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Abolish the Death Penalty

Clergy marching in opposition to death penalties

Clergy marching in opposition to death penalties

Sedona AZ (August 27, 2013)In a letter to the SedonaEye.com editor, reader Matthew Dunnigan of Rome, Italy, writes the following about the death penalty: 

Dear Editor:

It is not just wishful thinking that states can live without the death penalty. Generally, states that do not have capital punishment have lower homicide rates than states that have capital punishment.

People of New Testament times need to consider what Jesus did when asked about the legality of divorce. Jesus was aware of His present time and of what the law stated, but He referenced a time before the law was ever given to reveal what God’s intentions were/are for humanity (Matthew 19:3-8).

For the sake of our Protestant brethren in Arizona, I promise not to bring up the whole Henry VIII affair, but the example of what Jesus did regarding divorce is also valid for capital punishment. We only need to go back and to examine what God did about the very first homicide.

Vera Ramirez-Crutcher whose son was murdered opposes death penalty

Vera Ramirez-Crutcher whose son, Donald Bruce, was murdered opposes death penalty

After Cain killed Abel, God put a seal on Cain so that no human being would presume to execute him (Genesis 4:15). Execution is God’s domain – not man’s. This is the ideal of what God intended/intends for humanity even for today. Cain became a wanderer, but society today can not have killers on the loose. This is why we have jails. Incarceration is enough. The law of love leads one to choose life instead of death.

Until the saints come marching in, and I am not just referring to the ones over in New Orleans, we all have work to do. Arizona, please pray the little prayer at www.de-vrouwe.info every day, and please abolish the death penalty.

“Society will never learn to respect human life when the state hypocritically kills those who have killed.” “The violence of capital punishment only begets more violence.”

Let the Arizonan without sin be the first to put the lethal needle in!

Sincerely,

Matthew R. Dunnigan 
00193 Roma
Italia
P.S.: Dear Sedona Eye, when Governor Brewer, or any governor, executes, she does so in the name of every citizen of the state. This also includes the citizens of Sedona. Sincerely, Matt

For the best in Arizona news and views, read www.SedonaEye.com daily!

For the best in Arizona news and views, read www.SedonaEye.com daily!

9 Comments

  1. Respectfully I can’t agree with you Mr. Dunnigan and appreciate this letter. There has to be a way to take serial killers, the butchers, the pedophiles that murder children and say no mas. We can’t as a society let these people reproduce offspring, take a chance they will hurt others. They lost their right to humanity in their inhumanity.

    I expect proof must go beyond a reasonable doubt as to guilt – and that it should be mandatory that every person on death row be entitled to mandatory DNA testing if evidence exists that relates to their case. the law has to bear the burden of proof in capital murders that the innocent are not put to death.

    I know my argument is simple. I think each capital case must withstand the highest level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. We can’t put innocents to death and resurrect them.

    Thanks for taking the time to write and keeping the debate open. It should always be subject to severest scrutiny.

  2. Mr. Kuhns, thx for a classy and logical representation of the “other side.” (with which I totally agree)

  3. First of all we don’t have a death penalty as it is more likely for the person to die of old age before that date finally comes. It used to be the person was put to death within a year and the last call was to the governor of the state. With the federal government involved it can take a lifetime to get there. As far as states with no death penalty being lower it is just a matter different rates of crime from state to state.

  4. E. Maddock says:

    Reflecting back to a time when my late husband was importing firefighter turnout boots from Maylasia, it was during a trip to that country he learned that drug use and trafficking warranted the death penalty. Point being, Maylasia did NOT have a drug problem at that time and I’ve no idea whether or not law has been changed.

  5. SUPREME COURT OF ARIZONA STATE OF ARIZONA, Arizona Supreme Court No. CR-85-0246-AP Appellee, Yavapai County v. Superior Court No. 8752 EDWARD HAROLD SCHAD, JR., Appellant. FILED 09/03/2013

    WARRANT OF EXECUTION

    This Court heard and considered the appeal in the above-entitled cause on April 9, 1987, and on December 14, 1989, affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court in Yavapai County, State of Arizona, and filed its OPINION, which is still in effect and has not been affected by any subsequent decision of this or any other Court.

    On September 16, 1997, following the denial of relief in Appellant’s first post-conviction proceeding, this Court denied Appellant’s petition for review filed pursuant to Rule 32.9(c), Ariz. R. Crim. P.

    On June 25, 2013, the Attorney General filed a motion to issue a Warrant of Execution, which motion was granted by this Court on September 3, 2013.

    Therefore, pursuant to Rule 31.17(c)(2), Ariz. R. Crim. P., Arizona Supreme Court No. CR-85-0246-AP

    IT IS ORDERED fixing Wednesday, October 9, 2013, as the date for commencement of the execution time period when the judgment and sentence of death pronounced upon EDWARD HAROLD SCHAD, JR. by the Superior Court in Yavapai County shall be executed by administering to EDWARD HAROLD SCHAD, JR. by intravenous injection a substance or substances in a quantity sufficient to cause death, except that EDWARD HAROLD SCHAD, JR. shall have the choice of execution by either lethal injection or lethal gas.

    EDWARD HAROLD SCHAD, JR. shall choose either lethal injection or lethal gas and notify the Department of Corrections at least twenty (20) days before the date of execution. If EDWARD HAROLD SCHAD, JR. fails to choose either lethal injection or lethal gas and notify the Department of Corrections of that decision, the penalty of death shall be inflicted by lethal injection.

    IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this Warrant is valid for twenty-four (24) hours beginning at an hour to be designated by the Director of the Department of Corrections, with written notice of the designated hour to be given to the Supreme Court and parties at least twenty (20) calendar days prior to the date of execution.

    IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of this Court shall forthwith prepare and certify a true and correct copy of this Warrant and shall cause the same to be delivered to the Director of the Department of Corrections and the Superintendent or Warden of the State Prison, at Florence, Arizona, and the same shall be sufficient authority to them for the execution of EDWARD HAROLD SCHAD, JR. Arizona Supreme Court No. CR-85-0246-AP

    IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, upon the execution of EDWARD HAROLD SCHAD, JR., the Superintendent or Warden shall, pursuant to Rule 31.17(c), Ariz. R. Crim. P., forthwith make a return of this Warrant to the Supreme Court of Arizona, which return shall show the time, mode and manner of execution.

    Dated in the City of Phoenix, Arizona, at the Arizona Courts Building, this 3rd day of September, 2013.
    __________________________________ REBECCA WHITE BERCH, Chief Justice
    __________________________________ SCOTT BALES, Vice Chief Justice
    __________________________________ JOHN PELANDER, Justice
    __________________________________ ROBERT M. BRUTINEL, Justice
    __________________________________
    ANN A. SCOTT TIMMER, Justice
    Arizona Supreme Court No. CR-85-0246-AP

    STATE OF ARIZONA
    SUPREME COURT

    I, Janet Johnson, Clerk of the Supreme Court of the State of Arizona, hereby certify the above and foregoing 3 pages to be a full and true copy of the Warrant of Execution of EDWARD HAROLD SCHAD, JR., filed by said Supreme Court in the above-entitled action on this 3rd day of September, 2013.

    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereunto set my hand and affix the official seal of the Supreme Court of the State of Arizona this 3rd day of September, 2013.
    _____________________________________
    Janet Johnson, Clerk of Court

  6. 4 September 2013

    Thank you Sedona Eye for all of your gracious, good work!

    -Matt

  7. YOU’RE INVITED!☆ Vigil to oppose strikes on Syria: Monday in Sedona

    Host: Ahmad F.

    Where: TLAQUEPAQUE VILLAGE MAIN ENTRANCE ROUTE 179 ONE MILE DOWN FROM 89A JUNCTION (in Sedona)

    When: Monday, Sep. 9, at 7:00 PM

    What: Congress could vote as early as Wednesday to authorize military attacks on Syria. Gathering for vigils Monday evening to lift our voices for peace to stop the U.S. from once again heading down a slippery slope toward war in the Middle East. The American public overwhelmingly opposes military strikes on Syria. But with the President set to give a special address to the nation on Tuesday, Congress needs to hear our message loud and clear, and that will only happen if persons on Monday night make our voices heard. Can you join us in Sedona on Monday?

  8. From: Rep. Alan Grayson

    Subject: How We Stopped a War—For Now We did it!

    Dear MoveOn member,

    After three frenetic weeks, during which time MoveOn members and Team Grayson were burning the midnight oil every night, it’s time to take stock of what we’ve accomplished.

    Here were the headlines in late August, just before we started our campaign against U.S. military intervention in Syria.

    “Syria crisis: UK and US finalise plans for military strikes”—The Guardian, August 27.
    “Syria strike due in days, West tells opposition—sources”—Reuters, August 27.
    “Strike Against Syria is Imminent”—Reuters, August 27.
    “Obama Will Bomb Syria”—Politico, August 26.
    “U.S. military ready to attack Syria, Hagel says”—CBS News, August 27.

    And here are the headlines, now:

    “Obama to explore diplomatic route on Syria,”—Reuters, September 10.

    “U.S. to Work Through U.N. on Syria Arms Proposal” The New York Times, September 10.

    “Obama Agrees To U.N. Discussion Of Putting Syria Chemical Weapons Under International Control”—Associated Press, September 10.

    “Syria Will Sign Chemical Weapons Convention, Declare Arsenal, Foreign Ministry Says”—Reuters, September 10.

    Let’s go behind the headlines, to the numbers in Congress. Bloomberg News just came out with its own count of how every single member of the U.S. House and Senate would vote on war with Syria. In the U.S. Senate, which is institutionally designed to favor war and bailouts, the war vote is losing 34-22. That’s shocking—the Senate is voting for peace?!

    In the U.S. House of Representatives, it’s even better. House members oppose war by a 10-to-one margin. The Washington Post has it at 26 in favor, 251 against.

    In other words, we are winning. Peace is winning.

    How did this miracle happen?

    To answer that question, look in the mirror.

    You did this. Your calls and e-mails. Your pressure. The military industrial complex, the neoconservatives like Dick Cheney, the foreign policy corporate-funded think tanks in D.C., the warmongers at the State Department—they wanted war, but you wouldn’t let them. We stood up for peace.

    Now, what’s interesting is not just that we averted military action (so far). It’s also what has happened, because we averted military action. We showed that successful diplomacy, shunted aside just a week ago as irrelevant, is actually possible.

    Think about this. We are on the verge of a solution that:

    Removes chemical weapons from Syria, preventing another attack and putting them out of the reach of both the Assad regime and Al Qaeda, Does not require the use of dangerous military force by the United States, Compels Syria to become a signer to the Chemical Weapons Convention, Restores the role of Congress in matters of war and peace, and Rejuvenates the United Nations as a platform for peace.

    This happened only because of our work. To his credit, President Obama listened. He listened to Congress, to the voices of allies around the world asking us to pause, and most importantly, to We the People of These United States. But you spoke, President Obama listened, and now peace may bloom.

    Of course, we may still go to war—the war lobby is fierce and relentless. Even as we speak, warmongers in Congress are writing new war resolution language, thinking that if they tweak this word or that word, making it an itsy-bitsy, teensy-weensy war, it can pass. To that, we say, “a big, fat NO.” We have shown that Peace can be more powerful than War.

    And hopefully, one day soon, we will not be arguing about where to direct our bombs. If you and I keep working together, we will be trying to figure out what to do with the fruits of peace—the Peace Dividend.

    Courage,

    Rep. Alan Grayson

  9. Keith says:

    watch jon stewart like he says doesnt matter how we dont go to war if we dont go to war!!!!! peace and harmony america!!!!

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