JUDGE RULES CA LETHAL INJECTION MAY BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Contact: Cameron Sturdevant
Campaign to End the Death Penalty
Phone 510-938-2033
Fax 510-235-3112
http://www.nodeathpenalty.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Groups Opposed to Executions Respond to Ruling on Lethal Injection

Activists agree that the procedure is broken but disagree that the
execution process can be fixed.

Oakland, CA, December 15, 2006:

Anti-death penalty activists spoke out Friday in response to the
ruling by U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel stating that the State of
California's lethal injection protocol may be unconstitutional.

The lethal injection process amounts to cruel and unusual punishment,
according to Crystal Bybee, the California Coordinator of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty. "We have been saying that lethal injection is cruel and unusual," said Bybee. "The hearings that Judge Fogel conducted showed the serious issues involved and the possibility of prisoners being conscious during the painful procedure. But the bigger picture is that no matter what the mix of chemicals, all executions are cruel and unusual. Judge Fogel is right that the lethal injection process is broken, but is wrong in thinking that it can be fixed."

Individuals who have witnessed executions attest to the fact that
these executions are not simple, painless procedures. Barbara Becnel,
advocate for Stanley Tookie Williams, witnessed Williams' execution on December 13, 2005. The execution, which Becnel calls "torture-murder," took 35 minutes. The State has admitted that it was botched. "I know the truth, I know what I saw," said Becnel after hearing Judge Fogel's decision. "I saw Stanley Tookie Williams tortured to death. The anniversary of the execution was marked by a reenactment in Berkeley, CA just this week. Becnel added, "What they did to Stanley Tookie Williams was tragic and awful. But now the truth about executions has been shown to the world."

The Campaign to End the Death Penalty plans to step up its efforts
after this decision. One key activity is supporting death row prisoner Kevin Cooper, who has an appeals hearing on January 9th, 2007. The group will join other anti-death penalty and human rights
organizations in a press conference to support Cooper and also
continuing to push for an end to the death penalty in California.

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