DISCUSSION ITEMS OF NOTE:

* "Please don't use victim's pain for political gain."
* Presentation of thousands of moratorium petition signatures.
* I’m a devout Catholic
* The Innocence Protection Act
* New witness in the Amos King case
* Illinois Moratorium Commission recommendations
* FADP challenge to debate.

SueZann Bosler: Hello.

Governor Bush: Hi, SueZann.

Abe Bonowitz: I’m Abe Bonowitz.

Governor Bush: Hi, Abe.

[Background talk as others come in. Bush's Communications staff person introduces the reporters who have come in with us: Ron Word of the Associated Press, Lesley Clark of the Miami Herald, a videographer and reporter from Florida's News Channel, and Laura Cardona, an FSU film student who is doing a documentary.]

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Governor Bush:

What’s goin’ on?

SueZann Bosler:

Well, um, I’m here, like you said in the auditorium, I guess I’m here as one of the people to maybe give a little critique, here, just so you’d expect it.

Governor Bush:

Great.

SueZann Bosler:

Um, I’m going to tell you this is that I’m, I watched my father, Reverend Billy Bosler and myself being stabbed. [Getting a little emotional] I watched my father being stabbed to death in front of my eyes.

Governor Bush:

When was that?

SueZann Bosler:

December 22, 1986. And it was in the parsonage at the church. And, I went to….

Governor Bush: I’m sorry…

SueZann Bosler:

Thank you. I went through many years of being angry at the man that did it, and I finally forgave him. I went through many sentencings and I was able to speak in his name to get him off of death row and into a life sentence, and the reason I did that is because my father was against the death penalty, and my whole family is against the death penalty, and I don’t think a life is for a life. There is no “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, or the world will be blind.” And I made these notes because when I was stabbed I was stabbed in the head twice and my memory and speech, so I will be affected the rest of my life. My time is short and I, I had this video [hands him a video tape] that was done by 48 hours and I would like, I would really appreciate if you were to see it…

Governor Bush:

Sure.

SueZann Bosler:

…because it shows one big scene…

Governor Bush:

Is that [pointing to the tape]

SueZann Bosler:

Correct…SueZann Bosler… and it shows a [inaudible] on one of the trials I was threatened…um to be put into jail…

Governor Bush:

Why?

SueZann Bosler:

…because I was, I was, he asked me a question. The State Attorney asked me a question of what I did for a living and I said ‘I’m a hair dresser and I work to abolish the death penalty,’ and that’s what I do, and he threatened to put me into jail.

Abe Bonowitz:

SueZann was not allowed to advocate for her family’s position that did not seek the death penalty for the perpetrator, and the judge said ‘if you say anything about that then you’re in jail.’ Because she was not allowed to have her, as a victim’s rights, or as a victim, to have her right to say “I don’t want this guy killed.”

Governor Bush:

I don’t think that’s the case anymore, is it?

crosstalk

Abe Bonowitz:

I’m not a lawyer, I couldn’t tell you, but that’s what happened to her.

Governor Bush:

Yeah.

Abe Bonowitz:

And that’s the problem. When people speak - when advocates for the death penalty speak, as we have heard you say just in the last week, “I’m here for the victims,”…well, not all the victims want that.

Governor Bush:

Right, but most do.

Abe Bonowitz:

Many do.

Governor Bush:

Many do.

Abe Bonowitz:

But not all.

Governor Bush:

Nope. Obviously not.

SueZann Bosler:

I’d just appreciate….

Governor Bush:

But that, that, that’s not…go ahead.

SueZann Bosler:

I’m sorry to interrupt you… I would just appreciate it if you didn’t use me as one of those of those victims because….

Governor Bush:

I won’t.

SueZann Bosler:

….because I’m here for life, not death. I don’t want anybody to speak in my name for death…because it’s worse. Violence perpetuates violence. It doesn’t help. It makes it more suffering for us, going through that death penalty system and it’s more suffering for me than if they would have put him in for life.

Governor Bush:

I will not uh refer to you because you obviously are passionate about your views. Having said, I, I support the death penalty. And I wish that it would be administered in a way that wouldn’t be as difficult for victims, the family members, because it is compounded [or confounded] and contorted and twisted and you know in the last two cases where people stood on death row that now there is a stay on there, the crimes I think in the late 70s.

Abe Bonowitz:

It’s a long, long time.

Crosstalk

Governor Bush:

….stay and uh…

Abe Bonowitz:

Last week when you said that you were with the victims that were driving in their cars on the way to the prison, but you know, Linroy Bottison and Amos King have people that love them, too. And when these people are exterminated, then their loved ones become victim’s family’s also. And, it doesn’t matter how you look at it, when you have lost a loved one to violence, it’s losing a loved one to violence, and they’re all victims. So, it’s…there’s obviously a distinction. We ask, please don’t use victim’s pain for political gain.

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Governor Bush:

I’m not.

Abe Bonowitz:

Well, it seems that way. It comes across that way.

Crosstalk

Governor Bush:

Well, you’re wrong. You’re wrong. This is the most difficult thing I do and I respect your position and certainly will be mindful of the fact that you have this position and you should respect mine as well, and not imply motivations that are incorrect. Maybe we could reach a consensus…

Abe Bonowitz:

Well perhaps we can reach a consensus on that…

Governor Bush:

Just because I don’t agree with you doesn’t mean that my motivation isn’t sincere, and it is the law of the land and I have a duty to uphold the law. You know, if you want to try to change the law, you have a right to do that.

Abe Bonowitz:

Well, we are working on that.

Governor Bush:

You have every right to do that.

Abe Bonowitz:

We have several other things we wanted to share with you.

Governor Bush:

Sure.

Abe Bonowitz:

One is another stack of petitions. We were here with… We were at your office in January with Delbert Tibbs and Brad Scott and Dave Keaton, who are three of Florida’s death row survivors, wrongly convicted and released off of death row and you were out of town that day so we met with one of your assistants but…um.

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Governor Bush:

You mean you went to Tallahassee?

Abe Bonowitz:

We did a walk, actually. A number of us walked from the death row to Tallahassee, 143 miles to bring you these petitions and at that time it was more than 20,000. Here’s a few more thousand. [SueZann and Abe hand him several stacks of petitions.] But in particular, you know when you’ve got…this is…I’m sure you have your own copy…this is the Commission on Capital Cases report on the 23 people they say 23, there are actually 24 people…