FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 17, 2008
300 Organizations, Businesses, and Churches call for a MO Execution Moratorium
Press Conference: State Capitol, First Floor Rotunda, Jefferson City
Wednesday November 19th, 2008 11:00 am
Jefferson City - Missouri businesses, city councils, houses of worship, and organizations have ratified over 300 resolutions calling for a Moratorium on Missouri executions while our death penalty is studied.
Speakers will include Bishop John Gaydos, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City; Alvin Brooks, former Kansas City Councilman, Mayor Pro Tem, and founder of the Ad Hoc Group Against Crime; a spokesperson from a local business; Bob Quinn, Executive Director of the Missouri Association for Social Welfare; and Reverend Bill Fasel with the Episcopal Diocese of Western Missouri.
St. Louis City Alderman Terry Kennedy, who introduced the Moratorium resolution passed by the City of St. Louis in 2006 says this of Missouri’s death penalty system: “National polls and analysis have shown a growing concern over the execution of potentially innocent people and the unequal application of death sentences. This has caused support for the death penalty to seriously drop over the last several years. Still further, it has caused concern among the members of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen and helped in the passage of a resolution calling for a state moratorium.”
The Moratorium Now! campaign is comprised of civic and religious organizations from across Missouri who have united to call for a Moratorium on Executions while our death penalty is studied. Campaign spokesperson Jeff Stack said “We have had the death penalty in Missouri for over thirty years and never stopped to examine how the system is working. Serious questions exist about the death penalty in Missouri. What does our death penalty cost Missouri taxpayers? How did three men in Missouri get sentenced to death for crimes they did not commit? Missourians deserve answers to these questions.”
The Moratorium Now! campaign, which led the effort to gather 300 resolutions from across the state will continue developing grassroots support until Missouri has enacted a Moratorium Now!
Visit the Moratorium Now! website.
