P R E S S R E L E A S E
from
F L O R I D I A N S FOR A L T E R N A T I V E S
TO THE DEATH PENALTY (FADP)
28 April 2004
CONTACT: Abe Bonowitz: 561-371-5204
<abe@fadp.org>
FLORIDIANS URGE VOTE ON JUVENILE DEATH PENALTY
INTERNATIONALLY REKNOWNED VICTIMS FAMILY MEMBER/JUVENILE DEATH PENALTY
EXPERT, FLORIDA DEATH ROW SURVIVOR AT LEGISLATURE
(Final event of National Tour - Wednesday Night!)
April 28, 2004 - At a press conference in Tallahassee this morning,
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) called on Florida
House Speaker Johnnie Byrd to allow a vote on the Juvenile Death Penalty
Bill (HB63/SB224), which would raise the minimum age for death penalty
eligibility in Florida to 18 at the time of the crime.
"Floridians from all over the state are calling their legislators to urge
this vote. The margin in the Senate was more than two to one in favor of
this important legislation, and we believe it will pass by a similar margin
if members of the Florida House of Representatives are allowed to vote on
the matter," said Abe Bonowitz, director of the statewide advocacy
group. "Most Floridians do not want to see children executed in our
state. Let's get this bill passed and sent to Governor Bush for his
signature."
Bill Pelke, vice chairman of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death
Penalty and a co-founder of the victims rights groups Murder Victim's
Families for Reconciliation (www.mvfr.org) and Journey of Hope ...From
Violence to Healing (www.journeyofhope.org) made the following comments:
"We were very honored to be in the State of Florida yesterday to watch as
Senator Crist presented the bill to eliminate the death penalty for
juveniles. That was very courageous of him. He did admit that the passage
of this bill was a step for people that want abolition of the death
penalty, which is where I stand. So that was a very courageous move on his
part.
"I've been involved with the issue of the juvenile death penalty since 1985
when a 15-year-old girl brutally murdered my grandmother and was sentenced
to die in the electric chair by the state of Indiana. I originally
supported that sentence, but I became convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt
that my grandmother would have been appalled by that sentence. I was
convinced that my grandmother wanted me to have compassion for that girl
and for that girl's family. I didn't have any compassion at all but so
convinced that that is what my grandmother would have wanted, I begged God
to give me love and compassion for Paula Cooper and her family, and that
short prayer changed my life. I got involved in an international campaign
to try to get Paula Cooper of off death row. I learned a lot about the
juvenile issue in this country. At that time back in 1986 there were 32
juveniles on death row in this country. Now there is over 70.
"Paula Cooper is not the same girl that she was when she was 15 years
old. The state of Indiana took her off of death row in 1989 by an appeal
before the Indiana Supreme Court. She is a changed person. Today she is a
very caring person. At the age of 15 she was very full of hate and anger
because of the abusive situation in which she was raised. Today she is a
very caring person. After she got off of death row she was able to get her
GED. Two years ago she got a college degree. She is now working [from
within the prison] for a company outside the prison and earning $7.50 an
hour. She gets to keep 10% of that money. She gets to keep 75 cents an
hour. The rest of that money goes into a victims restitution fund to help
other victims family members that are suffering and need help,
psychological help. Some of the money goes into a prison upkeep fund, room
and board if you will, and some of that money goes to pay taxes, so she is
contributing to society. If we were to execute Paula Cooper today we would
not be executing the same person that committed that terrible crime back in
1985.
"Psychologists will tell you that a young person has the ability to
change. We didn't need to execute Paula Cooper, and we don't need to
execute any person for a crime committed before the age of 18. Passing
this bill will make Florida fall into line with international standards
which say that the execution of juveniles is wrong. There are only several
countries in this world that execute people for crimes committed before the
age of 18. There have been several other states this year, including
Wyoming, South Dakota and New Hampshire where the legislatures have voted
against the juvenile death penalty, and I believe that in the next several
years the United States Supreme Court will make it unconstitutional to
execute anybody for crimes committed before the age of 18 due to the
changing standards of decency. Thank you."
Background on Bill Pelke is available at
http://www.cuadp.org/abdaytour04/SpeakerBios.htm
AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT: Bonowitz, Florida death row survivor Juan
Melendez, and Pelke are in Tallahassee now and are available for comment
and interviews: Reach them at 561-371-5204.
PUBLIC EVENT WEDNESDAY EVENING: Bonowitz, Melendez and Pelke will share
their stories in the final event on the 14 week Journey of Hope Abolition
Day Tour, WEDNESDAY EVENING at 7pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church in
Tallahassee. This event is free and open to the public.
Amnesty International and Unitarian Universalists
Present:
From Violence to Healing:
Why the Juvenile Death Penalty Must End!
Wed. April 28th 7:00pm@
Unitarian Universalist Church
2810 N. Meridian Rd.
Featuring:
Bill Pelke: His grandmother was killed by a 15-year-old girl, and he came
to forgive her and worked to overturn her death sentence.
Juan Melendez was the 24th person exonerated from FL death row.
Abe Bonowitz is the director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death
Penalty.
On the Web: www.FADP.org
SENT BY:
Abraham J. Bonowitz
Director
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP)
800-973-6548 http://www.fadp.org <fadp@fadp.org>
PMB 335, 2603 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hwy, Gainesville, FL 32609
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty works for restorative
justice in the form of effective alternatives to the death penalty. It
does so by
# supporting and coordinating the work of organizations and individuals
# educating and energizing the general public and state legislators
# supporting the many persons affected by capital crime and punishment
# advocating specific legislative improvements
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