: Meeting with Governor Bush by Abraham J. Bonowitz December 19, 2003 Well... Until a few minutes ago, I was feeling exhausted. But with the Associated Press article out, and the very friendly Florida Public Radio interview I just did, my energy is ramped up pretty high! Yesterday at about 4pm, from the motel room in Mayo, FL, I sent the press release you can see at http://www.fadp.org/pressrel.html before heading to the Courthouse. Our headline was "Activists to Thank Governor for Not Killing During the Holiday Season." Unfortunately, that idea was quashed when I called the Associated Press to follow up on the press release, and the reporter asked me, "Did you know that Governor Bush signed a death warrant today?" Grrrrr.... Johnny Robinson, 51, is scheduled to be exterminated by the people of Florida at 6 p.m. on Feb. 4 in revenge for his murder of Beverly St. George in August 1985. Well, at least we were in place to deal directly with the Governor on this matter. I pulled out my "Time-Out on Executions" sign and a chair, and sat down on the sidewalk in front of the Lafayette County Courthouse. I received many different reactions from the people passing by, and one actually pulled over to disagree, but he ended up conceding my points.... About 7:30 pm, SueZann Bosler and Steve Jens Rochow arrived and we went for a bite to eat. By 9pm, Andrew Mason had arrived. We all hung out in a room in the one motel in town. Around 11pm, Father Mark and his fiance arrived (Polish National Catholic Priests are allowed to marry). Around 1am, Andrew took off for Starke to pick up Hannah Floyd and her daughters, Stephanie and Emily, and at about 3am, Bishop Masters and his associates arrived. SueZann and I were #1 and #2 in line at the courthouse by 4:45am, soon to be followed by the others. George and Anne Marie Diller arrived from Gainesville. In all, our group numbered 14 abolitionists. Thanks to all who were able to come brave the cold. (Hey, I know, it was only in the 30's, but this is Florida!) At 7am, the doors were opened and registration started. As I was first in line, I was guaranteed the first meeting - with the Governor. We negotiated with the aides so that I could bring in SueZann and Hannah and her girls with me, and the others went in groups or as individuals afterwards. I opened the meeting by telling him that we had planned to thank him for not killing during the holiday season, but instead we now had to complain that he gave Johnny Robinson and his family a nasty Christmas.... We'll have a transcript of the meeting available soon. Below is Hannah's brief report, and below that is one of two versions of the Associated Press article. (See both versions, and the anticipated Gainesville Sun article when it comes out on Saturday, at http://www.fadp.org/news/newsindex.html ) Unfortunately, our main theme of educating Jeb about the collateral damage of the death penalty (in terms of how it affects death row family members) did not make the AP story, but the transcript will reveal that we gave him plenty to think about. Neither Hannah nor SueZann are mentioned, but they and others were there. We'll see how the Gainesville Sun reports it. Among other things, we managed to accomplish the following: * Bishop Thomas Masters ( http://www.UNDEROURWINGS.org ) of West Palm Beach implored the Governor to support legislation banning the execution of juvenile offenders in the state of Florida. He also raised the issue of Lionel Tate and the transference of juveniles to the adult system. * Murder victim family member SueZann Bosler ( http://www.fadp.org/flm_bios.html#sue ), whose Brethren Minister father was murdered 17 years ago this coming Monday, presented the Governor with a copy of the report "Dignity Denied," a report which details the mistreatment encountered by murder victim family members who oppose the execution of the person who murdered their loved one. (See http://www.mvfr.org/ ) Governor Bush accepted the report and empathized with SueZann. * We presented a very brief (13 minutes) video documentary featuring former warden Don Cabana, in which he discusses the brutalization effect of executions on the prison workers who carry out the extermination of prisoners, and the trepidation he feels at the possibility that he executed an innocent man. Governor Bush accepted it and promised to view it. * We presented yet another batch of petitions from thousands of Florida citizens calling for a "Time-Out" on executions. * We presented copies of documents demonstrating the outright lies of the Department of Corrections regarding recent episodes of spoiled food being served to Florida death row prisoners. (See http://www.fdrag.org/news20031118.html ) * We presented a copy of the letter from Florida death row prisoner John Blackwelder, bragging about how he was a prisoner who was serving a life sentence, but who murdered a fellow prisoner in order to get the death penalty, and a state-assisted suicide at the hand of Governor Bush. (See http://www.fadp.org/killfordeath.html ) * We presented a copy of the prison ID badge worn by exonerated death row prisoner Juan Melendez (released Jan 3, 2002), demonstrating how the Department of Corrections presents a deceptive picture of the racial and ethnic makeup of Florida's death row and prison population. (See http://www.fadp.org/hispanicdoc.html ) * We presented a copy of the report of Dr. Xavier Amador, testifying to the mental illness of Linroy Bottoson, who was exterminated during the holiday season last year. At this point Jeb was ready for us to leave, so at least we are on record in putting the report in his hands. * And more. AND, we've got it all on tape! Email this article to a friend |
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