Just can't get behind the Amnesty International "End death penalty in Ca" Campaign. I am staying home from the workshop.
The reasoning is that innocent people might be executed and it cost too much money. What about the fundamental wrongs of killing? The people who are guilty still has the right to live, and the state should not be the ultimate arbitrator of whose family members are allowed to be killed or not. Not to mention I can't agree to asking for life without parole.
This is my third section of Amnesty International I have been involved in: Hong Kong, New Zealand, and now US. No other one discusses the "innocence" issue. Right to live is right to live and are political prisoners "innocent" of their crime? No.
It's a mistake to water down the message to make it palatable. Amnesty should stand for what’s right. They are missing a great opportunity to talk about forgiveness, humanity, and even rehabilitation, the injustices of race in the US legal system.
No, we are not Troy Davis. I am not. I don’t want him dead if he’s guilty or innocent and neither should the state.
