M2M - Close the Death Chamber Vigil

Starting at The Bridge in Ellsworth, Maine ending at the West Gate at San Quentin Prison, folks across this nation will be holding a Candlelight Vigil and Community Assembly on July 4th, 2011 at 5:00 pm. We will meet in front the West Gate of San Quentin Prison. People of all faiths will be gathering, calling on Governor Jerry Brown to Close the Death Chamber at San Quentin Prison and abolish the Death Penalty here in California. We are spotlighting Senator Hancock’s Resolution SB490 at the M2M Candlelight Vigil to Close the Death Chamber which calls for the abolishment of the Death Penalty. We ask all those who attend in person, as well as in spirit, to contact their State Senator and Assemblyperson to support this resolution.

A small group from Katrina’s Dream, have been holding a monthly candlelight vigil, every first Monday since February 7, 2011. On January 10, 2011 Governor Brown released the state budget. Then granted an extension to the Department of Corrections to amend their budget to include the 356 million dollar remodel.
Please see http://www.ccpoa.org/news/monthly/2011/01/) Then on April 28, 2011, Governor Brown scrapped the remodel, which was set in motion when former Governor Gray Davis was in office. Please see http://www.nbclosangeles.com/blogs/prop-zero/Brown-Kills-Death-Row-Remodel-120887919.html
On Monday, June 27th, Senator Loni Hancock amended her existing bill SB490 turning it into the vehicle for carrying her death penalty legislation. Please see http://dist09.casen.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC={42B6205A-0002-4B2A-8F1D-300E16EEBB0E}&DE={D23BFCDF-6688-4A51-9A70-BE9DF196521E}

According to the recently released Loyola Law Review Study by U.S. 9th Circuit Judge Arthur L. Alarcon and Loyola Law School professor Paula M. Mitchell, titled, "Executing the Will of the Voters: A Roadmap to Mend or End the California Legislature's Multi-Billion-Dollar Death Penalty Debacle". Please see http://media.lls.edu/documents/LoyolaLawReview_CADeathPenalty.pdf. The resolution will save the state about 200 million dollars a year. The authors outlined three possible directions for the future: 1) fully preserve the system of capital punishment at an additional cost of $85 million for courts and lawyers each year (they are approximately 100 attorneys in the state of California that are qualified to work on the now mandatory Death Penalty appeal cases); 2) reduce the number of death penalty-eligible crimes for an annual savings of $55 million; or 3) abolish capital punishment and save taxpayers about $1 billion every five or six years.

Endorsed by:
Katrina’s Dream
California People of Faith Against the Death Penalty
The Oscar Grant Committee
One Struggle One Fight