June 2 Press release Spared From Death To Promote Life----Black Author Describes His Time on Death Watch For more than 16 years on death row, Billy Neal Moore taught and preached to fellow inmates and the American public about Christ's love. Miraculously, his life was spared just 7 hours prior to his execution time. He describes his experiences in his new autobiography, I Shall Not Die: 72 Hours on Death Watch (now available through AuthorHouse). Only 22 years old when he committed murder, Moore confessed and was sentenced to death. While in prison, a minister baptized him, and he was so overcome with remorse for the murder that he wrote a letter to the victim's family. They were so moved by his sorrow that they forgave him. In turn, Moore vowed to transform the lives of anyone he could by showing them what Christ had done for him. He studiously pored over the Bible and began writing religious articles for the outside world. Soon he was writing about 300 letters a week to lost souls around the country, from fellow inmates to teens in crisis. As his death date edged closer, Moore lost a series of three appeals. His fate seemed to be sealed until the victim's family vehemently opposed his execution, and a last-minute request by Mother Theresa helped grant him a life sentence. Because of exceptional behavior, Moore was released a year later. His breathtaking and awe-inspiring ordeal not only speaks of the power of forgiveness and compassion, but also of people's ability to stare evil in the face and fight for goodness. It is proof that each human being is capable of redemption. I Shall Not Die adds a compelling case study to the raging controversy over the death penalty, the judicial system and punitive culture that exist in America. In Moore's successful struggle to overcome his past, readers learn how this brave man faced his demons and fought against them in a dignified and honorable fashion. As audiences around the country hear his story, Moore moves them with his tenacity, his dedication and the lessons of his personal transformation. Currently a minister with the Christ Assembly of Evangelistic Ministries, Moore has spoken at dozens of locations, including Harvard, Yale, USC, UCLA, Stanford, Georgia state ,University of Georgia, American, Georgetown University, Ithaca College, Emory Law School, Northeastern, Tufts College and the University of Massachusetts. A father and husband, he lives 14 Wildwood Lane NE, Rome, GA .30161, and the cost for each books is $11.95 or $15.00 for a signed copy. More information is available at www.ishallnotdie.com AuthorHouse is the world leader in publishing and print-on-demand services. Founded in 1997, AuthorHouse has helped more than 20,000 people worldwide become published authors. For more information, visit www.authorhouse.com PRESS CONTACT: Promotional Services Dept, 800-839-8640 ext.5244, [email protected], www.ishallnotdie.com --- (source: BlackNews.com) NORTH CAROLINA: Moratorium bill worth backing The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill Tuesday that would halt executions in North Carolina for two years while a study is conducted of the way the death penalty is implemented. To have a chance of becoming law, the bill must be voted on by the full House before the crossover deadline today. The crossover deadline is the date on which a bill is dead for the session unless it has been passed in either the Senate or the House. The Senate approved a two-year moratorium in 2003, but the House failed to act on the bill in that session. And its uncertain whether the bill, if it is taken up today, will win approval now. 8 Democrats supported the moratorium in the Judiciary committee and 6 Republicans opposed it. The committee heard testimony from Alan Gell and Darryl Hunt, two men who spent years in prison after being convicted of murder, but were later exonerated. Gell spent several years on death row. They also heard testimony from opponents of a moratorium who insist changes have been made since the time of Hunts and Gell's convictions and that safeguards are not in place to insure such wrongful convictions dont occur. If that's true, opponents shouldn't mind a 2-year moratorium while those safeguards are studied and their fellow citizens get the assurance they need - in light of several high profile miscarriages of justice - that no one in North Carolina will be put to death for a crime they didnt commit. Opponents say advocates seek a moratorium only as a 1st step toward doing away with the death penalty, and thats undoubtedly true for many moratorium supporters. It's also totally irrelevant. There are plenty of good arguments for doing away with executions entirely, but thats a different fight. This bill is about assuring that if North Carolina continues to have a death penalty, it implements it fairly and without error. Many North Carolinians are plenty uncertain about that at the moment. Some prosecution practices that led to unjust outcomes have been discovered and efforts have been made to correct them, thanks to Gell's and Hunt's cases. But what other practices prejudice the outcome against the defendant? Until there's been a thorough study and we know for sure that those charged with murder have adequate legal representation, have access to DNA testing and other possibly exculpatory evidence, receive roughly equal sentences for similar crimes, and that outcomes are not prejudiced by race, North Carolinians cannot rest easy about the death penalty. The vote in the House may well be close. Some Democrats are expected to vote against it and the bill will need Republican support to succeed. It will then have to be approved in the Senate. We urge Western North Carolina lawmakers to support the moratorium. Even opponents would do well to support the bill. One execution of a person later found to be innocent would go a long way toward ending executions in the state forever. (source: Opinion, Asheville Citizen-Times) MASSACHUSETTS: Letter: Supports Eldridge's death penalty stance To The Editor: I am writing to defend Rep. James Eldridge's principled stand against the death penalty from an unfair attack in the letters section of last week's Beacon ("Difference between killing and murder", May 26). The writer, Jim O'Neil, misquoted Rep. Eldridge and insinuated that people who oppose the death penalty also consider the men and women of our military as murderers. Of course we don't. Soldiers in combat have no choice but to kill to defend our nation. In contrast, we the people, through our elected officials, choose whether our criminal justice system should sentence criminal defendants to death. The choice is a solemn one. Wrongful executions are well documented and the burden of these errors falls disproportionately on racial minorities. Their effect is irreversible. I am glad that Rep. Eldridge is taking a principled stand against Gov. Romney's highly political efforts to revive the death penalty. I agree with his original quote: State-sponsored killing tends to make society at large more violent. In 2002, states without the death penalty had a 36 % lower murder rate than states with capital punishment. I don't want Massachusetts to become like Texas and Virginia, which keep on executing defendants without much evidence that the ultimate sanction actually deters criminals. I'm glad Representative Eldridge doesn't either. Andrew Dennington Prospect Street Acton (source: Letter to the Editor, The (acton) Beacon) IOWA: Testimony continues in penalty phase In Sioux City, testimony continues today in the penalty phase of the federal murder trial of Angela Johnson in Sioux City. She was convicted last week of helping her boyfriend kill 5 people in the Mason City area in 1993. The jury can recommend she be sentenced to death or life in prison. Yesterday, several witnesses testified that Johnson threatened them verbally or through her actions. Another witness said Johnson had a violet temper. Prosecutors are making a case for a death sentence, claiming Johnson will continue to be a threat if she's given a life sentence. Her former boyfriend, Dustin Honken, was also convicted of murder. The jury recommended the death penalty. He awaits sentencing. (source: Associated Press)
