Execution in Alabama Tonight? Say NO!
On Tuesday we faxed 329 pages with over 11,000 signatures demanding that the execution be stopped. Just a short time ago, we faxed another 102 pages with an additional 4,000+ signatures. Since then, another 3000 have signed. We are preparing that fax now. (They won’t give un an e-mail address, so we are clogging up their fax machine.)
As I write this just before 4pm CST, there are two hours before the executions is scheduled. If you want the details, keep reading. If you just want the next action steps, scroll down!
Most Governors wait to decide on clemency (mercy) until after all of the legal issues are resolved. There are still two matters before the US Supreme Court, so it may come down to the wire. One of those issues is whether Willie Smith may have his pastor in the room with him when they kill him. No matter how that is decided, it won’t stop the killing.
The other issue is the state challenging a temporary stay granted yesterday evening by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on the question of Smith’s intellectual disability. Weirdly, it’s not about if his IQ of 64 is too low to kill him (it is), but whether that got in his way of properly filling out a form when, in 2018, the state asked every prisoner on Alabama’s death row to choose whether they want a lethal injection or nitrogen hypoxia (gas chamber). Willie didn’t complete the form, so he defaults to lethal injection. Had he affirmatively chosen to be smothered by gas, the state would have no mechanism to kill him and they would not be doing so tonight. And that is the insanity and disparity of the death penalty!
There is an hour before Governor Ivey’s office might close. Please call her now: 334–242–7100. “Tell Gov. Ivey not to kill Willie Smith!”
CALL ALABAMA GOVERNOR KAY IVEY
IF the execution is not affirmatively stopped by 5pm CST today, Thursday, February 11, 2021, join us on Zoom of Facebook for a live Execution Protest Virtual Vigil for Willie Smith in Alabama.
Join Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty, Death Penalty Action and friends as we stand together in a virtual vigil to witness in opposition to the scheduled execution of Willie Smith in Alabama. Please note: This event will take place unless the stay is upheld by 5:30pm EST.
Speakers Include:
- Esther Brown, Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty
- Judy Collins, musician
- Yeah Pace, musician
- Christine Freeman, Founder and Executive Director of the Alabama Post-Conviction Relief Project. Christine has served as the Executive Director of the Middle District of Alabama Federal Defender Program, Inc.
- Rick Halperin, Alabama native & Professor of Human Rights and History
- Charles Keith, Impacted Communities Liaison, Death Penalty Action
- Rev. Brandi Slaughter, Deputy Director, Death Penalty Action
- SueZann Bosler, from Journey of Hope… From Violence to Healing
- Chris Brown, son of Gary Brown, an executed Alabama prisoner
Register to join the Zoom audience here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_V-dK4xHnQtGOX3-6BK3FQg. OR, watch LIVE via Facebook on the Death Penalty Action Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/deathpenaltyaction
Today, we must all work harder:
- Watch and share this two minute video.
- Follow & share our social media: We’re on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
- Write your Members of Congress.
— Abe
Abraham J. Bonowitz, Director of Death Penalty Action
PS: If you prefer to donate with a check, our address is:
PO Box 89, Ghent, NY 12075. Thank you!
PPS: Want less e-mail from us? Sign up for our weekly digest!
