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| Mid-Missouri Fellowship of
Reconciliation The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) is a group composed of people from many faiths, and no particular faith -- all coming together to support nonviolence and justice. Offering people of conscience an action response to a morally-impaired U.S. foreign policy. |
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A Report on the Injustice in the Application of the Death Penalty in Missouri (1978-1996)(Microsoft Word document) News
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Local News and Announcements... Don't miss anything...please scroll downFOR ‘Peace delegation’ aims to ease tense relations. On April 29, our friend Lily Tinker Fortel boarded a plane to join a 21-person "peace delegation" organized by the national Fellowship of Reconciliation on a 12-day trip through the Islamic republic. The group is meeting with professors, students, politicians, religious leaders and other Iranians for informal dialogue aimed at easing tensions between the United States and Iran, which now have diplomatically frigid relations. The group will tour religious and historical sites, including Qom, the holiest city in Shiite Islam, and Isfahan, the legendary capital of medieval Persia. Tinker Fortel, 24, is a native of Fayette and works as the Community Outreach Coordinator for Mid-Missouri Peaceworks. She comes from a remarkable peace-making family: her grandmother is the beloved, recently-departed Lorena Jeanne Tinker, her parents are Dr. Hope Tinker and David Fortel, peace activists, living in Fayette. To read an article about the news conference Mid-MO FOR and Mid-MO Peaceworks convened on 28 April to announce Lily’s participation in the peace delegation, check out http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Apr/20080428News003.asp To learn more about Lily’s experiences on her two-week journey, check out her blogs which she’s posting regularly via www.midmopeaceworks.org/lilyiniran.php. 0 Comments (perma-link) Email this:  
Urge Columbia City Council to Endorse a Resolution Advocating a Missouri Death-Penalty Study and Execution-Moratorium*Please Attend the May 5 Columbia City Council meeting7:00 pm City Council Chambers located on the 4th floor of the City Hall, 701 E. Broadway. Jeff Stack, Mid-MO FOR's coordinator, will be making a brief 5-minute presentation in support of a resolution early during the meeting; we hope to have a large number of citizens present, and standing when asked to do so-- to demonstrate broad public support. (In a few weeks, there will be a larger portion of time, probably at least an hour into the next meeting, allotted for the public to speak in support-- stay tuned for details). The entire portion of the 5/5 Monday meeting pertaining to the moratorium resolution should be over no later than 7:30; *Please Contact your Council representative (by phone or e-mail) as soon as you are able. (Monday’s meeting will be the first the Council will actually hear officially about it). It would be good for he or she to hear from Columbians on Monday, another day the coming week or at least by the Monday, 19 May meeting. (See below for contact info about each Council member and for the full Council). Here's a suggested phone script: "Hello_______________. You are my Council member. Thank your service to our community. I understand that the a presentation will be made (was made) on Monday, urging the City Council to endorse a resolution calling for a study of the death penalty in Missouri with a moratorium on executions while the study takes place. When the Council considers the matter in a future meeting, I urge you to vote for it. How do you think you would vote on the resolution?" Hopefully a positive dialogue will follow. See below for a copy the attached “Missouri Needs a Study of the Death Penalty with an Execution Moratorium,” to draw out some other reasons why we think the action constitutes wise public policy. Note: Instead of sending just a note to your Council member, you are heartily encouraged to send your appeal to the full City Council— all six members plus Mayor Darwin Hindman. In your note though, please note who your Council member is, giving your address as well. Here’s the group of e-mail addresses for you to copy and paste…. mayor@GoColumbiaMo.com <mailto:mayor@GoColumbiaMo.com> ;Ward1@GoColumbiaMo.com <mailto:Ward1@GoColumbiaMo.com> ;Ward2@GoColumbiaMo.com <mailto:Ward2@GoColumbiaMo.com> ;Ward3@GoColumbiaMo.com <mailto:Ward3@GoColumbiaMo.com> ;Ward4@GoColumbiaMo.com <mailto:Ward4@GoColumbiaMo.com> ; Ward5@GoColumbiaMo.com<mailto:Ward5@GoColumbiaMo.com>; Ward6@GoColumbiaMo.com <mailto:Ward6@GoColumbiaMo.com> Unsure who your Council member is? Log on to http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Council/Meet_The_Council/index.php <http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Council/Meet_The_Council/index.php> Press “enlarge map” to help determine which ward you are in. Here’s the contact information about the various council members and the mayor (Faxes to the Council members can be sent via 573-874-7539; letters can be mailed to Attn:_________, Columbia City Council; City of Columbia; 701 E. Broadway, P.O. Box 6015, Columbia MO 65205): Mayor Darwin Hindman Phone: 874-7222 mayor@GoColumbiaMo.com <mailto:mayor@GoColumbiaMo.com> Ward 1 Council Representative-- Paul Sturtz 443-0881 Ward1@GoColumbiaMo.com <mailto:Ward1@GoColumbiaMo.com> Ward 2 Council Representative-- Chris Janku Phone: 816-2248 Ward2@GoColumbiaMo.com <mailto:Ward2@GoColumbiaMo.com> Ward 3 Council Representative-- Karl Skala Phone: 474-2195 Ward3@GoColumbiaMo.com <mailto:Ward3@GoColumbiaMo.com> Ward 4 Council Representative-- Jerry Wade Phone: 447-0064 Ward4@GoColumbiaMo.com <mailto:Ward4@GoColumbiaMo.com> Ward 5 Council Representative-- Laura Nauser Phone: 445-2899 Ward5@GoColumbiaMo.com <mailto:Ward5@GoColumbiaMo.com> Ward 6 Council Representative-- Barbara Hoppe Phone: 443-5107 Ward6@GoColumbiaMo.com <mailto:Ward6@GoColumbiaMo.com> Why Should Columbia’s City Council pass such a resolution? -- All city residents are affected by actions, such as the death sentencing or the execution of an individual—an irreversible punishment-- undertaken by our state government. A review of Missouri’s death penalty would be worthwhile to better determine the fairness and accuracy of the state’s system, including our local portion of it. It is important to us as Columbians to realize through such an official state study: are individuals in Missouri being wrongly convicted and/or unfairly sentenced to death in Missouri disproportionately by race, in certain geographic areas or from lower-income economic status? -- We also do not know the actual expense to Missouri (much less to Columbia) taxpayers of the death penalty. Officials in other states have determined the death penalty to be much more costly than alternative sentences. The money spent on capital punishment is money unavailable for other services, including Columbia city services, like community policing, youth programs, low-income housing, parks and public health measures. Our City Council has an obligation to we taxpayers to support such a review and better inform us all. *Please also contact Jeff Stack-- calling 573-449-4585 or e-mailing jstack@no2death.org to inform him that you did contact your Council member, along with the mayor and other Council members. It would be good to know if he/she/they expressed support for passing a moratorium resolution or if they had other comments as well. * Attend the next meeting of the MADP-Columbia chapter meeting 7 pm, Monday, 12 May Sacred Heart Church Activity Center (corner of Waugh and Locust, behind the church). * Encourage your friends, family members and others to join in any of the above efforts. * Hopefully, at their May 19 semi-monthly meeting, the City Council will vote “yes” for the resolution! Columbia would become the 2nd Missouri municipal government (joining the St. Louis Board of Aldermen along with more than 100 other local governments nationwide) in supporting a call for a study of the death penalty with a moratorium on executions while the study takes place. Special Note: The Mid-MO FOR supports the abolition of the death penalty, seeing the institution as just another name for murder, an abomination of humanity. We will continue to stand for life as the most basic of all human rights. We realize as well that a moratorium and a study provide our citizens a metaphorical "cooling down period" as we consider what we do with our fellow humans who committed such vile actions-- the murders of our sisters and brothers in communities across our land. Such a policy tandem would give our state a prudent opportunity to consider the many issues beyond the morality (wrongful convictions, unfairness, arbitrariness, etc.) we find disconcerting about the death penalty. Missouri Needs a Study of the Death Penalty and an Execution Moratorium Missouri is 4th among US states in number of executions, yet we’ve not seriously considered growing evidence that our death sentencing is unfair…. Mistakes Have Been Made While more than 1000 people were executed nationally since the death penalty was re-instituted, 129 individuals—convicted and sentenced to death-- have been exonerated from 1973-2007, including three men in Missouri. Others have had strong claims of being wrongly convicted, some among the 66 men executed in our state. Are there more “mistakes” among the individuals both dead and alive? Unfairly, Arbitrarily, and Randomly Administered More than 12,000 people were tragically murdered in Missouri from 1978-2006, yet county courts have imposed “death” in about 180 instances. It seems rather than being the “worst of the worst,” those sentenced to death simply had the worst luck. Some of those convicted of Missouri’s most gruesome crimes have escaped a death sentence while a dozen of those executed had no prior convictions of violent crimes. One-third of death penalty cases have also been reversed by higher courts for “serious error.” Factors: -- Geographic Disparity. County prosecutors have total discretion as to which cases to pursue with a death sentence. Consequently, for example, more persons have been sentenced to death in St. Louis County than any state jurisdiction, while neighboring St. Louis City during the same 18-year period had five times as many people murdered. -- Poverty. Compared with the “dream teams” that only the wealthy can hire, over 80-percent of those under a death sentence in Missouri were poor, dependent upon court appointed lawyers. Several such lawyers were disbarred for unethical behavior, others abused alcohol and drugs during cases, some were guilty of conflict of interest, and others had no prior trial experience. -- Race. While African-Americans were victims in 64% of all homicides in Missouri (1978-1996), 78% of those executed were convicted of killing Caucasians. As of 1998, all of the state's 115 county prosecutors were Caucasian. About 40-percent of those sentenced to death and executed were African-Americans. Such factors are cause for concern. Needless Expense Aside from questions of fairness, reports from states nationwide show the death penalty to be at least 30-percent and up to five times more expensive than a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Missouri officials have so far made no such formal and complete cost comparison. In 2002, Missouri Legislative Research did discover that if the death penalty were eliminated as a sentencing option, taxpayers would be saved over $1.4 million annually in public-defender expenses alone. A Majority of Missourians Support a Moratorium and Study Missourians want a fair justice system. By 2004, surveys showed 60-percent support for an execution moratorium with a study commission. This momentum has led to bi-partisan bills with 14 Republican and 44 Democratic representatives (more than 1/3 of House members) co-sponsoring House Bill 1870 for the 2008 session, proposing a 2-year moratorium/study; SB 800 proposes a 3-year period. Moratorium Now! is a statewide campaign coordinated by 18 groups. Call 573-449-4585, 314-256-9810 or 573-635-7239 for more information and/or to join the campaign. 0 Comments (perma-link) Email this:
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| Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation |
P.O. Box 268 Columbia, Missouri 65205 |
| Questions about the Fellowship of Reconciliation? -- contact Jeff Stack at
573-449-4585 or jstack@no2death.org An appeal to conscience and purse-strings Free DHTML scripts provided by Dynamic Drive |
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