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Thursday, June 19, 2008

[vinnomot] Fwd: 100th Execution in VA - Take Action

---------- Forwarded Message ----------

Breanna Peterson <BPeterson@aiusa.org> wrote:

CC: folabi olagbaju <folagbaj@aiusa.org>,
Jessica Cohn <JCohn@aiusa.org>
Subject: 100th Execution in VA - Take Action
From: Breanna Peterson <BPeterson@aiusa.org>
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:20:41 -0400

Hello Virginia Activists:

You have probably heard that last week Governor Tim Kaine commuted the sentence of Percy L. Walton. Mr. Walton was scheduled to be the 100th person executed in Virginia since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

Unfortunately, Robert Yarbrough is now scheduled to be the 100th person executed. His execution is scheduled for 9pm on Wednesday, June 25, 2008. At a time when much of the country is turning away from the death penalty, Virginia has three executions scheduled between now and the end of July. Please take action to urge Governor Kaine to join the rest of the country in moving away from the death penalty.

Action Opportunities:

Contact Governor Tim Kaine RIGHT NOW by telephone and/or fax and politely ask him to grant clemency to Robert Yarbrough by commuting his death sentence to life without the possibility of parole. Be sure to start by stating your name and the place where you live.

Gov. Tim Kaine
Phone: (804) 786-2211
Fax: (804) 371-6351

Write a Letter to the Editor (LTE) of your local newspaper. Below is a sample for you to use as a guide, but be sure to use your own words. For more information on how to write a great LTE visit: http://www.amnestyusa.org/events/mid-atlantic/pdf/howtowritelettertotheeditor.pdf

Attend a vigil on June 25th to oppose the execution of Robert Yarburough. If no stay or commutation has been granted by the afternoon of the
execution, attend the execution protest and vigil outside Greensville Correctional Center at Jarratt. Because this is execution #100, we urge
all who can to attend the vigil at the prison. Jarratt is about 50 miles south of Richmond on I-95.

If you cannot travel to the prison, please attend a vigil closer to where you live. Details on scheduled vigils are at http://vadp.org/attend-a-vigil.html

For last minute information about whether a stay has been granted, please call VADP at 888-567-VADP. You can also check the web page at
www.VADP.org

Forward this email to your friends & family and encourage them to take action. Calls may be made and faxes may be sent as late as 8pm on June 25th, so please forward this action to others. Ask people you know to also contact Governor Kaine, including people at religious services or other activities you attend. Print it out so that you have the information with you when you bump into a friend who might call.

Sample Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

Americans are turning away from the death penalty. Recent polls indicate that roughly half the U.S. public now prefers life without parole over the death penalty as the best punishment for the crime of murder.

The number of executions carried out in the U.S. has fallen from a high of 98 in 1999, to 53 in 2006, to just 42 in 2007.

And yet, as the country moves away from executions, Virginia remains committed to executing people at an astonishing rate. Virginia is second only to Texas in total number of executions. In fact, on Wednesday, June 25th Virginia is scheduled to carry out its 100th execution since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

Please join me in urging Governor Tim Kaine to stop putting people to death and re-evaluate our system before we execute anyone else.

(Include your name, phone number, and town)

Breanna Peterson
Field Organizer - MD, VA, WV
Mid-Atlantic Regional Office
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE, 5th Fl, Washington, DC 20003
Phone: 202.544.0200 ext. 269 * Fax: 202.546.7142
Cell: 917-815-7107

___________________________________________
Learn more about life in a Guantánamo prison cell!
www.amnestyusa.org/celltour

Kurt O. Bielefeldt, Group Coordinator
Amnesty International Group 159
First Thursday of every month, 7:30 PM
Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington
4444 Arlington Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22204

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