41 Years after SCOTUS Upholds Death Penalty:
Anti-Death Penalty Activists to Fast and Vigil for Four Days
Outside of U.S. Supreme Court to Mark Historic Court Rulings
as Death Penalty Use Declines
CALLING FOR THE SUPREME COURT TO DECLARE THE DEATH PENALTY
CRUEL AND UNUSUAL AS MORE STATES ABANDON ITS USE
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WHEN: June 29 and June 30 from 9:00 am until 8:00 pm
July 1 and 2 - around the clock, 24-hour presence (ending at midnight on
July 2)
Evening teach-ins with noted speakers each day from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
(SEE BELOW)
*** A public rally will be held Saturday, July 2 at 12:00 pm ***
WHAT: A four day liquid-only fast and vigil to mark the anniversaries of the
historic 1972 Furman and 1976 Gregg Supreme Court decisions on the death
penalty.
WHO: Exonerated death row prisoners, murder victim family members, 100+
anti-death penalty activists from as many as 20 states, clergy, scholars and
leaders of state and national anti-death penalty organizations.
WHERE: On the sidewalk in front of the United States Supreme Court in
Washington, DC
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The Annual "Starvin’ for Justice” Fast and Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty
protest is a four day liquid-only fast and vigil to mark the anniversaries
of the historical 1972 Furman and 1976 Gregg Supreme Court decisions around the
death penalty. Participants in the annual event include exonerated death
row prisoners, murder victim family members, death row family members, clergy,
scholars and various leaders in the national movement to abolish the death
penalty. Please see details at
http://www.abolition.org/fastandvigil/schedule.html.
We can arrange interviews with activists from your specific state or region.
Contact Bill Pelke at bpe...@yahoo.com or (305) 775-5832 with your request.
This year, a trial of 12 protestors will be also taking place on June 28 in DC
Superior Court as part of this event, stemming from a January 17, 2017
arrest at the Supreme Court protesting the death penalty.
Event background: This year, June 29, 2017 marks the 45th anniversary of the
Furman v. Georgia decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated all
death penalty laws in the United States, finding capital punishment to be
applied in an arbitrary and capricious manner. July 2nd marks the 41st
anniversary of the 1976 Gregg decision, which upheld new state death penalty
laws and allowing the resumption of executions.
This is the 24th consecutive year that the Abolitionist Action Committee will
hold its annual Fast and Vigil between the dates of these two landmark
decisions. Activists, many of whom are fasting the entire four days, are
traveling to Washington D.C. from across the United States and beyond.
RAIN ALERT: In the event of rain or significant threat thereof, evening events
requiring amplification will take part inside the United Methodist Church
Building, immediately adjacent (across Maryland Ave. on 1st St.)
The Abolitionist Action Committee is an ad-hoc group of individuals committed
to highly visible and effective public education for alternatives to the
death penalty through nonviolent direct action.
Information online at www.abolition.org, or call 800-973-6548.
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