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)

21 March 2005

CONTACT:
Abe Bonowitz: 561-371-5204


Greetings Media Friends,
Please note that YOU can call in to this press conference at the National 
Press Club.

"Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) is excited about 
this new initiative and looks forward to even more cooperative activities 
with our Catholic members and supporters," said Abe Bonowitz, director of 
the only statewide secular anti-death penalty organization.  "The Florida 
Catholic Conference has always been in leadership on this issue in this 
state, but full spectrum "Pro-Life" activism has been sporadic among the 
pulpits and the pews.  I believe this new initiative will make a real 
difference."

Abe Bonowitz can be reached for further comment at <abe@fadp.org> or 
800-973-6548.

**************


PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY
Register by phone (202-541-5419), if possible, and present press credentials.


What: Catholic Bishops to Launch Major New “Catholic Campaign to End the 
Use of the Death Penalty Groundbreaking Zogby Poll Demonstrates Dramatic 
Rise in Catholic Opposition to Use of the Death Penalty

When: Monday, March 21, 9:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

Where: National Press Club, Zenger Room (529 14th St. NW; Washington, DC)
(Media also may phone in.)

Participants in the briefing include:

- Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, past chair of the 
Bishops’ Committee which developed the “Campaign.” McCarrick will describe 
the Campaign elements, significance and goals.

- John Zogby, President and CEO, Zogby International, who conducted the 
groundbreaking survey and follow-up research. He will outline the 
surprising and politically important results of the survey.

- Bud Welch, a Catholic layman whose daughter was killed in the Oklahoma 
City bombing. Welch will address the Campaign through his own efforts to 
overcome the violence that took his daughter’s life and the violence of the 
death penalty.

- Kirk Bloodsworth, who spent more than a decade on death row for a crime 
he didn’t commit. Bloodsworth will address the campaign as a Catholic who 
entered the Church while awaiting execution.

The new Campaign will include new teaching and educational resources, a new 
website, continuing legal action, ongoing legislative advocacy at state and 
federal levels, and links to the Church’s pro-life and “faithful 
citizenship” efforts. The Campaign is being launched at the beginning of 
Holy Week, a time when Christians mark the execution of Jesus Christ nearly 
two thousand years ago.

Media attending in person are asked to register by phone (202-541-5419), if 
possible, and present press credentials.


***


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