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from F L O R I DI A N S FOR A L T E R N A T I V E S TO THE DEATH PENALTY (FADP)
31 March 2005
CONTACT: Abe Bonowitz: 800-973-6548
GOVERNOR BUSH MOURNS SCHIAVO, PREPARES TO KILL MENTALLY ILL MAN
As Florida Governor Jeb Bush mourns the passing of Terri Schiavo in
the
wake of his personal and extraordinary efforts to keep her alive, the
clock
is ticking on another Floridian who is about to receive a
state-assisted
suicide. As the final chapter of the Schiavo saga was heating up a
month
ago, Bush signed a death warrant for Glen J. Ocha. Ocha, who has
legally
changed his name to Raven Raven, is a suicidal and mentally ill man
who
waived his appeals and is scheduled for execution at 6pm on Tuesday,
April
5, 2005 in revenge for his murder of Carol Skjerva.
"I still firmly believe that human life is a gift and a mystery, and
that
its mystery is most evident at its beginning and ending. May all of
us
whose hearts were moved during the life of Terri Schiavo grow in
wisdom at
its ending," said Governor Bush in a statement sent to the Governor's
e-mail list shortly after Schiavo passed away.
"I certainly hope Governor Bush has gained some wisdom about the
value of
life - all life," said Abe Bonowitz, director of Floridians for
Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP). "We hope and pray that he
will
now adopt a consistently pro-life policy."
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) calls on
Governor
Jeb Bush to reverse himself and stop the state-assisted suicide of
Glen
Ocha (pronounced "O'Shea").
Glen Ocha is suicidal and demonstrably mentally ill. Detailed
background
is available at http://www.fadp.org/takeact.html#background
"Suicide-by-Governor is getting very popular in Florida," said FADP
Director Abe Bonowitz, noting that five of the last eight Florida
executions were of prisoners who waived their appeals and asked to be
killed. So far Governor Bush has overseen the execution of 16
prisoners,
seven of whom have been volunteers.
"Ocha committed a horrible crime and then demanded to be executed.
Once
again Governor Bush is playing into the hands of a convicted murderer
who
just wants to die. Why is it that the only way you can get an
assisted
suicide in this state is if you murder someone and go to death row?"
asked
Bonowitz
If this killing goes forward, it will be the 60th execution in
Florida
since 1979 and the 17th under Governor Jeb Bush. More information
about
Florida executions is available at
http://www.fadp.org/Florida_executions.html .
Members of FADP and other organizations opposed to the death penalty
will
protest the execution at Florida State Prison and at locations across
the
state at the time of the killing. (See
http://www.fadp.org/localprotests.html for protest plans and
locations.)
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FADP Director Abe Bonowitz is available for interviews at
800-973-6548
ON THE WEB: www.FADP.org
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SENT BY:
Abraham J. Bonowitz
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP)
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
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