By Cantor Michael Zoosman My name is Cantor Michael Zoosman. I am a former prison chaplain, an advisory board member of Death Penalty Action and the co-founder of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty.,” where we are in touch with all human beings in our nation who receive an execution warrant. For the past year, […]
Today, we have been celebrating Juneteenth as the true end of slavery. But was it? No, to the surprise of many, slavery is still legal. It’s time this ends*. When Congress passed the 13th Amendment in 1865, it included an exception that allows slavery to be used “as a punishment for crime.” The exception was a concession to […]
By Jane Corley At a late lunch here in Oklahoma City two hours ago we learned – to jubilant delight – that Oklahoma’s death row prisoner Richard Glossip had at 1:18pm been granted a stay of his execution scheduled for May 18, 2023 by the U.S. Supreme Court. We hollered, praised our various gods, and […]
By Cantor Michael Zoosman My name is Cantor Michael Zoosman. I am a former prison chaplain, an advisory board member of Death Penalty Action and the co-founder of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty.,” where we are in touch with all human beings in our nation who receive an execution warrant. For the past year, […]
By Rabbi Benjamin Zober and Abraham Bonowitz The first Texas execution in 2023 is set for Tuesday, January 10th, and there remain serious questions for which there are no dependable answers. On Wednesday last week, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed an opportunity to seek answers purely on procedural grounds, without even considering the […]
September 13, 2022 Alabama Insanity: On the Potential Gas Chamber Execution of Alan Eugene Miller Before government officials in Alabama go ahead with an untested gas chamber execution of Alan Eugene Miller (nitrogen hypoxia), it might be wise to consider a few experiential facts… Millions upon millions of people were […]
Pull Back The Curtains on Executions!!! crossposted @ Patheos, https://www.patheos.com/blogs/jeffhood/pull-back-the-curtains-on-executions/ By Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood On July 28, 2022 at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama Department of Corrections officials strapped Joe James, Jr. to a gurney and prepared him to be executed. Normally this should take minutes. For over three hours beyond his scheduled […]
Lamentations is a series of short reflections derived from a reoccurring conversation that takes place before every scheduled execution in the United States between prominent abolitionists Death Penalty Action Executive Director, Abraham Bonowitz and the Convener of Clergy United Against the Death Penalty, the Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood. The 8th Amendment of the Constitution of the […]
Lamentations: On Virgil Presnell Lamentations is a series of short reflections derived from a reoccurring conversation that takes place before every scheduled execution in the United States between prominent abolitionists Death Penalty Action Executive Director, Abraham Bonowitz and the Convener of Clergy United Against the Death Penalty, the Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood. Nearly 46 years […]
Lamentations is a series of short reflections derived from a reoccurring conversation that takes place before every scheduled execution in the United States between prominent abolitionists Death Penalty Action Executive Director Abraham Bonowitz and Clergy United Against the Death Penalty Executive Director Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood. “…abandoned for days at a time.” “…around […]