If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
It is a saga of murder and injustice that spans three decades, and even now a surprising new chapter is being written.
I do not want focus here on what young black boys need to do to avoid incarceration, death, and poor schooling. Rather, I want to focus on what we all must learn and understand about the black male experience in order to make sure there is not another Trayvon case.
My only son turned five years old last week. He is a handsome, articulate, energetic, intelligent, fun-loving and gentle young man. He is the apple of my eye! There's only one problem; he is Black.
The case of Reggie Clemons represents everything that is wrong with the death penalty and the U.S. criminal justice system. But unlike Troy Davis, here is still time to save him. We can fix this.
Amnesty International's Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan is not the first time they've tapped into the music community to raise funds and bring awareness to human rights issues.
Much is known of the Montgomery bus boycott that Martin Luther King led in the 1950s. But rarely do we hear about his position against capital punishment.
Think back 50 weeks. Do you remember how 2011 began? Do you remember the epic absurdity that kick-started a year described by nearly everyone as one of the most significant spans in recent memory? That's right: Birds fell straight from the sky.
Martina Davis-Correia died on December 1, 2011. She died 10 weeks after her brother Troy Davis was executed in Georgia. For more than a decade there was a synchronicity between Martina's struggle to save her brother and her own personal battle to survive breast cancer.
Many who are part of the Occupy Wall Street movement understand the link between the struggle for economic justice and the fight to end the death penalty in America. Perhaps you don't. Allow me to explain.
The death penalty is about as divisive an issue as abortion or gun control. Studies are offered by proponents and opponents to both support and condemn both sides of each issue. It is therefore imperative to assess and critique the quality, reliability and validity of the studies.
I do not know if Mr. Skinner is innocent or guilty -- but I do know firsthand the critical importance of DNA testing. Nearly twenty years ago, I became the first person in the U.S. exonerated from death row when post-conviction DNA testing proved my innocence.
A quick glance tells us the most active killing states comprise the "Old South," and a look at the racial makeup of death row today suggests to many that it is a relic of slavery. But a closer look tells us even more.
Competent defense is a basic constitutional right. Yet in a day and age when budgets are being examined with sharp knives, money to support the defense of the poor does not get much of a voice.
These men were not prisoners. They were writers, friends, teachers, creators, lovers, brothers, sons and fathers. In each of these stories lay the foundation of humanity. In word, inflection and intention was the truth: everyone has a story.
Troy Davis was wrongfully executed, but I hope he didn't die needlessly. I hope that his case will lead those who denounced his execution to fight on until the United States abolishes the death penalty.
The cornerstone of human rights is respect for the inherent dignity of all human beings and the inviolability of the human person. Human Rights Watch ...
