Jan. 12
CONNECTICUT:
NATIONAL COALITION TO ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY PRESS RELEASE
CONTACT: David Elliot, NCADP Communications Director 202-543-9577, ext. 16
---- cell phone: [email protected] www.ncadp.org --- 920
Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington, D.C. 20003
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NCADP JOINS LAWSUIT TO PROTECT FREE SPEECH RIGHTS OF CONNECTICUT
PROTESTORS
Jan. 11, 2005 ---The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
Wednesday announced it is joining a federal lawsuit this week on behalf of
its Connecticut affiliate that seeks to uphold the First Amendment rights
of both pro- and anti-death penalty demonstrators who plan to protest
during Connecticut's first scheduled execution in more than 40 years.
Michael Ross is scheduled to be executed at 2:01 a.m. on January 26th.
Connecticut prison and law enforcement authorities are planning on keeping
both pro- and anti-death penalty demonstrators on a remote field bordered
by a quiet country road a mile and a half from the prison where the
execution is scheduled to take place. Officials have stated their
intention to close public roads leading to and from the prison, and to
keep both media representatives and protestors more than a mile away from
the execution site, possible with the use of heavily armed guards.
"There's no free speech if it can't be seen or heard," said Diann
Rust-Tierney, NCADP executive director. "When the government executes its
citizens, people who want to demonstrate - whether for or against - should
be allowed to protest within sight of the public eye. Government works
best when under public scrutiny. Government works worst when shrouded by
secrecy."
Among the groups already signed on to the lawsuit and represented by the
American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut are Amnesty International
and Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights. The lawsuit challenges the
restrictions placed on both pro- and anti-death penalty protestors by the
Connecticut Department of Corrections, the Connecticut State Police and
the town of Enfield, Conn. the night of the execution.
Robert Nave, executive director of the Connecticut Network to Abolish the
Death Penalty, an NCADP affiliate, said there is a large group of people
who disagree with the state's death penalty statute. "Protestors pose no
security risk to authorities," he said. "Therefore, the only reason
Connecticut can offer in banning free speech near the site of the
execution is embarrassment over what is taking place or fear of negative
publicity."
Rust-Tierney added, "There is a great deal of debate and concern about
whether the death penalty is administered fairly and whether capital
punishment itself is moral. Integral to that debate is the ability to
effectively voice this concern to government officials and to the public."
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The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty was founded in 1976
and is the only fully-staffed national organization devoted specifically
to abolishing the death penalty. NCADP is comprised of more than 100
local, state, national and international affiliates.
(source: NCADP)
