{news} Fw: the Death Penalty in CT: an update, 1/19

[Charlie Pillsbury]

the Death Penalty in CT: an update, 1/19in response to Robin - what you can do in the next 7 days - see below.

Hi Charlie,

Just read your message from Monday. What are you trying to organize? Are we 
writing Gov Rell or???
Let me  know, I'd like to participate,
Thanks,
Robin


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Stephen Kobasa 
To: NetworkResponse: 
Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2005 7:53 PM
Subject: the Death Penalty in CT: an update, 1/19


the Death Penalty in CT: An Update


Please forward to groups, listserves and friends

Whatever happens on January 26, we must persist in our work to abolish the death penalty in Connecticut

 
1) Continue to contact Governor Rell and call upon her to reconsider her earlier decision, and immediately grant a reprieve to Michael Ross.

The Honorable M. Jodi Rell
   Office of the Governor
   State Capital 
   210 Capitol Avenue
   Hartford, CT 06106
   860- 566-4840/ 800- 406-1527
   governor.rell at po.state.ct.us
 

2) The CNADP (CT Network to Abolish the Death Penalty) is continuing its  vigils, now at the Legislative Office Building atrium from 11:00 to 1:00.  The goal is to focus attention on the death penalty and scheduled 1/26/05 execution. Meet Amy Harris there and she will have stickers and any other materials and current information. If you can take a day, please contact Amy Harris <amyharrisct at yahoo.com> (860)673 -1597 with the day you are available.


3) In reference to the vigils noted below, the ecumenical prayer service at 8:15 is a Christian prayer service, drawing from a  number of different Christian communities.

The inter-religious prayer vigil is open to all faith communities and not just Christian ones.  Many of the invited speakers come from non-Christian traditions.

Ecumenical Worship Service
Sponsored by the Christian Conference of Connecticut

January 25, 2005, 8:15 p.m.

Saint Lawrence O'Toole Roman Catholic Church
494 New Britain Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut


Our Christian heritage calls us to recognize the sovereignty of God alone over all life.  In Genesis 1:26 we are told we are all "created in the image and likeness of God."  Jesus also challenges us further with his law of forgiveness, "seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:22).  A criminal conviction for a capital offense does not eliminate the inherent dignity and sacredness of the offender's life.  Thus, we witness on this evening to the theological fact that no act, no matter how heinous, can place its perpetrator outside the circle of God's unconditional love.

We believe that carrying out an execution is an admission of defeat by the state.  It is an indication that the state does not know how to deal with capital offenders and leaves it no alternative to executing them.  The state is reduced to the morally untenable position of killing someone in order to prove that it is wrong to kill someone. 

We gather together in the spirit of prayer for all those who mourn over deaths in their families.  We gather together to commit ourselves anew, as Christians, to the abolition of the death penalty in the State of Connecticut.  We gather together ecumenically in worship all those who would work for the day when no individual is seen as beyond redemption and all are fully reconciled in Christ. 

Inter-religious Prayer Vigil
Sponsored by the Christian Conference of Connecticut

January 25-26, 2005, 10:15 p.m.-12:45 a.m.

Somers Congregational Church
599 Main St., Somers, Connecticut

Religious leaders from a variety of religious traditions will be offering readings from their own traditions on non-violence and opposition to capital punishment.  In a quiet, prayerful atmosphere, they will direct the moral reflection and silent meditation of those gathered.  Readings will be offered intermittently during the inter-religious prayer vigil.

For more information, please contact:
The Rev. Dr. Stephen J. Sidorak, Jr., Executive Director
Christian Conference of Connecticut, 60 Lorraine Street, Hartford, CT 06105
(860) 236-4281 (tel)  (860) 236-9977 (fax)

4)Contact your state legislators.  Information on adresses and phone numbers available at<www.cga.ct.gov/maps/Townlist.asp>. Demand that they support abolition by voting for the bill which calls for it, and which will be considered in the Judiciary Committee this session.

5) Visit the website at <www.dontkillinmynamect.org> for current updates, especially concerning plans for a vigil at the prison on January 26. The execution is scheduled for  2 a.m.


Osborn Correctional Institution
100 Bilton Road
Somers, CT 06071

>From I-91 North:

Take I-91 north to Enfield, exit 48 (route 220). Take a right at the end of the ramp onto Elm Street (east). Go approximately one mile to a fork in the road. There is a traffic light at the fork. Bear left at the fork and go straight for several miles. Carl Robinson Correctional Institution is the first facility on the left. Willard-Cybulski Correctional Institution is at the bottom of the hill and Enfield Correctional Institution is at the top of the hill. Osborn Correctional Institution and Northern Correctional Institution are the last facilities, on the right.

6) Join the CT Network to Abolish the Death Penalty.The CNADP is a coalition of many organizations and individuals. They meet at 7:00 pm on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at the United Methodist Church, 571 Farmington Avenue, Hartford and at 7:00 on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the U
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