Dear Editor:
This past weekend, Oct. 10 to 12, Amnesty International
sponsored a National Weekend of Faith in Action to focus on the
death penalty.
Dear Editor:
This past weekend, Oct. 10 to 12, Amnesty International sponsored a National Weekend of Faith in Action to focus on the death penalty. Amidst the statewide recall election last week, our own local elections soon approaching, and with all the sporting events going on; this serious subject barely received any attention at all.
Amnesty International USA initiated a program in 1998 to re-consider the death penalty as a means of punishment by various states within the U.S. The initiative calls on faith communities to learn and dialogue about capital punishment for the purpose of forming a movement that has as its goal the abolition of the death penalty.
This is a sensitive and controversial issue. But people who support human rights, who reject violence as means of solving our problems, who believe in reconciliation and transformation, and who realize that the death penalty is applied oftentimes in an arbitrary and discriminatory fashion need to step forward and take a position against the continuation of capital punishment.
Amnesty International intends to begin a petition campaign that will explain why, in our view, the death penalty is an unjust punishment. The petition drive will be directed at local communities requesting that a moratorium resolution be adopted by cities and counties to be forwarded to the State of California. This is not an easy subject. But a dialogue needs to be undertaken and I will appreciate any opinions expressed, either for or against capital punishment.
Mike Monroe, Gilroy
Submitted Wednesday, Oct. 15 to ed****@****ic.com
