This Week in MADP September 19, 2010 The Missouri General Assembly met for a Veto Session this past Wednesday, Sept. 15. Term limits created a long list of good-bye speeches and at least a couple of "did she really just say that?" moments. A couple of veto overrides attempts (both failed) and farewell speeches from fifty-two representatives and ten senators stretched late into the day. MADP staff and board chair Rita Linhardt were on hand with snacks and information on the death penalty. It was an opportunity to speak with legislators about the cost and consequences of the maintaining a death penalty system in the state. This past Thursday, Sept 16, the film No Tomorrow was screened in Kansas City and in Springfield. Around 50 people in each city turned out for the free screenings. Informational materials were available and discussions were held at both events. Thanks in Kansas City to the MASW-KC chapter, Amnesty International local chapter, the Human Rights office of the KC-SJ Catholic Diocese, the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty (www.kscadp.org) and a Johnson County bookclub for getting people out to see the film. No Tomorrow will be seen in St Louis next on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at the Missouri History Museum at 7 pm. A panel discussion will follow. If you are in the St Louis area, I hope to see you there. For more information, see our website: www.madpmo.org MADP and American Friends Service Committee in St Louis (http://afsc.org/office/st-louis-mo) are co-sponsors of this event. The MADP Board of Directors' retreat was held this past weekend at The Rickman Center in Jefferson City. We emerge from months of planning and the focused retreat with a 3-year plan for gaining a repeal of the death penalty in Missouri. Big thanks to Mona Cadena, from EJUSA, who came in from San Francisco to facilitate our retreat and big thanks to those directors who worked with a positive, future-focused, encouraging attitude on this plan over the summer and at the retreat. We have crafted a plan that will keep us ALL busy working together for the change we seek over the next many, many months. I hope you will join MADP in the many events and actions that will be a part of our Push for Repeal campaign in Missouri. If you have question about how you can be a part of this campaign, contact me Donnie@madpmo.org. I'd enjoy talking with you about it. This next Wednesday, Sept. 22, 6:30 pm, John Simon, Paula Skillicorn and Linda Taylor will be in Kansas City to discuss the effect of the death penalty on the families of those with a death sentence. Some of these families have formed an organization, Partners Against State Violence & Racism (PSVR) and their event will be at Grace & Holy Trinity (Episcopal) Cathedral, 415 W 13th St. (13th and Broadway). I plan to attend and I hope to see you there. This next Thursday, Sept. 23, 6 pm, the Kansas City Chapter will hold an educational event at Bluford Library, 31st and Prospect. See the filmUnreasonable Doubt -t the story of Joe Amrine's exoneration from a death sentence in Missouri. For more information:http://www.madpmo.org/madpchapters/kansascity.html If you would like for me or another MADP representative to speak about the cost and consequences of the death penalty in Missouri at your organization, club, or religious gathering, please contact me. I enjoy these opportunities to meet with people across the state and to listen and to discuss what's going on with the death penalty system in Missouri. Please let me hear from you. Take care.
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This Week in MADP September 12, 2010 "As time permits the Capital (Division) provides relief to the Trial Division when murder cases are particularly time consuming or complicated." I found this statement at the bottom of page 55 of the 80-page Annual Report for the Missouri Public Defender Commission, FY 2009. It points to what may be a partial solution to the problem described by reporter Monica Davies in a New York Times article published this past Thursday.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/10/us/10defenders.html?ref=monica_davey In the article, a national spotlight is focused on Missouri's woefully under-funded public defender system. Only Mississippi provides less funding per capita than Missouri for this constitutionally guaranteed right to counsel whether or not the defendant can afford it. The current issue: Missouri's public defender system is overwhelmed and stretched to about twice its capacity. And the state's public defenders are saying "Enough" and "No more." Missouri courts say that the constitution requires that they take the cases as assigned. Missouri legislators say that there is no more money for public defense. Missouri cannot afford what it must provide. Some numbers: 570 - current number of employees in Missouri Public Defenders' offices 83,082 - number of cases opened in FY2009 $34 million - current annual price tag for Missouri's public defender system 125 - number of additional attorneys needed to provide adequate public defense 329 - number of additional secretaries, investigators, and legal assistants needed A lot - amount of additional workspace needed for these attorneys and support staff $21 million - additional annual amount needed to provide adequate public defense According to pages 55 and 59 of last year's Annual Report, Missouri's three capital public defense offices handled 71 cases in FY 2009 at a cost of more than $2.5 million. We know that capital cases use many, many more attorney hours and support staff hours than do any other cases and consume vastly more resources than other cases. It makes sense then for Missouri to consider a repeal of the death penalty to bridge, at least partially, the gap between Missouri's serious budget problems and the constitutional requirement that poor people accused of serious crimes be provided with defense counsel by the government (1963 Supreme Court decision, Gideon v. Wainwright). The report states, "As time permits the Capital (Division) provides relief to the Trial Division when murder cases are particularly time consuming or complicated." Repealing the death penalty in Missouri would permit more time for the capital divisions to assist the trial division. It's a start. MADP's board and staff will be in a planning retreat next weekend. Board committees have worked over the summer to plan goals and our work for next year. More about that next week after the retreat. MADP will be in the capital this coming Wednesday, Veto Session day, to speak with legislators about the cost of the death penalty. On Thursday, September 16, there will be free screenings in Kansas City and Springfield of the important documentary "No Tomorrow." For more information on times and locations, fliers and information on the movie, see the MADP homepage. In St Louis, the film will show on September 29. I hope you will see this film. Please take the time to do so and bring a friend. Here's why: We often talk about the death penalty in terms of policy and dollars and statistics. And we have to, if we are going to win a repeal eventually. This film, however, focuses on people. The people touched by a horrible murder. And their stories. The victim and her family and friends. The jury that has to wrestle with overwhelming decisions. Prosecutors. Defense counsel. The defendant and his family. The film makers. Proponents of the death penalty. And opponents. This is not a syrupy film just focused on what's wrong with the death penalty. It's a look "painful and honest" at the people involved in these proceedings and at what cost to them and to their state. Take care. __________________________________________________
This Week in MADPSeptember 5, 2010 This week, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland commuted the death sentence of Kevin Keith, citing "an absence of a full investigation, a failure to investigate other possible suspects, and an over-reliance on eyewitness testimony." Keith, scheduled for execution on September 15, now faces life with possibility of parole. There is an ongoing legal process to re-examine Keith's case, which could overturn his conviction. Kieth's attorney said, "We are grateful for the continuing support of an overwhelming number of Ohio citizens from diverse backgrounds that continue to support our position."http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/09/02/keith-clemency.html?sid=101 In Cole County, this week, a judge requested an increase in funds because two high profile murder cases are going to trial next year. One of these cases is quite likely to involve the death penalty. The request includes an additional $15,000 for extra jury costs and a 50% increase in cost for court marshals to provide security. It's a small look into one county, two cases, a great deal of pain and loss for several families and, from this judge, a few nuggets of information about costs. If the death penalty is introduced in one of these cases, as expected, look for these costs to escalate further. Of the nearly $40,000 cost increases already requested for these cases, the County Auditor said, "The county's looking this year at probably very little growth in revenue, and if we have to put it here (in the courts), it means we have to take it from somewhere else."http://www.newstribune.com/articles/2010/08/20/news_local/nt136local11courts10.txt The documentary "No Tomorrow" is coming to a theater near you - literally & at no cost to you. MADP and co-sponsoring organizations - American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in St Louis, Human Rights Office of the Catholic Diocese of KC & St Joseph, and the Missouri Association of Social Welfare, KC Chapter (MASW) - are screening the 90-minute film prior to its October airing on PBS. More information about the film:http://www.pppdocs.com/inproduction.html September 16: Kansas City at the Tivoli Theater September 16: Springfield at the Moxie Cinema September 29: St Louis at the History Museum October 19: St Joseph Why is this film so important? Because it allows a variety of perspectives to be heard, proponents and opponents of the death penalty, in the context of a murder trial that contains so many of the elements of what's wrong with the death penalty system. On September 22, John Simon, Paula Skillicorn and Linda Taylor will be in Kansas City to discuss the effect of the death penalty on the families of those with a death sentence. While we are aware that there are 52 men under death sentence in Missouri, it's very easy, given the media and cultural context in which we live, to gloss over the agonizing multiplication of grief and loss in that number. There are, of course, the grieving families of murder victims. And there are also many families who live with fear, anxiety, loss and pain because the state is set to execute their son or husband or father. Some of these families have formed an organization, Partners Against State Violence & Racism (PSVR) and their event will be at Grace & Holy Trinity (Episcopal) Cathedral, 415 W 13th St. (13th and Broadway), in Kansas City, on Wednesday, September 22, at 6:30. I plan to attend and I hope to see you there. On Monday, Renee Boman and I joined about 20 people for the annual potluck of the Springfield MADP Chapter. Squash casserole, strawberry-chocolate cheesecake, on and on. You get the idea. Delicious. And an informative meeting. In the last few months, the chapter has reached out in a variety of ways to the local prosecutor, sheriff, and police chief. They discussed Missouri's death penalty system in the context of national and international trends and set plans for upcoming local actions. I take heart that we will eventually win a repeal of this death penalty system in Missouri. I do so because of the people I meet all over the state who are willing to call their legislator, to write a letter, to donate $5 a month, to forgo a favorite TV show to participate in a discussion that's not easy to hear, to raise difficult questions with neighbors, students, and co-workers and yes, sure, to make a squash casserole for a MADP chapter meeting. Thank you for all you do, in efforts large and small. Take care.
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