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Lethal Injection Bill
Greetings,
The Nebraska Legislature will take up first round debate on LB
36, the bill to implement lethal injection as Nebraska's new
method of execution, on Monday, May 18th at 10:00am.
Justice and Advocacy Ministries, ELCA-NE and Nebraskans Against
the Death Penalty asks you toj oin us on Monday at the State
Capitol in Lincoln to watch the Legislature debate LB 36. We are
going to pack the visitor's gallery during the debate to bear
powerful silent witness to the growing number of Nebraskan's who
want an end to the death penalty!?Those who support an end to
the death penalty will be dressed in white.
We also ask that you contact your State Senator to encourage him
or her to vote against LB 36. You can easily do so by clicking
on the link provided.
Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):
Your State Senator (if you live in Nebraska)
Below is the sample letter:
Subject: LB 36 -- Lethal Injection Bill
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],
As a person of faith, I am strongly opposed to the death penalty.
The death penalty, as it is used in Nebraska, is flawed and biased in that it is more likely a person of low economic means who murders a person of higher economic means will be more likely to be sentenced to death.
All of the mainline protestant denominations as well as the Roman Catholics have carefully studied the death penalty from a Christian perspective and have determined there is no Christian justification for its use. The Jewish tradition, from which the concept of "eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" comes, no longer supports the death penalty.
When a violent crime is committed in our community, we, as Christians look to how we can bring healing and restoration back to the community. The death penalty does not do anything other than provide a means for vengeance. It does not restore the community in any way.
The threat of the death penalty is used as a tool to obtain confessions from people who are not guilty, including six people from the Beatrice area who spent more than 20 years in prison for a murder they did not commit, and two young men from the Syracuse area who were accused of murdering their relatives, but were later exonerated.
I urge you to follow the courageous actions of New Jersey and New Mexico whose legislative bodies have recently abolished the death penalty.
As a constituent, I strongly urge you to vote against LB 36.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
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What's At Stake:
People of faith have made tremendous progress in their opposition to the Death Penalty in recent years. As it stands right now, Nebraska continues to have a death penalty, but no means to enforce it. If LB 36 becomes law, lethal injection will become the means by which the death penalty is implemented in Nebraska. At the hearing before the Judiciary Committee earlier in the session, there was tremendous testimony offered to explain why the death penalty is so flawed, and, in fact, it appeared the Judiciary Committee would not advance the bill. Thus, it was somewhat of a surprise that it came out of committee this morning. Urgent action is needed to put an end to this effort and to continue our work to abolish the death penalty.
SOCIAL POLICY BASE: ELCA Social Statement on the Death Penalty.
Campaign Expiration Date:
June 16, 2009
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