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Hearing the voices of those bearing the brunt<br>
<br>
MORE THAN 60 people gathered for the Campaign to End the Death Penalty's<br>
(CEDP) annual convention, held in Austin, Texas, in mid-November.<br>
<br>
The CEDP was formed 20 years ago to challenge the most barbaric aspect of<br>
the U.S. criminal injustice system: capital punishment. It has stood out<br>
from other anti-death penalty and criminal justice reform organizations<br>
because it has put death row prisoners and their families at the center of<br>
the struggle, emphasizing the humanity of the victims of this system. This<br>
year's convention was no different.<br>
<br>
Lawrence Foster, the 87-year-old grandfather of Kenneth Foster Jr., who<br>
faced down the death penalty in Texas in 2009, gave the opening remarks for<br>
the conference. Standing before us in his casual blazer and gray Chuck<br>
Taylors, his presence reminded us what is possible.<br>
<br>
His grandson Kenny was charged under the unjust "law of parties" law in<br>
Texas, which makes defendants who are merely present when a crime is<br>
committed just as culpable as the person who committed it. So even though he<br>
was in his car with the windows rolled up when someone was shot and killed,<br>
Kenny was charged along with the shooter and given the death penalty.<br>
<br>
In 2007, he came within 6 hours of being executed before his sentence was<br>
commuted to life. Lawrence Foster was a tireless fighter for his grandson<br>
the whole time, speaking at press conferences and demonstrations and helping<br>
to organize various events to mobilize the public behind the call to save<br>
Kenny. <br>
But the fact that Kenny remains incarcerated and--if the system has its<br>
way--will die in prison means that justice still has not been served.<br>
<br>
Lily Hughes, the CEDP's national director, spoke during the opening plenary,<br>
discussing the state of the death penalty today and explaining why its use<br>
has declined and the importance of our movement connecting to the broader<br>
fight around criminal justice.<br>
<br>
In a session on "2 Cases of Injustice: Stop the Execution of Rodney Reed and<br>
Louis Castro Perez," both Sandra Reed, Rodney's mother, and Delia Perez<br>
Myers, the sister of Louis Castro Perez, spoke about the fight for their<br>
loved ones and their continued determination to stop the execution system.<br>
<br>
It wasn't lost on anyone in the room that both cases are in their critical<br>
last legal stages. Delia Perez Myers described her anger over evidence that<br>
was only recently discovered because prosecutors had buried it. Meanwhile,<br>
Sandra said she and her family remained focused on the struggle for Rodney.<br>
"We have to keep fighting" Sandra said.<br>
<br>
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -<br>
<br>
AFTER THE plenary sessions, there were workshops to take on issues such as<br>
"The Torture of Solitary," where presenter Randi Jones Hensley taped out<br>
markings on the floor to show the small space that prisoners are confined to<br>
when stuck in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day. "Just imagine<br>
what that's like--to be in that small space day after day after day. And<br>
many prisoners spend years of their lives there. It's an inhumane and unjust<br>
punishment."<br>
<br>
Mark Clements, a former police torture victim from Chicago who spent 28<br>
years unjustly incarcerated, also spoke at the workshop and brought home the<br>
deplorable conditions of today's prisons: "They treat you worse than a dog."<br>
<br>
Student Blaine Anderson, who was attending the CEDP's convention for the<br>
first time. approached another presenter, journalist Liliana Segura, to say<br>
that "this is one of the best conferences I've ever been to, and I've<br>
attended many prison justice-type conferences." Anderson said she had never<br>
really thought about how family and loved ones are affected by the injustice<br>
system, and how moved she was listening to people whose lives have been<br>
forever altered.<br>
<br>
That power probably came through most clearly when Terri Been, whose brother<br>
Jeff Wood is currently on Texas death row, also under the unjust "Law of<br>
Parties" rule, spoke from the audience. Choking back sobs and surrounded by<br>
her sons who took turns consoling her, Been talked about what it was like<br>
when Jeff came within hours of being executed in 2008:<br>
<br>
I just couldn't do it, I just could not go in and watch them kill my<br>
brother--even though he wanted me there. And I just don't know what else I<br>
can do. I can't sleep, I'm a nervous wreck. They want to kill my brother,<br>
and I don't know how to protect him.<br>
<br>
While the pain of family members like Terri Been was real and shared<br>
throughout the conference, so was the determination to fight.<br>
<br>
LaKiza--the sister of Larry Jackson, who was killed over a year ago by an<br>
Austin police detective, who followed him and shot him in the back--spoke<br>
about her continued pursuit of justice. The cop, Charles Kleinert, was<br>
indicted for murder, but a judge threw out the indictment--that ruling is<br>
being appealed. <br>
"We are going to keep up the pressure because I am not about to give up," <br>
LaKiza said.<br>
<br>
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -<br>
<br>
THE EVENING panel discussion was probably the most uplifting event of the<br>
conference. Facilitated by Sandy Joy, the audience heard from two exonerated<br>
death row prisoners who work with Witness to Innocence--as well as Kenneth<br>
Hartman, who is serving a life without the possibility of parole sentence. <br>
Hartman called in from prison to explain how his sentence and one that<br>
50,000 other people endure is really just "the other death penalty, a lethal<br>
term of imprisonment."<br>
<br>
You could hear a pin drop as Sabrina Butler, the first woman ever exonerated<br>
and freed from death row, told us what it was like to be convicted of<br>
killing her 9-month-old baby when she was just 18. "I was trying to help<br>
him," she said. "I was giving him CPR on the way to the hospital, but they<br>
said I killed him." She spent over 6 years on death row in Mississippi<br>
before winning her freedom. She implored us to keep up the fight against the<br>
racist injustice system.<br>
<br>
DeWayne Brown, who goes by the nickname "Dough-B," spent 12 years wrongfully<br>
incarcerated, 10 of them on Texas' death row. He has been free since June of<br>
this year, and he talked about the difficulty in adjusting to life on the<br>
outside, but you would never know it by the easy way he addressed the<br>
audience.<br>
<br>
He emphasized how desolate and isolating it is when you are on death row.<br>
"The quietist part of the day on Texas death row is when it's mail call. The<br>
radio's go down, the talk stops, and men stand by their doors, hoping the<br>
guard stops and gives them a letter." He urged us to keep reaching out to<br>
those still locked up: "Let them know you are thinking about them, and they<br>
aren't forgotten."<br>
<br>
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