Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (personal comments only)
-----Original Message----- From: Boyle, Francis Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 4:12 PM To: Boyle, Francis; 'Abolish - The Mailing List For People Working to Abolish the Death Penalty' Cc: 'Sissel Egeland'; 'nppr...@compar.com'; 'Rick Halperin' Subject: AI/UAs: Human rights in specific countries I would like to suggest to everyone on this list that you pressure AI to produce a boilerplate UA to be used for EVERYONE being subjected to Lethal Injection in the United States that it constitutes torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, in violation of the Convention against Torture, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, etc. that way, in the event there are no "special circumstances", at least as a matter of principle, we would have an AI UA for everyone--which I think is very important to do. I realize that staff and time and resources are in short supply. But still, as a matter of principle, AI should be able to produce a standard, boilerplate UA for everyone facing LI in the USA who does not have other special mitigating circumstances that can be argued. fab, AIUSA Board (1988-92) Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (personal comments only) -----Original Message----- From: Boyle, Francis Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 3:30 PM To: 'Abolish - The Mailing List For People Working to Abolish the Death Penalty' Cc: Sissel Egeland; nppr...@compar.com Subject: RE: Human rights in specific countries At a minimum, AI should have a standard UA to put out for anyone being subjected to Lethal Injection that they are being tortured to death in violation of the Convention against Torture, the UDHR, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, etc. fab, AIUSA Board (1988-92) Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (personal comments only) -----Original Message----- From: Abolish - The Mailing List For People Working to Abolish the Death Penalty [mailto:abol...@maelstrom.stjohns.edu] On Behalf Of Joachim K?bler Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 2:12 PM To: abol...@maelstrom.stjohns.edu Subject: WG: Human rights in specific countries Hello everybody, I'm member of amnesty international and I was surprised, that ai doesn't start an Urgent Action for my pen-pal Troy Kunkle, who shall be executed tomorrow. I wrote to the international secretariat and received today = the answer below. Maybe it is good to know for the future. Regards Joachim "Der Grund der Seele ist dunkel." Meister Eckhardt =20 Joachim K=FCbler - Mensch(sein)/Menschenrechte amnesty international -----Urspr=FCngliche Nachricht----- Von: jurqu...@amnesty.org [mailto:jurqu...@amnesty.org]=20 Gesendet: Dienstag, 6. Juli 2004 13:23 An: joachimkueb...@web.de Betreff: Re: Human rights in specific countries Dear Joachim I am afraid it is true that, simply because so many people are sentenced = to death in the United States, the researcher has to select death row prisoners on the basis of certain criteria. In particular, people = sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were under 18 (a violation of = the US's obligations under international law), or who are mentally ill; = cases where there is a clear racial element in sentencing (typically a black suspect convicted by an all-white jury); and foreign nationals denied = their right to assistance from their embassy or consul, as laid out in the = Vienna Convention. As I understand it, Troy Kunkle was using LSD and alcohol at the time of the 1984 murder, and had also suffered a difficult childhood. I do not = need to say that executing him will solve nothing, and that his culpability = is questionable. There are many others like him: I truly wish we could take action for all of them. I realise how you must be feeling, having had = the goodness to write to Troy Kunkle in prison. I felt the same way when I = was involved in the case of Odell Barnes, a plainly innocent man who was executed in March 2000 because (then Texas governor) George W. Bush = would not take time off from electioneering to grant him a 30-day reprieve. I am sorry I can offer so little. I can only ask you not to lose heart, = and to continue your work against the death penalty. Best wishes James Urquhart UA Team uat...@amnesty.org UA hotline (+44) 20 7413 5542 _______________________________ "I have been a human rights defender for 10 years, but it was only after Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action that for the first time = the authorities proposed to protect me and my colleague." - Eren Keskin, = Turkey =20 . Amnestyis To: = Uateam/I.S./Amnesty internatio...@intsec =20 06/07/2004 11:35 cc: Fax to: Subject: Human rights in specific countries =20 =20 IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: 1] This e-mail is being forwarded to what we think is the primary IS team(s) or AI Section/Coordinating structure. Please copy this to any other team or section that you feel is appropriate - DO NOT return to amnestyis. 2] If you have a team mailbox, and you wish to respond, please reply to originator's address shown below - DO NOT reply to amnestyis. 3] Staff without team mailboxes may reply via this mailbox (in this case please include originator's e-mail address). ----- Forwarded by . Amnestyis/I.S./Amnesty International on 06/07/2004 11:35 ----- =20 Joachim kueb...@web Sent by: Auto mai...@web To: = amnest...@amnesty.org cc: Subject: Human rights in specific countries =20 05/07/2004 21:41 Please respond to Joachim Kuebler =20 =20 Dear Sirs, Dear Mesdames my name is Joachim Kuebler. I'm member of the german section of ai and = I'm a penpal of Troy Kunkle,Texas, whose execution date is July 7th. I participate in Urgent Actions regarding the US, and I wonder that = there is no UA for him. I got in touch with the german headquarter, and they told me, that the International Secretariat not for every death row inmate with an = execution date starts an urgent action, rather the inmates are selectet on basis = of certain criteria. Could you explain me what criteria are this? Regards Joachim Kuebler Pforzheim, Germany Sender: Joachim Kuebler (joachimkueb...@web.de), Germany --- This message was sent using a form on the International Secretariat = website (www.amnesty.org/contact). If you have any questions about this service = or would like your office details amended, please email webt...@amnesty.org Internet communications are not secure and therefore Amnesty = International Ltd does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this = message.=20 If you are not the intended recipient you must not disclose or rely on = the information in this e-mail. Any views or opinions presented are solely = those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Amnesty International Ltd. Electronic communications including email might be monitored by Amnesty International Ltd. for operational or business = reasons. ************************************************************** THE ABOLISH LIST This list serves solely as a forum for the exchange of ideas and information by people who support alternatives to the death penalty and the immediate abolition of Capital Punishment. Abolist List FAQ: http://capitaldefenseweekly.com/abolishfaq.htm Archives: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/abolish.html ************************************************************** From rhalp...@mail.smu.edu Tue Jul 6 23:32:51 2004 From: rhalp...@mail.smu.edu (Rick Halperin) Date: Tue Aug 16 12:14:15 2005 Subject: [Deathpenalty]death penalty news----CONN., N.C. Message-ID: <pine.wnt.4.44.0407062232430.1576-100...@its08705.smu.edu> July 6 CONNECTICUT: Jurors deliberate death penalty in Hartford murder-for-hire In New Haven, jurors Tuesday began deliberating whether a Hartford drug dealer should get the death penalty or life in prison for the murder-for-hire of a drug rival. The jury in U.S. District Court deliberated for about three hours Tuesday and is scheduled to resume deliberations Wednesday. Wilfredo Perez could become the 1st person to face a federal death sentence in Connecticut since Congress 10 years ago added 60 crimes to a list of offenses punishable by death. Perez, 37, was convicted last week of four counts related to the May 24, 1996, shooting of Theodore "Teddy" Casiano in a car in Hartford. Casiano, a member of the Savage Nomads street gang, threatened Perez's cocaine drug business, prosecutors said. They said he paid killers from New York $6,000 to kill Perez. (source: Associated Press) NORTH CAROLINA: Religious Leaders Request Death Penalty Moratorium In Raleigh, 34 North Carolina religious leaders have asked members of the state House to approve a 2-year freeze on executions. In a letter to the 120 House members, the heads of major Christian denominations, rabbis and Muslim leaders asked for a vote on a moratorium bill. The Senate approved the moratorium last year, but the House co-speakers have agreed not to address any controversial legislation during this short session. The names of the state's 3 bishops of the Episcopal Church and the 2 Roman Catholic bishops appear on the letter. The heads of the General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and the North Carolina synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America also are listed. A recent poll funded by the North Carolina Council of Churches found that nearly 2/3 of the state's residents support a moratorium. (source: Associated Press) ************************ Soldier could face death penalty A judge ruled last week that the state may seek the death penalty for a Special Forces soldier accused of killing his stepdaughter. Daniel Carlson is charged with 1st-degree murder and felony child abuse in the beating death of Andrea Sophia Chavarria. Andrea died Aug. 8, one week shy of her second birthday. An autopsy showed the girl died of "abusive head trauma." Carlson's wife, Karla, is also charged with 1st-degree murder. Karla Carlson remains in the Cumberland County Jail. Carlson, a soldier in the 7th Special Forces Group, posted bail in March and has been living on Fort Bragg. Arguments presented Judge Jack Thompson heard arguments last month on whether Carlson should be eligible for the death penalty. Thompson issued his ruling Thursday in Cumberland County Superior Court. Assistant District Attorney Cal Colyer had argued that Carlson should be eligible for the death penalty because Andrea's death was "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel." Prosecutors may pursue the death penalty if certain aggravating factors are met. Carlson's lawyers, Haral Carlin and Jim Parish, contended that Carlson should not be eligible for the death penalty. They said that Carlson was out of the country on military deployments for much of the time in question and that their client was not the child's primary caretaker. The Carlsons lived at 917 Kennesaw Drive off Rim Road in western Cumberland County. The couple met in the fall of 2002 while Carlson was deployed in Nicaragua. Karla and Andrea moved to Fayetteville in January 2003, and the couple married a few weeks later. Daniel Carlson called 911 on Aug. 7 and said Andrea was throwing up and had stopped breathing. Karla had gone to Wal-Mart just before her husband called 911. Andrea was taken to the hospital but died a few hours later. She was buried in Nicaragua. Colyer noted that the girl had previous injuries that were in various stages of healing when she died. Those included broken collarbones, a broken ankle and broken ribs. Carlin and Parish said some of the child's injuries as reported in an affidavit for a search warrant were not confirmed by the autopsy. Some of the child's broken bones, they said, were caused when medical personnel tried to revive her. (source: Fayetteville Observer)
