Two Honored for their Work Opposing the Death Penalty at
CADP
Dinner
Death
penalty
opponents
told to 'keep building on successes'
-- By
Laurie
Dunklee
It
was
a good
day
for the
opposition. The annual dinner of Coloradans Against the
Death
Penalty
Feb. 25 became a celebration of an important victory, following
the
announcement that day of a Colorado Supreme Court ruling sparing the lives of two
of Colorado's five death row inmates.
Approximately 150 CADP members and friends met
at Montview
Presbyterian Church to celebrate their successes and support
one another in the work still to be done.
"Let's direct our applause and appreciation to those
here who were instrumental in saving the lives of George Woldt
and Francisco Martinez," said Randy Canney,
president of CADP.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 24 to spare the lives
of Martinez
and Woldt
because they had been sentenced by a three-judge panel instead
of a jury.
The three-judge
sentencing system was thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court in June.
This year's Abolitionist
of
the
Year
awardee
greets
Father
Jim
Sunderland,
the 1999
CADP dinner
honoree.
Keynote
speaker
Steven
Hawkins,
center,
looks on.
Photo by
Laurie
Dunklee.
Coloradans
Against
the Death
Penalty is a nonprofit organization dedicated to abolishing
the death penalty in Colorado. The group is comprised
of concerned
citizens,
religious leaders, political leaders, criminal defense lawyers
and relatives of murder victims.
The honorees at this year's
gathering
were
two death penalty opponents whose work has been effective and
inspirational.
A memorial achievement award acknowledged the
work
of Terri
Brake, a public defender who died last May. Brake and her colleagues
in Colorado's public defender office
established the Colorado defense bar as leaders in the country against the death
penalty.
Brake was one of the attorneys who worked on the George Woldt
case.
"She would have been so proud and happy today," said
colleague
Dave Wymore, who accepted a plaque in her honor. "She
was an
inspiration, an icon for us."
The Abolitionist of the Year
Award
was
given to an investigator and mitigation expert
who
has worked on behalf of death row inmates since 1982. "I
get to know the client, almost from the time he was conceived," she said. "I
get to know everything about him, I interview everyone he knew. I find the reasons
why he shouldn't be put to death."
"[This year's awardee] brings humanity to the
courtroom
with
her
ability
to show real people and their real pain," said
Canney. "She
lets them know that the people they are trying to kill are real."
The awardee
said she remains committed to her work because she believes all human life
is
valuable. "We're all valuable. Too often it's the minimalized
people
in our society who get the death penalty, but they are valuable too," she
said.
The keynote speaker for the evening was Steven Hawkins, executive
director of the National Coalition
to Abolish the Death Penalty.
He said that things
have
changed
for the better in the fight to abolish the death penalty.
"Ten years ago about 80 percent of people surveyed were
in favor of capital punishment," he said. "Now that
number is closer to 65 percent."
He said there is more
public
critique
regarding the death penalty since there have been more known
cases of innocent people on death row. "Juries
don't
vote for it as often any more," he said. "Average
people
feel a responsibility, like 'I don't want to send an innocent
person to die.' "
Hawkins
said
the changes
in public
sentiment
are partly
attributable
to "activism
through popular culture," including movies, plays and television shows. " 'Dead
Man Walking' (the book by Sister Helen Prejean that was made into a movie)
made a powerful statement," he said.
He said the current movie "The
Life of David Gale" is also making waves,
with its star Kevin Spacey visiting theaters to talk with audiences about
the death penalty.
But there's much work to be done, according to Hawkins.
His organization is currently concentrating on introducing legislation
in several states
that would
ban the
executions of juveniles under 18. The NCADP won a court ruling that
they hope will be the
basis for ending the executions of mentally retarded people. In addition,
they are developing
international affiliations that they hope will aid the fight.
"We've come a long way, but we still have a long way
to go," Hawkins said.
Story
and
photo courtesy
of the
Archdiocese of Denver.
