Sweet news and opportunity, Georgia! Support DP Moratorium!!

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ACTION ALERT from Georgians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty:

Please Urge your Legislators to Support Georgia's Death Penalty Moratorium Legislation!


HB 1312: http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/sum/hb1312.htm
has been introduced in the House. This means that we now have Moratorium legislation in both the House and Senate (SB 175: http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/sum/sb175.htm ) !

Please take a moment to write your legislators and ask them to support HB 1312 and SB 175.
You can find them on VoteSmart.org: http://votesmart.org/
using your 9-digit ZIP code: http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp

Also, there is an important piece on Georgia's indigent defense crisis, at:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i50k50rd0f5PE-psZF-TPGDGqUCgD9ECA8HO6

It is becoming increasingly more apparent that Georgia simply cannot afford the death penalty any longer!

As always, thanks for all that you do!


With Hope,

GFADP
Georgians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty
http://www.gfadp.org/

Follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gfadp


Also:

SAVE THE DATE: Please join us on May 13 for the third annual Mary Ruth Weir Memorial Dinner

In 1999 Mary Ruth Weir and other abolitionists resolved that Georgia needed to organize a statewide anti-death penalty coalition again. Mary Ruth lived and served for nearly twenty years at New Hope House, where her life was one continuous witness for love, abolition, and peace. Let us all take hope and inspiration from her beautiful example as we continue in this struggle.

(more information on that event will be at the website)

Thank you, ALL!

solidarity!

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1. AJC on Georgia's indigent defense crisis:

Ga.'s system to defend the poor still reeling
By GREG BLUESTEIN (AP)
March 11, 2010

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/ga-s-system-to-362026.html

ATLANTA — Georgia's public defender system is still trying to recover its financial footing five years after a courthouse gunman racked up a $3 million taxpayer-funded defense tab on the way to his conviction.

The state's ailing system to defend the poor has struggled almost since its start in 2005, hamstrung not just by the costly Brian Nichols case but also because of the lukewarm support from legislators and a dismal economy.

The state now can't afford to pay to defend the accused in several capital punishment cases, leaving them waiting in jail for years before their trials start. Some, like Khan Dinh Phan, have appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court for help. They have asked that their cases be dismissed because the delays violated their right to a speedy trial.

-snip-

"You can't have a death penalty case where one side has all the lawyers, experts and resources, and the other does not," said Bright. "If you are not willing to pay, don't pursue it as a capital case."

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2. PLEASE take this action!!! it is a great moment for Georgia!!! TY!! nt