Standing Strong Against the Death Penalty

Amnesty International Chapter 19 launched a rally in observance of World Day Against the Death Penalty in Palo Alto today. The Raging Grannies sang in one of the city's most popular plazas, “Join our Protest, Carry on! The death penalty is wrong!”

No longer afraid to speak out, mothers and grandmothers are amongst those who stand and testify against the death penalty. Mary Kay Raftery is one such mother. Her son was murdered; she knew that her son would not want the killers to be executed. She spoke with sadness yet great conviction about her role in the movement to end capital punishment.

Wrongful conviction is one of the most troubling aspects of the criminal justice system and when execution is an option, there will always be a risk that the state may kill an innocent person. Former East Palo Alto resident Rick Walker was found guilty of murder by a jury even though Santa Clara County prosecutors had no physical evidence tying him to the crime. He told how he spent 12 1/2 years in prison for a criminal act he did not commit.

Also speaking was Fr. River Sims of the Society of Franciscan Workers. He helps street kids in San Francisco; he is a lone protester standing against the death penalty every week at the the Earl Warren Building located at 350 McAllister Street in San Francisco. The Earl Warren Building is the headquarters of the Supreme Court of California. He invited others to join him and stand strong against the death penalty.

Terry McCaffrey, long time member of Amnesty International, said that although there are clear indications that support for the death penalty is declining, we must not let up our fight against capital punishment.