Rita
Linhardt, Chair
Rita Linhardt is the Senior Staff Associate with the Missouri Catholic Conference (MCC). She is a registered lobbyist with the MCC, primarily working on corrections and death penalty issues in the Capitol. She has given numerous workshops on the death penalty to different groups across the state. She is one of the founding members of MADP.
Sr
Rose Rita Huelsman, Vice
Chair
Rose Huelmann is a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame religious order. She grew up in Illinois but has lived most of her life in Missouri and has taught in elementary schools for 30 years. Presently Rose works as coordinator of volunteers for Criminal Justice Ministry, a program of St. Vincent de Paul Society. The volunteers serve in prisons or jails or do support services to help house people reentring the community after time served in prison.
Rob
Schaeffer, CPA, Treasurer
MADP Board Treasurer, Certified Public
Accountant, Springfield. Law degree from University of Missouri.
Dr. Laird
Okie, Secretary
MADP Board Secretary, Professor of
History at Moberly Area Community College. Ph.D., British History,
University of Kansas, 1982.
Rev.
Dr. Cathleen Burnett
Dr. Cathleen Burnett teaches criminal
justice at UMKC and is a founding member of the Kansas City chapter
of Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. In February of
1996, Dr. Burnett witnessed the execution of Jeff Sloan, CP #55, a
person to whom she had been writing for a year and a half. In 1997
she was ordained a Deacon in the United Methodist Church. Her
numerous publications include Justice Denied: Clemency Appeals in
Death Penalty Cases (2002); “Restorative Justice and Wrongful
Capital Convictions: A Simple Proposal” (2005); and Wrongful
Death Sentences: Rethinking Justice in Capital Cases (2010).
Rev.
Bill Fasel
Priest, Episcopal Church, Western MO
Diocese, Kansas City
Lisa
Harrison
President, Missouri CURE
Jude
Huntz
Director of the Human Rights Office for the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City - St Joseph, since 2008. Jude has a B.A. in Philosphy and Classics from Canisius College in 1994 and an M.A. in Humanities from the University of Dallas. Jude has taught various subjects to middle school students at private and parochial schools for 14 years, Teacher of the Year Award for Missouri, 2005.
Fr
Paul Jones
Catholic Priest, Trappist
Monk, Hermitage
Mary
Ellen McDonagh, BVM
St Louis Chapter Representative
Jennifer Merrigan
Jennifer Merrigan is the Acting Director of the Public Interest
Litigation Clinic, a non-profit law firm in Kansas City, Missouri, specializing in the representation of persons in capital appeal and post conviction cases. PILC also developes support and training materials for court-appointed capital defense attorneys through the United States. Ms. Merrigan has been a capital defense attorney since 2004. Her training and background are in mitigation investigation in death penalty cases. She has been appointed on both state and federal habeas corpus cases, as an investigator and as counsel. She helped to research and develop the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty Cases, 36, Hofstra L. Rev. 677 (Spring 2008). Ms. Merrigan is the 2010 recipient of the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer's "Atticus Finch Award."
Wiley
Miller
Mid-Missouri Fellowship of
Reconciliation, Columbia
Steve
Mosbacher
Mr. Mosbacher is a graduate of University of Missouri, St. Louis with a B.S. in Business Administration. Currently the owner and partner in several retail stores in Tampa, Florida, Memphis, Tennessee, Georgia and Minnesota. Mr. Mosbacher is the Managing partner of Nexvac, a wholesale distributor of Oreck products. Currently a committeeman in the Queeny Township Mr. Mosbacher is also running for congress in the 2nd congressional district.
Sr.
Joanne Reuter
Affiliate Representative, Society of the Most Precious Blood.
Susie
Roling
Ms. Roling is KC Chapter Vice Chair and a Social Worker at Operation Breakthrough.
Donna
Walmsley
Donna is a former high school teacher who is concerned about human rights issues. Donna is also Chair of the Springfield Chapter.
